EEA/EAS/03/002 - Development of selected agri-environmental indicator fact sheets and support for assessment and reporting under the IRENA operation on the integration of environmental concerns into EU agriculture policy

Call For Tender Published 22 Jul 2003

DK-Copenhagen: development of selected agri-environmental indicator fact sheets and support for assessment and reporting under the IRENA operation on the integration of environmental concerns into EU agriculture policy

2003/S 138-124340

Contract notice

Services

Is this contract covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)? Yes

Section I: Contracting authority
I.	1)	Official name and address of the contracting authority: European Environment Agency, Att: Dr Jan-Erik Petersen, Kongens Nytorv 6, DK-1050 Copenhagen K. Tel.: (45) 33 36 71 50. Fax: (45) 33 36 71 99. E-mail: Jan.Erik.Petersen@eea.eu.int. URL: http://org.eu.int/tenders.
	2)	Address from which further information can be obtained: As in I.1.
	3)	Address from which documentation may be obtained: See Annex A.
	4)	Address to which tenders/requests to participate must be sent: As in I.1.
	5)	Type of contracting authority: Other (EU body).

Section II: Object of the contract
II.	1)	Description
	1.1)	Type of works contract (in case of works contract)
	1.2)	Type of supplies contract (in case of supplies contract)
	1.3)	Type of service contract (in case of service contract): Service category: service.
	1.4)	Is it a framework agreement? No.
	1.5)	Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority: Development of selected agri-environmental indicator fact sheets and support for assessment and reporting under the IRENA operation on the integration of environmental concerns into EU agriculture policy.
	1.6)	Description/object of the contract: See continuation sheet 1 with description 1 with description of the project (background, previous work, call for tender and objectives of the two lots).
	1.7)	Site or location of works, place of delivery or performance: European Environment Agency.
	1.8)	Nomenclature
	1.8.1)	Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)
	1.8.2)	Other relevant nomenclature (CPA/NACE/CPC)
	1.9)	Division into lots: Yes. Tenders may be submitted for all lots.
	1.10)	Will variants be accepted (where applicable)
	2)	Quantity or scope of the contract
	2.1)	Total quantity or scope (including all lots and options, if applicable): Lot 1: 250-260 days. Lot 2: 140-150 days.
	2.2)	Options (if applicable). Description and time when they may be exercised (if possible)
	3)	Duration of the contract or time limit for completion

Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.	1)	Conditions relating to the contract
	1.1)	Deposits and guarantees required (if applicable)
	1.2)	Main terms of financing and payment and/or reference to the relevant provisions: General terms and conditions applicable to contracts awarded by the European Environment Agency.
	1.3)	Legal form to be taken by the grouping of suppliers, contractors or service providers to whom the contract is awarded: In case of tenders submitted by consortiums of firms or groups of suppliers/contractors, etc., the consortium or group shall designate one of its members to contract (and be responsible) on its behalf.
	2)	Conditions for participation
	2.1)	Information concerning the personal situation of the contractor, supplier or service provider and information and formalities necessary for the evaluation of the minimum economic, financial and technical capacity required
	2.1.1)	Legal position - means of proof required
	2.1.2)	Economic and financial capacity - means of proof required: Grounds for exclusion: Irrespective of the award procedure used, any contractor may be excluded from participating in a contract if: - he is bankrupt, being wound up or has suspended business activities, his affairs are being administered by the court, he has entered into an arrangement with creditors or similar measures or is the subject of any proceedings of that nature; - he has been convicted of an offence concerning his professional conduct by a judgement which is not open to appeal; - he has been guilty of grave professional misconduct; - he has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or taxes; - he is guilty of serious misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the authorizing department. Potential contractors must certify that they are not in one of the situations listed. Financial and economic standing. Evidence of financial and economic standing may be furnished by one or more of the following references: - statements from bankers, - balance sheets or extracts from balance sheets, - a statement of overall turnover relating to the relevant supplies, works or services.
	2.1.3)	Technical capacity - means of proof required: Evidence of technical and professional competence must be furnished by the following references: - the educational and professional qualifications of the proposed consultants, - a list of relevant contracts provided in the last three years, - a statement of the service provider's average annual manpower and the number of managerial staff for the last three years, - a description of the service measures for ensuring quality, - an indication of the proportion of the contract, which the service provider may intend to subcontract.
	3)	Conditions specific to services contracts
	3.1)	Is provision of the service reserved to a specific profession? No.
	3.2)	Will legal entities be required to state the names and professional qualifications of the personnel responsible for execution of the contract? Yes.

Section IV: Procedure
IV.	1)	Type of procedure: Open.
	1.1)	Have candidates already been selected? (for negotiated procedure only and if applicable)
	1.2)	Justification for the choice of accelerated procedure (if applicable)
	1.3)	Previous publication concerning the same contract (if applicable)
	1.3.1)	Prior information notice concerning the same contract (if applicable)
	1.3.2)	Other previous publications
	1.4)	Envisaged number of suppliers which will be invited to tender (when applicable)
	2)	Award criteria: The most economically advantageous tender in terms of criteria as stated below. Award criteria for lot 1: the contract will be awarded to the most advantageous offer taking into account: - expertise - the consultant's knowledge of European farming systems and their impact on the environment, agro-economic expertise and knowledge of EU statistical data sets as evident from their previous projects and publications/reports; - methodology - the degree to which the methodology and detail of the consultant's work plan shows the capacity to provide the required deliverables; - project management - based on the quality of the team organization and project management procedures, which should be clearly outlined in the tender; and; - understanding - the degree to which tenderers have taken into consideration all the aspects of the tasks required by the contract, such as they appear above, as well as the contents of the deliverables; - value for money - the day rates and the number of working days offered within the maximum budget available. A points system is used to choose the best tender. The distribution of maximum points to each criterion is as follows: - 25 points to 'Expertise', - 35 points to 'Methodology', - 15 points to 'Project Management', - 10 points to 'Understanding', - 15 points to 'Value for Money'. In descending order to priority: no. Award criteria for lot 2: the contract will be awarded to the most advantageous offer taking into account: - expertise - