TENDER SPECIFICATIONS

Invitation to tender for a framework contract for the delivery of training courses and the supply of documentation for users of the financial systems specific to the European Commission, the executive agencies, the Community agencies and the other institutions

BUDG11/PO/005

1. GENERAL CONTEXT OF THE CONTRACT

2. CONTRACT OBJECTIVES

3. SUBJECT AND NATURE OF THE CONTRACT

3.1. Specific context

3.2. Specific objectives and nature of the work

3.2.1. Preparatory phase

3.2.2. Delivery of the courses

3.2.3. Updating of the courses and course materials

3.2.4. Design of new courses or new course materials

3.2.4.1. General principles

3.2.4.2. E-learning

3.2.5. Updating of the user documentation

3.3. Specific provisions concerning training

3.3.1. Trainers

3.3.2. Planning of the courses

3.3.3. General rules and confidentiality

3.3.4. IT environment

3.3.5. Learning structure and method

3.3.6. Languages

3.4. Specific provisions concerning documentation

3.5. Target public

3.6. Subcontracting

4. DURATION AND TIMETABLE

5. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

6. VOLUME OF WORK

7. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND PROVISIONS CONCERNING ORDERS, FOLLOW-UP TO ACTIVITIES, AND ARRANGEMENTS CONCERNING PAYMENT AND PENALTIES

7.1. General procedures

7.2. Orders

7.3. Activity reports and methods of payment

7.4. Penalties

8. PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE TENDERS

8.1. Participation in the tendering procedure

8.1.1. General principles

8.1.2. Consortiums, groups of providers and subcontracting

8.2. Information and documentation available

8.3. Prices

8.4. Procedure for evaluating tenderers and tenders

8.4.1. Exclusion criteria

8.4.2. Selection criteria

8.4.3. Technical and financial evaluation of the tenders

8.4.4. Award of the tender

8.5. Submission of tenders

8.6. Applicable law and competent courts

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ANNEXES

1. DRAFT FRAMEWORK CONTRACT AND ANNEXES

2. FINANCIAL OFFER AND FINANCIAL EVALUATION SCENARIO

3. DESCRIPTION OF THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR THE STAFF PROPOSED BY TENDERERS TO PERFORM THE TASKS COVERED BY THE CONTRACTS

3.1. Trainers

3.2. Project leader

4. MODEL CV

5. DECLARATION CONCERNING THE ABSENCE OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST (THIS DOCUMENT MUST BE INCLUDED IN THE TENDER)

6. INFORMATION ON THE FINANCIAL SYSTEMS

7. INFORMATION ON EXISTING TRAINING

8. CHECK-LIST OF DOCUMENTS TO BE PROVIDED BY TENDERERS

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1. GENERAL CONTEXT OF THE CONTRACT

The European Institutions (the Commission, the Council, the Parliament, the Committee of the Regions, the Economic and Social Committee, the Court of Auditors, the Court of Justice, the European External Action Service, the European Ombudsman and the European Data Protection Supervisor) and the Community and Executive Agencies and equivalent bodies (around 50 in 2011, located in various EU countries), hereinafter "the contracting authorities", have responsibility for implementation of an annual budget of €142 billion, over 20% of which is managed by the institutions or agencies. To do this, and to record the accounting data properly, the Commission has developed financial information systems which are increasingly used by the other institutions and agencies. The Commission's aim is to ensure a high level of best practices in comparison with those of the European public administrations. Among other priorities, this entails introducing effective financial and management procedures based on appropriate systems and used by staff trained specifically for this task.

To this end and for information purposes, in 2004 the Directorate-General (DG) for Human Resources, as the department responsible for developing training for Commission staff, followed by DG Budget in 2008 have concluded successive framework contracts whose aims include the design and delivery of training courses for the users of the financial information systems specific to the European Commission.

The latter framework contract, which was for an initial duration of one year, was renewed until March 2012, when it will terminate.

Since 2004 and the conclusion of the aforementioned framework contracts, the Commission has used an accrual accounting system based on the current system, ABAC (Accrual-Based Accounting).

Accordingly, the specification and the new framework contract will be structured in line with this in mind.

2. CONTRACT OBJECTIVES

The objective of the new framework contract is to introduce and facilitate access to financial training for all the departments of the contracting authorities for which the training provided may be relevant.

The Commission's ongoing general objective is to maintain and develop effective management procedures supported by appropriate systems and used by staff with specific training in this field. The main aim of the training which is the subject of this invitation to tender will thus be to ensure that the staff of the contracting authorities responsible for using the systems in question has the knowledge and skills required to use them effectively.

In particular, bearing in mind the context as described in (1) above, the specific objectives of this invitation to tender (without subdivision in lots) are as follows:

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To deliver the existing financial training courses by traditional means (i.e. in classrooms equipped with PCs) to staff of the contracting authorities using the financial information systems (chiefly ABAC, SAM and SAP). ABAC is the main financial information system used to manage and record financial transactions. SAM is the specific application for managing fixed assets at certain entities. SAP refers to the modules developed to meet the needs of the institutions on the basis of the SAP platform, which is the accounting system as such (SAP includes management of the accounts of the contracting authorities, which can be used to draw up the annual financial statements). The concept of delivery of courses also includes the routine updates of these courses required as a result of technical or regulatory developments.

To design and deliver the new financial training courses which may become necessary, in particular as a result of major developments making existing courses obsolete or inappropriate or as a result of the particular needs of specific groups. This could also apply to developments in the specific financial information systems of the agencies and other institutions.

To update and/or design, if necessary, the documentation relating to the areas in which the training is being given, e.g. users' manuals, step-by-step guides or other appropriate teaching tools.

To develop and/or introduce, if the demand exists, new training techniques such as tele-training or e-learning.

3. SUBJECT AND NATURE OF THE CONTRACT

This invitation to tender consists of a single lot. The specific context of this lot and the different tasks involved are as follows:

3.1. Specific context

In the framework of this project, the European Commission intends to conclude a contract for the design and provision of training and other related activities for the users of the internal financial information systems of the departments of the contracting authorities.

This training activity has been supplied for many years by outside contractors.

Annex 6 includes a brief description of the nature and scope of the applications in question (summarised in the diagram below).

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Architecture ABAC

The Commission's financial systems are at present basically linked to the various ABAC applications. ABAC is the general name for the Commission's financial systems. In addition, the scope of the financial training also covers training in SAM and ABAC Assets (management of fixed assets), Datawarehouse, the Badgebud application (the information system for preparing the following year's budget) and the Commission's accounting system as specifically developed on the basis of the SAP software package.

In addition, a DVD with detailed information on the IT architecture of the Commission's financial information systems can be supplied to tenderers who request it by post or email to the mailbox BUDG-11-PO-005@ec.europa.eu

3.2. Specific objectives and nature of the work

The main overall objective of the work is to ensure the availability of appropriate training when required by the users of all the financial systems specific to the European Commission. The overall provision of training includes the following specific actions:

– a preparatory stage;

– delivery of the courses;

– updating of the courses and of supporting materials if required;

– designing new courses;

– up-dating (or design) of user documentation.

The specific objectives and nature of each of these actions are as follows:

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3.2.1. Preparatory phase

Before the future contractor provides the first training courses, a preparatory phase will take place to ensure the delivery of effective and well-organised courses. To this end, the Commission will make sure that the contractor and the trainers have all the necessary current and historical information for understanding and carrying out their tasks. The trainers and the project leader can also attend the courses already being provided by the Commission.

Annex 7 contains a list of relevant existing courses currently on offer. In addition, a DVD with detailed information on each course can be supplied to tenderers who request it by post or email to the mailbox BUDG-11-PO-005@ec.europa.eu

To carry out this preparation the contractor will, together with the competent Commission staff, who will make available all the necessary information:

examine all the existing training courses and the related training and development material;

confirm the trainers for each course;

instruct the trainers in the presentation of each course, including, where appropriate, adapting the course programme and/or the trainer manual;

prepare the support material for the presentations;

where appropriate, adapt the documentation and other material for the course participants;

establish the criteria and procedures for assessing each course.

The duration of this possible preparatory phase will be decided at the appropriate time bearing in mind that the new trainers will attend all the training courses and manual updates. The duration of this phase must not exceed 6 weeks after the contract has been signed. Once they have been authorised to deliver the training courses, the trainers will receive formal accreditation from the Commission departments concerned (see also 3.3.1 on the organisation of the accreditation sessions).

The contractor shall bear the costs of all the work relating to this preparatory phase.

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3.2.2. Delivery of the courses

This section refers to the existing training courses (already designed and tested) for staff using the Commission's main internal financial information systems (chiefly ABAC, SAM and SAP).

The contractor will also check in advance the availability of the training rooms and reserve them, together with the relevant departments of the contracting authorities. The contractor will also prepare the rooms and PCs. He will provide the participants with the necessary course materials and ensure that the trainers' knowledge is updated and that the content of the courses to be delivered has been updated to take into account any developments in the application in question since the last training session.

With regard to delivery of the courses, the remuneration to the contractor will be on the basis of only one accredited trainer (see procedure in point 3.3.1) per training session. New trainers should at first be accompanied or supervised by more experienced trainers. This task will be the responsibility of the contractor and will be conducted at his expense, particularly in view of the fact that it forms part of the quality requirements for this contract. As a general rule, the training provided will be invoiced at a rate that will include all the necessary investments (including practical tasks) that must be made by the contractor in order to ensure high-quality training.

Training activities (and other development activities) will be provided in accordance with the arrangements decided on during the preparation phase, if any. The first presentation of each activity will be a pilot. The contracting authorities may request modifications based on the reactions to this pilot. All the documentation or material prepared for the participants accepted during the preparation phase will be provided by the contractor in electronic format.

Continuing assessment will be carried out throughout the contract term and the contractor must make any adaptations considered to be necessary by the contracting authorities. The latter will be responsible for assessing the overall achievement of the objectives.

The contractor will be responsible for the assessment of the way in which the courses are provided (content, process and methods), to which end he will provide periodic analyses (statistics concerning the number of participants, reactions to the courses, main questions and concerns) in a format specified by the contracting authorities. The main objective of this assessment is to improve the content and educational aspects of the courses, independently of any other type of assessment of training quality that may be conducted by the contracting authorities.

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3.2.3. Updating of the courses and course materials

The contractor will also be responsible for updating the existing courses (see Annex 7) to take account both of developments in computer applications (releases, implementation of new modules, new functions, etc.) and of changes in financial regulations that may have an impact on the course content and the treatment of transactions. These updates may relate either to the content and nature of the course materials or to the methods used to deliver the courses. They may also be made in response to needs or to remedy shortcomings detected when delivering the courses.

To ensure that the contractor can carry out this task properly, he will be put in touch with the main contact persons designated in the contracting authorities. He will ensure that he is aware of planned developments, whether technical or regulatory, in order to update the courses as quickly as possible if required.

The updates may be either routine or in-depth, requiring complete revision and/or at least partial restructuring of the course content. Routine updates, except in duly substantiated exceptional cases, will not require work orders. For in-depth updates, contractual matters relating to any work orders will be analysed on a case-by-case basis taking account of the scope of the updates.

The contractor will be responsible for initiating and carrying out routine updates, which should be done as quickly as possible. Each time a course is updated, the modified version should be sent to the relevant Commission departments in electronic format, indicating in detail the changes made.

With regard to in-depth updates, the Commission will decide which updates or modifications are necessary. It will send the contractor a specific request specifying the changes to be made, to which the contractor will reply with an offer indicating the number of staff days needed to carry out this task. This offer should be submitted to the Commission for approval.

3.2.4. Design of new courses or new course materials

3.2.4.1. General principles

It may be necessary to create new courses or revise certain existing courses to meet specific needs in certain cases such as the launching of new financial applications, recasting of management procedures, changes in the financial regulation, the emergence of specific needs of certain target groups, or any other event with a significant impact on the management of financial, budgetary and/or accounting transactions.

In such cases the contractor may be asked to create new courses (i.e. prepare the training concept, prepare and deliver the new training courses and update the course materials).

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Although, at this stage, the general training policy is to deliver the courses in the traditional manner in classrooms (for 10 people equipped with PCs), new training initiatives have been taken in order to enhance the impact of the training or make it more accessible or effective, in particular by developing e-learning modules (see details in 3.2.4.2 below). In addition, other activities (e.g. tele-training, production of interactive CDs, etc.) could be used in the future.

If necessary, the contractor may be asked to produce the new materials for these courses.

Should such new training methods or materials be requested, the phases of the procedure will be as follows:

Needs analysis

The contractor, in liaison with the staff responsible of the contracting authorities, will:

analyse specific needs as requested from time to time by the Commission and present the findings in the form of a brief written report;

propose training and development actions to meet the needs identified, in the form of brief written course descriptions (specifying, where necessary, types of course materials to be used, learning structure and/or course objectives and methods).

Preparation

For each new activity of this kind, the contractor, in liaison with the staff of the contracting authorities, will:

set out in writing the specific learning objectives;

define the appropriate learning methods;

draw up the course programme and the scope of the supporting materials;

prepare the course documentation and other material for the participants;

prepare the course documentation and other material for all end users;

identify specific trainers;

prepare all the training materials, including audiovisual (including, where necessary, graphic design and prototypes), if appropriate;

prepare evaluation forms.

Provision and evaluation of the new courses

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The contractor will be remunerated on the basis of only one accredited trainer (see procedure in point 3.3.1) per training session. The procedure to be followed for this phase will be that described in point 3.2.2 above.

Subsequent updating of the new courses and course materials

The procedure to be followed for this phase will be that described in point 3.2.3 above.

3.2.4.2. E-learning

Since 2009 new financial training supports have been developed in the form of e-learning modules.

The current objective of these modules is not to replace the hands-on courses in classrooms but to offer the financial players the means of enhancing, perfecting or developing the training they have received in the classroom. At this stage, these modules are designed to:

– cover specific aspects which cannot be covered in depth in the standard hands-on courses because of the small number of participants interested in these aspects and/or the need to adhere to the general timetable of the hands-on courses; or

– or offer participants tools to refresh the knowledge acquired in the classroom, for example by developing sets of exercises.

Annex 7(3) contains a list of the modules which it is planned to make available by the end of 2011.

Other specific modules along these lines may be offered in the future in order to enhance the training available to more limited target groups, such as the staff of the agencies or delegations.

The success of these new tools will determine the extent to which they are developed in the future. On this basis, appropriate tailor-made technical solutions enabling easy, structured and efficient access for users, as well as follow-up and evaluation, may be considered with the possible collaboration of the contractor.

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3.2.5. Updating of the user documentation

In addition to delivering the courses and updating the training materials, the contractor may also be asked to develop and/or update the user documentation for all the financial applications to which the training relates. User documentation is understood to mean manuals, step-by-step guides and quick reference cards or any other aid that may be needed to help users of the application. Such updates will be needed, in particular, when the Commission implements new versions of computer applications.

For this type of work the contracting authorities will send the contractor a specific request specifying the changes to be made, to which the contractor will reply with an offer indicating the number of staff days needed to carry out this task. This offer should be submitted to the contracting authorities for approval.

3.3. Specific provisions concerning training organised by the Commission, the Agencies or the other Institutions

3.3.1. Trainers

It should be pointed out that the training courses provided should be considered to form a coherent whole, which should include the user documentation.

It should also be emphasised that the contracting authorities expect the training provided to be of very high quality. In 2010, 95% of participants of the Commission's ABAC and similar courses assessed these courses as good (46%) or very good (49%). The contractor will be expected to maintain or improve on this high level of satisfaction.

It is particularly important for the trainers to demonstrate, before they start to deliver the courses that they have sufficient knowledge of the general organisation of the European institutions, with reference to the current financial regulations, as well as of procedural aspects of financial, accounting and budgetary operations. It should be stressed that the financial training courses to be given should not be considered as being limited merely to teaching the functions of a particular software or module. Their scope is much broader than this, since they are designed for all types of financial players in all types of DGs or entities, handling a wide range of cases. Trainers must therefore have sufficient knowledge, if not of all the operating features of each and every area, at least to enable them to give guidance to participants and answer, in sufficient depth, the numerous specific questions which arise in these courses in relation to everyday work. Trainers will therefore require general knowledge of all the systems. They must be able to reply to all questions on how to use the tools of the financial information system to tackle the problems of application of the financial regulations. Knowledge of both aspects is therefore essential. From the preparatory phase onwards (see point 3.2.1) the trainers will have access to all the

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current and historical information necessary in order to take on and carry out their tasks. They may also attend the courses already being provided by the contracting authorities.

The Commission intends to organise accreditation sessions for trainers to enable them to demonstrate the qualities referred to above. A maximum of 6 weeks will be allowed for preparation of candidate trainers for these sessions (covering delivery of the courses, timing, documents to be produced, subjects to be presented) by the relevant Commission departments together with the contractor. These sessions, which will last half a day at most, will be at the contractor's expense. During the sessions, the candidate trainer will present part of a course, previously specified, before a panel of representatives of the contracting authorities concerned. The representatives will then give their opinion of the teaching skills and specialised and general knowledge of the trainee candidates. The decision, together with conditions and/or recommendations, where appropriate, will then be sent to the contractor.

The Commission will place accredited trainers on the authorised list. Should the performance (as defined above) of an accredited trainer fail to meet or no longer meet the initial requirements at a future date, the contractor may be obliged to remove the trainer from the course programming. If necessary, the Commission may organise a new accreditation session for the trainer in question.

It is therefore essential for all the trainers responsible for delivering the financial training to work at all times as members of a team. It is particularly important to ensure rapid and effective communication between trainers and supervision and guidance of new trainers by those with experience. Tenderers must take all these considerations into account in their bids.

3.3.2. Planning of the courses

(Please note that this paragraph does not represent a commitment on the part of the Commission). The parties will draw up a programme of courses and preparatory actions for a period of several months, normally six. The programme will specify the content of the courses and actions, their duration, the dates on which they are to take place, the number of participants and the cost. Specific programmes may be drawn up in the same way for the agencies and the other institutions.

The parties will take a final decision on all the information not later than four weeks prior to the date on which the training is to take place. The contractor will then specify the course timetable and undertake to adhere to this timetable. If the programme is disrupted by one of the parties that party will endeavour to find an equivalent solution.

Should a trainer have to be replaced because he is unable to attend or owing to another event for which the contractor is responsible, the

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contractor must obtain formal agreement from the contracting authorities. For more details, see the relevant articles of the draft contract.

3.3.3. General rules and confidentiality

Given the nature of the training, it is likely that the contractor may be called upon to discuss with the participants matters directly relating to the working of the contracting authorities. The contractor is bound to treat any such information in confidence.

3.3.4. IT environment

The contracting authorities will have full ownership of the IT environments and software specifically designed for and used by them.

When working in the premises of the contracting authorities, the staff providing these services will use only the standard software packages used in the DG or department concerned. No other software may be installed or used without the written agreement of the contracting authorities.

The contractor will provide all deliverables in the form and format specified in the order form and will ensure that they are integrated into the target IT environment. The contractor will also be responsible for maintaining the content of all the IT training environments, particularly the information used as a basis to deliver the courses, and for updating these environments when new releases are implemented.

3.3.5. Learning structure and method

The concepts to be implemented must guarantee maximum effectiveness in terms of learning and subsequent transfer of knowledge in the workplace. The planned activities will require certain learning structures and methods. Training courses will be delivered essentially through traditional classroom-based learning in groups of 10 people, practical sessions using the computers, individual training and training in small groups.

In addition, along the lines of the initiative already taken with regard to e-learning modules, the tenderers may propose, or may be asked to propose, any other learning structures and methods such as e-learning, case studies, simulations, reading materials, etc. which they consider appropriate. In all cases, tenderers must demonstrate in their tender that they have the capacity to choose and use appropriate modern methods in the design and delivery of the type of training and development in question.

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3.3.6. Languages

The training will be given in separate but identical French and English versions. All documentation and other materials and supports for participants should be available in these two languages.

If the need arises, the contractor may be asked to prepare or deliver a course and/or supply documentation in another EU language.

3.4. Specific provisions concerning documentation produced for the contracting authorities

All the documentation produced under this contract shall be considered to have been drawn up specifically for the contracting authorities. These entities will have sole copyright to all this documentation.

The tenderers are asked to indicate in their tender whether they intend to use source documentation other than that provided by the contracting authorities. If so, they should supply a detailed list of their nature and purpose.

3.5. Target audience

The services to be provided under this contract are intended for all the staff of the contracting authorities using the numerous internal information systems covered by the training. This potential audience may be estimated at around 10 000 persons (in recent years the annual number of participants of training courses has been between 3 000 and 4 000). This annual figure is not expected to increase by more than 20% in the future.

The European institutions make up a multicultural and multilingual organisation in which diversity is valued in itself and as a key factor in ensuring organisational effectiveness. It follows that although efforts will be made at all times to ensure that the groups of participants are structured and uniform, it must be borne in mind that some groups may be made up of people with diverse levels of financial knowledge. The courses offered are intended for both experts and beginners, i.e. both for recent arrivals with limited knowledge of the regulations and/or of the financial information systems, and for experienced financial players used to handling complex and exceptional situations, whatever their knowledge of computer systems. Trainers must be prepared to respond to queries calling into question the rules or the design of the user software. They must endeavour as far as possible to give satisfactory explanations while emphasising at all times the need to apply the rules and use the software correctly and, if necessary, providing feedback to the IT developers and/or the departments responsible for drawing up the financial regulations.

Similarly, trainers should bear in mind the rank and/or workload of certain participants so as to be aware of the time constraints imposed on them by attendance at the courses. They should as far as possible display patience and understanding of the circumstances of each participant. Evidently this respect must be mutual and the trainers cannot be expected to have the same knowledge of all areas as the participants. In their explanations, trainers should demonstrate familiarity with the specific use of the financial

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information systems. Any problem going beyond the scope of their role or competence should be passed on to DG Budget.

In addition, when designing and delivering the training, it is necessary to take account of the fact that most people will follow the activities in languages other than their mother tongue.

Lastly, the institutions have a long-established policy of equal opportunities at work for men and women.

It is therefore essential for general and specific questions of diversity to be clearly taken into consideration when designing and presenting the training activities that are the subject of this tender.

The tenders should indicate clearly how these aspects are to be handled.

4. DURATION AND TIMETABLE

The current contract expires on 31 March 2012. Orders may therefore be made under this contract until the expiry date. To ensure a smooth transition, these orders may be for training to be delivered until the end of 2012 or beyond. However, any order to be performed after 31 March 2012 will come under the new contract.

This contract is expected to be awarded in the first quarter of 2012. In this case, provision of the training and development activities could begin in the second quarter of 2012. This timetable is provisional and does not represent a commitment on the part of the contracting authorities.

The contract will cover an initial period of one year from the date of signature and will be renewable for three further periods of one year each. The Commission must give official notification in the event of renewal of the contract.

The Commission explicitly reserves the right not to renew the contract.

5. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Classroom training for staff of the Commission and of the executive agencies will be organised chiefly in the Commission's premises in Brussels and Luxembourg. However, orders may be made for training to be delivered at other Commission sites. In these cases, the cost of travel and subsistence incurred by the Contractor will be reimbursed in line with Commission policy (see Articles I.3.4 and II.18 and Annex VI to the draft contract in Annex 1).

For staff of the Community agencies, depending on specific needs and constraints, classroom training will be organised either in the Commission's premises or in specific premises of the agencies in question, duly equipped. For all classroom training provided in sites other than Brussels or Luxembourg, the cost of travel and subsistence incurred by the Contractor will be reimbursed in line with Commission policy (see Articles I.3.4 and II.18 and Annex VI to the draft contract in Annex 1).

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For staff of the other institutions, classroom training will be organised chiefly in the premises of these institutions. However, requests may be made for training at other sites. In these cases, the cost of travel and subsistence incurred by the Contractor will be reimbursed in line with Commission policy (see Articles I.3.4 and II.18 and Annex VI to the draft contract in Annex 1).

Classroom training may also be organised in premises made available by the contractor to the contracting authorities at the contractor's expense.

Orders must indicate the place in which the work must be performed.

Project, follow-up or evaluation meetings will normally be held in the premises of the contracting authorities at the above-mentioned sites.

Preparation, updating and modification of course documentation or material will be carried out chiefly in the offices of the contracting authorities in Brussels. A suitable office will be made available to the contractor for this purpose at the Brussels site. If the need arises and if there are specific requests from entities located at a distance, some preparation meetings may be held at other sites. In these cases too, the cost of travel and subsistence incurred by the Contractor will be reimbursed in line with Commission policy (see Annex VI to the draft contract in Annex 1).

6. INDICATIVE VOLUME OF WORK

The figures below are provisional and do not represent a commitment on the part of the Commission, the agencies or the other institutions.

By way of an indication, in the 30-month period between April 2008 and December 2010 the following work was performed under the framework contract currently in force in the European institutions:

1. Commission and executive agencies:

- 2 849 days of training

- 657 days of documentation updates

- 1 082 days of preparation / design

2. Community Agencies:

- 594 days of training

- 11 days of documentation updates

- 94 days of preparation / design

3. Other institutions:

- 165 days of training

- 7 days of documentation updates

- 32 days of preparation / design17

This represents a total of 3 608 days of training, 1208 days of design and 675 days of updating, i.e. a total of 5 491 days.

For the (maximum) period covered by the future framework contract for 2012 to 2016, it is estimated that the number of days' work per year to be ordered by the Commission, the agencies and the other institutions will be higher than for the current period. Taking into account the current estimations and forecasts, this means that the maximum volume under this contract cannot exceed 11 000 days. The distribution of this volume of days among training, design and updating work, or among the contracting authorities, has not yet been determined, but it is expected that the proportion of this volume to be ordered by the agencies and the other institutions will be greater than in the past. The figures for the preceding period are given merely as a guideline. The only definitive figure established for this contract is the maximum volume of 11 000 days. In addition, it should be pointed out that the percentage of ABAC, SAM and SAP courses is not fixed either.

Updates of the courses and user documentation will not be constant over time but will be required on occasion to take account of changes in systems, new rules, etc. With regard solely to course materials, tenderers can assume that over a period of one year or more, around 20 days of updating will be required for every 100 days of training proper (this does not represent a commitment on the part of the contracting authorities). At this stage it is difficult to predict the volume of work with regard to user documentation (a specific order will be made for each task of this kind).

It is also difficult at this stage to predict the volume of work with regard to design of new courses or development of new training techniques (a specific order will be made for each task of this kind).

Please note that until now the vast majority of the courses delivered have related to ABAC, except for the modules on ABAC Assets. The courses on ABAC Assets and SAM are a series of specific courses for specific target audiences with a relatively small volume (some of the courses on ABAC Assets are given by external and others by internal trainers). The SAP courses are relatively few in number, although they may develop both technically and in volume.

7. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND PROVISIONS CONCERNING ORDERS, FOLLOW-UP TO ACTIVITIES, AND ARRANGEMENTS CONCERNING PAYMENT AND PENALITIES

7.1. General procedures

For each type of work to be performed, the main phases of the general procedure are as follows:

– request for work to the contractor from the contracting authorities;

– reply from the contractor accompanied by a technical and financial tender for the specific services;

– validation (after any necessary adjustments) of the tender, then a specific order by the contracting authorities for the work in question;

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– submission of the deliverables and/or performance of the work by the contractor;

– validation of the work (after any necessary adjustments) by the contracting authorities.

To facilitate management and communication, the contractor will appoint a project leader at the outset and for the duration of all phases of the work. This project leader will be the primary point of contact for the contracting authorities and will meet on a regular basis with the staff responsible throughout the duration of the project. The contracting authorities will establish the timetable for these meetings, which in principle will be held monthly and will last on average for half a day. The contractor will not invoice or be reimbursed for any of the expenses relating to these meetings, which will be held in the premises of the contracting authorities.

Tenderers should take particular note of the provisions of the framework contract in Annex I applicable to this contract, especially those on prices (Article I.3), payments (Article I.4), conflict of interests (Article II.3) and confidentiality (Article II.9).

In particular, the contractor must perform this contract to the highest professional standards.

The contractor will have sole responsibility for complying with all legal obligations incumbent on him, notably those arising from employment law, tax law and social legislation.

The Contractor may neither represent the contracting authorities nor behave in any way that would give such an impression. The contractor must inform third parties that he does not belong to the European public service, but is exercising the tasks on behalf of the contracting authorities.

The contractor will be solely responsible for the staff providing the services, who may not be placed in a position of subordination to the contracting authorities.

7.2. Orders

A specific order must be made for each type of work (delivery of courses, design of new courses, in-depth updates of training materials, updates of user documentation, development of new training techniques, etc.) indicating in detail the services required and the deadline for delivery.

Under the proposed contract, the contracting authorities concerned will be able to issue such orders based on their own needs. Please note that with regard to the standard courses in the Commission's central training catalogue, orders for delivery of courses are, in principle, issued by the Commission's Directorate-General for Human Resources, whereas orders for design and updating work are issued by the Commission's Directorate-General for the Budget. This procedure will almost certainly be retained under the new contract.

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The contractor must reply with an offer indicating the number of staff days needed and the cost of the services. This offer must be submitted for approval of the entities ordering the services concerned.

For further details see also Annex 1 to the specific provisions in the framework contract (Article I.4) and the model order form (Annex I.b. to the framework contract).

7.3. Activity reports and methods of payment

Each month, and at latest by the 15th of the following month, the contractor will submit an updated report on all the activities in progress ordered under this contract. In particular, for each contracting authority concerned, the contractor should report on the state of play of current orders (orders submitted, orders signed, work performed, invoices sent, payments made) and the progress made in implementing the training programme with respect to planning. The practical provisions concerning the format and addressees of this report will be specified in due course.

In addition, each order may if necessary be accompanied by a request for a specific activity report by the contractor. In this case, the contracting authorities will specify on a case-by-case basis the content of the reports requested.

Performance of the contract will involve neither prefinancing, nor interim payments, but only final payments, as set out in the detailed rules attached to the contract (see Annex 1). Payments will be made after approval of the invoices and/or, where applicable, of the activity reports, in accordance with the conditions specified in the draft contract attached in Annex 1.

7.4. Penalities

Any failure on the part of the contractor to provide the specified services by the stipulated deadline will result in the penalties specified in the framework service contract (Annex 1 and, in particular, Article I.13). This applies in particular to cancellation of an activity due to the unavailability of a designated trainer (who cannot be replaced by another accredited trainer).

8. PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE TENDERS

8.1. Participation in the tendering procedure

8.1.1. General principles

Participation in this tendering procedure is open on equal terms to all natural and legal persons coming within the scope of the treaties and to all natural and legal persons in a third country which has a special agreement with the Communities in the field of public procurement subject to the conditions laid down in that agreement.

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8.1.2. Consortiums, groups of providers and subcontracting

Joint bids or bids from consortia may be organised at the discretion of the tenderers. In such case, one of the members must be designated as the lead contractor and agent responsible.

NB: If a joint bid is submitted, the documents relating to the exclusion and selection criteria referred to in points 8.4.1. and 8.4.2 below must be provided by each of the economic operators participating in it.

Tenderers submitting joint bids are asked to describe how their cooperation will be organised in order to achieve the desired results. This organisation has to cover the technical as well as the administrative/financial issues. The Commission must be provided with a single access point to all the participants, via a functional mailbox.

If the contract is awarded in response to a joint bid, the Commission may require the constitution of a consortium, all members of which will be jointly and severally liable to the Commission.

In any event, such bids will be treated in the same way as any other type of bid, each being assessed on its own merits in relation to the criteria and the evaluation procedure set out in this specification.

Any intention to subcontract part of the contract must be clearly stated in the tender (see point 8.4.2.(6)). Tenderers must indicate the indicative percentage of the contract they intend to subcontract and the identity of the partners they intend to work with, and clearly state the nature of their links to those partners.

8.2. Information and documentation available

To help tenderers to prepare their bids, summarised information can be found in the annexes on:

– the IT architecture of the Commission's current financial information systems (Annex 6);

– current financial training at the Commission (Annex 7).

In addition, a DVD with detailed information on the IT architecture of the Commission's financial information systems and a detailed description of each course can be supplied to tenderers who request it by post or email to the mailbox BUDG-11-PO-005@ec.europa.eu

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8.3. Prices

Prices must be quoted in EUR.

Prices should be quoted free of all duties and taxes, as the European Union is exempt from customs duties, indirect taxes and other charges under Articles 3 and 4 of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities. VAT should be indicated separately.

Each tender must cover all the tasks that are the subject of this invitation to tender. Bidding for only some of the tasks is not allowed and will lead to the exclusion of the tender.

Tenderers must provide unit prices per day for each type of service, i.e.:

– delivery of the courses;

– updating of course materials or user documentation;

– design of new courses / new course materials / new documentation / new training methods, etc.

For each of these tasks, the unit prices must be fixed and include all costs (project management, quality control, training of the contractor's staff, support resources, administrative costs, etc.) incurred directly and indirectly by the contractor in performance of the tasks entrusted to him. In particular, unit prices for services provided on the contractor’s premises and in other locations in Brussels and Luxembourg must also include travel and accommodation costs.

In addition, the unit prices must include all the expenses involved in the practical preparation of the supporting materials, in particular printing, reproduction and distribution of these materials to the participants. The contractor may not bill specifically for printing or reproducing course materials.

Price indexation will conform to the provisions of Article I.3.3 of the model framework contract in Annex 1.

NB: Only travel and accommodation costs incurred by the contractor when called by the Commission, an agency or another institution to a site outside Brussels or Luxembourg will be reimbursed, on the basis of Article II.18 of the framework contract.

8.4. Procedure for evaluating tenderers and tenders

Tenderers and their tenders will be evaluated in stages as follows:

(1) exclusion of tenderers in the cases listed in point 8.4.1 below;

(2) selection of tenderers on the basis of the selection criteria listed in point 8.4.2 below;

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(3) technical and financial evaluation of the tenders on the basis of the award procedure and criteria described in point 8.4.3 below;

(4) the award of the contract.

NB: Tenders must meet the requirements of each stage in order to be admitted to the next stage of the evaluation procedure.

8.4.1. Exclusion

Tenderers are excluded from participation in this contract if:

(1)they are bankrupt or being wound up, are having their affairs administered by the courts, have entered into an arrangement with creditors, have suspended business activities, are the subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or are in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations;

(2)they have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgment which has the force of res judicata;

(3)they have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the contracting authority can justify;

(4)they have not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which they are established or with those of the country of the contracting authority or those of the country where the contract is to be performed;

(5)they have been the subject of a judgment which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any other illegal activity detrimental to the Communities' financial interests;

(6)following another procurement procedure or grant award procedure financed by the Community budget, they have been declared to be in serious breach of contract for failure to comply with their contractual obligations.

Tenderers are also excluded from the award procedure if they:

(7)are subject to a conflict of interests;

(8)have been guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required as a condition of participation in the contract procedure or have failed to supply this information.

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NB: Tenderers must enclose a declaration on their honour stating that none of the above situations apply and a declaration stating that they are not subject to any conflicts of interest (see model declaration form in Annex 5). The successful tenderer will be asked to provide evidence that none of the above situations apply. If this evidence is not provided to the Commission within the two weeks following the request, the Commission reserves the right to exclude the tenderer in question and award the contract to the next tenderer on the list. The following will be admitted as evidence:

- for points (1), (2) or (5) above, an original of an extract from the 'judicial record' or, failing this, of an equivalent document issued recently by a competent judicial or administrative authority in the country of origin or provenance showing that these requirements have been met.

- for point (4) above, the original of a recent certificate issued by the competent authority of the State concerned.

Where the document or certificate referred to above is not issued in the country concerned and for the other cases of exclusion referred to in points (3) and (6) above, it may be replaced by a sworn or, failing that, a solemn statement made by the interested party before a judicial or administrative authority, a notary or a qualified professional body in his country of origin or provenance.

8.4.2. Selection

The procedure for the selection of tenderers is intended to assess their economic, financial, technical and professional capacity.

To this end, all tenders submitted must include the following information:

(1) full name of the organisation, legal status, VAT status, address, telephone number, fax number and functional e-mail address, person authorised to sign on behalf of the organisation, bank details and address; The information sheet to be filled in by the tenderer, can be downloaded at:

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/legal_entities/legal_entities_en.cfm

(2) proof of enrolment in the relevant professional or trade register, as required in the country in which the tenderer is established;

(3) list of the main services provided over the last three years in relation to the subject of the tender (financial, accounting and IT training), stating the amount, the date and the recipients, whether public or private, of the services provided:

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if supplied to contracting authorities, evidence must be provided in the form of certificates issued or countersigned by the competent authority;

if supplied to private purchasers, provision of service must be certified by the purchaser, or failing this, simply declared by the tenderer to have been provided; Tenderers must also provide evidence of a minimum of 800 days worked and four training actions in the last three years.

(4) educational and professional qualifications of the trainers and of the project leader responsible for providing the services.

Trainers will be proposed on the basis of their professional experience and their proven track record. The trainers proposed must provide evidence of at least three years' training experience in the specific areas concerned and of a thorough command of English and/or French.

For the "trainer" profiles, the tenderer must provide at least 10 candidates who meet all the minimum requirements set out in Annex 3.1 to the specifications.

For the "project leader" profile, the tenderer must provide at least one person who meets all the minimum requirements set out in Annex 3.2 to the specifications.

Detailed CVs must be provided in all cases, using the model CV in Annex 4 to the specifications.

(5) a series of documents demonstrating the contractor's expertise in the following specific areas:

- accounting knowledge: advantages and shortcomings of the accrual accounting system in the public sector (maximum 3 pages)

- knowledge of European financial regulations: a summary of the key points (maximum 5 pages)

- IT knowledge: description / analysis (with advantages and shortcomings) of an accounting or financial software package (maximum 5 pages)

the number of pages specified in each case is the maximum permitted. Documents exceeding these limits will only be evaluated up to the maximum numbers of pages indicated above.

(6) identification of the part of the contract which the service provider may intend to award to subcontractors; in this case, contractors should give details of the organisations to which

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they intend to sub-contract work and the quality controls they intend to implement with the sub-contractors.

(7) balance sheets or extracts from balance sheets for at least the last two years for which accounts have been closed, where publication of the balance sheet is required under the company law of the country in which the economic operator is established;

(8) a statement of overall turnover and turnover in respect of the services to which the contract relates for the previous three financial years. Please note that to be selected, candidates must provide evidence that their minimum annual turnover specifically in respect of training delivery and design is at least €2 800 000.

The criteria set out in points (2) to (6) above are intended to evaluate the tenderer's technical capacity. The evaluation committee will carry out a qualitative and comparative evaluation of all the documents submitted. If, on the basis of this evaluation, the tenderer is judged to lack the technical capacity to implement the contract satisfactorily, his tender will be rejected.

The criteria set out in points (7) and (8) above are intended to evaluate the tenderer's financial capacity. A financial and/or comparative evaluation will be made of all the information provided. If, on the basis of this evaluation, the tenderer is judged to lack the financial capacity to implement the contract satisfactorily, his tender will be rejected.

8.4.3. Technical and financial evaluation of the tenders

8.4.3.1. Technical evaluation

The quality of the tender will be awarded points out of 100.

Tenders will be evaluated on the basis of the following award criteria:

(1) technical quality of the tender in respect of the subject matter, the objective to be attained and the aspects to be taken into account (50 points). Tenderers are also asked to present their general financial computer training concept and their specific vision of the use of e-learning to teach application functions.

(2) reliability and efficiency of the tools, procedures and quality plan proposed to ensure and verify the quality and monitoring of the services rendered (30 points). Tenderers should pay particular attention to the following: the proposed qualitative evaluation procedures for both trainers and courses, approach for ensuring maximum effectiveness in view of the various target audiences, feedback procedures for

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improving the courses, methods of training trainers and new trainers, procedures for identifying and recruiting new trainers.

(3) Proposed methodology for the organisation and provision of the services, including the organisation of relations with the competent Commission services (20 points). Tenderers should pay particular attention to the following: organisation of the team and types of backup proposed, organisation proposed for responding to particular needs, in particular those of the agencies and other institutions, procedures for acquiring and maintaining the necessary expertise, methods for updating course materials, proposed approach for updating the user documentation, competences and possible approaches to be taken in the area of tele-training or e-learning.

No points will be awarded if satisfactory information is not provided on these matters in the tender.

The numbers of points in brackets indicate the maximum score that can be attributed to each individual criterion.

Tenders which do not obtain at least 50% of the maximum score for each award criterion and at least 66% of the overall score for all the criteria will not be admitted to the next stage of the evaluation procedure.

8.4.3.2. Financial evaluation

The value of the tender taken into account in order to determine the financially most advantageous tender will be the total price of the evaluation scenario specified in Annex 2.

This evaluation scenario is based on unit prices and takes into account an annual estimated workload which is purely indicative.

Tenderers' attention is drawn to the fact that the sole objective of each evaluation scenario is to provide a fair, non-discriminatory basis for comparing the financial bids. They can in no case be considered to represent a commitment on the part of the Commission to make orders for the services and quantities indicated. They can therefore give rise to no expectation or legitimate right on the part of the contractor.

The financial value of the tenders that pass the quality evaluation will be determined by calculating the price index as follows:

Cost of the lowest offer (according to the scenario referred to above) / Cost of the offer being evaluated (according to the scenario referred to above) x 100.

8.4.4. Award

The contract shall be awarded to the tender offering the best quality/price ratio, with a 2/3 - 1/3 (two-thirds – one-third) weighting between technical quality and financial value.

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The weighting is thus obtained by multiplying:

– the result of the technical evaluation (number of points / see point 8.4.3.1) by 2/3 (two-thirds)

– the result of the financial evaluation (price index / see point 8.4.3.2) by 1/3 (one-third)

The two results will be added together and the contract will be awarded to the tender obtaining the highest score at the end of this process.

8.5. Submission of tenders

Please note that each tender must cover all the tasks that are the subject of this invitation to tender. Bidding for only some of the tasks is not allowed and will lead to the exclusion of the tender.

In particular, in the description of tasks, tenderers must follow the structure given in point 3.

Tenders must:

(1) include all the information, documents and certificates required in these specifications to permit verification of possible grounds for exclusion (see point 8.4.1), analysis of tenderers' capacity on the basis of the selection criteria (see point 8.4.2) and evaluation of the tenders on the basis of the award criteria (see point 8.4.3);

(2) include all information on prices, in accordance with point 8.3 below.

In particular, for the financial offers tenderers must use the form provided in Annex 2.

NB: The form must be completed in full. Any incomplete bid will be excluded from the evaluation procedure.

(3) include the Quality Plan they propose to implement in performing the services that are the subject of the tender.

Tenderers must specify in their proposed Quality Plan how they intend to control and ensure high quality and effective monitoring of the services and works they may be required to supply to the Commission throughout the period of execution of the contract.The proposed Quality Plan will specify, among other things:

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the various procedures the tenderer intends to implement and the indicators that will be used to ensure the quality and monitoring of the services rendered;

management and training policy, in particular in relation to the procedures for:

o selecting the trainers and project leader;

o keeping trainers and the project leader informed about the mission and enabling them to acquire and/or update the necessary general and technical knowledge;

o ensuring effective supervision and communication within the training team;

o ensuring an appropriate hand-over of knowledge in the event of changes of trainers or project leader.

the procedures the tenderer intends to use to gather and process indicators of performance and client satisfaction and any complaints received;

quality control and assurance / management of complaints;

the procedure for updating and adapting changes to the Quality Plan, bearing in mind that any such updating and adaptation must have the Commission's prior approval.

All expenses incurred in producing and implementing the Quality Plan will be borne in full by the contractor;

(4) clearly designate the project leader. In particular, in the event of a contract being awarded, the project leader will be the Commission's contact point, the sole person to whom it will address any requests. The project leader must attend the follow-up meetings. The project leader must propose answers and solutions to the Commission regarding both the subject of the contract and organisational or administrative matters (including problems related to invoicing and payment), and must implement them once the Commission has approved them.

(5) take account of the fact that the work done under the framework contract by the service provider for the Commission departments must as far as possible be re-used for other departments of the Commission, the agencies or the other institutions in order to achieve economies of scale.

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Variants are not permitted.

Expenses incurred in respect of the preparation and presentation of tenders are non-refundable.

Fulfilment of the conditions of the call for tenders imposes no obligation on the Commission to award the contract.

Initiation of a tendering procedure imposes no obligation on the Commission to award the contract.

The Commission shall not be liable for any compensation with respect to tenderers whose tenders have not been accepted. Nor will they be so liable if it decides not to award the contract.

All the documents submitted by tenderers become the property of the Commission. Such documents will be considered confidential, as set out in Article I.9 of the framework contract.

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ANNEXES: List of documents

1. Draft framework contract and annexes

2. Financial offer and financial evaluation scenario

3. Description of the minimum requirements for the staff proposed by tenderers to perform the tasks covered by the contracts

3.1. Trainers

3.2. Project leader

4. Model CV

5. Declaration concerning the absence of conflicts of interest (this document must be included in the tender)

6. Information on the financial systems

7. Information on existing training

8. Check-list of documents to be provided by tenderers

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ANNEX 1

DRAFT FRAMEWORK SERVICE CONTRACT

Draft framework contract and annexes:

Annex I: (a) General conditions

(b) Model Specific Contract

Annex II: Tender specifications

Annex III: Contractor's tender

Annex IV: List of associated agencies and contacts

Annex V: List of other associated institutions and contacts

Annex VI: Mission expenses for courses delivered outside Belgium or Luxembourg

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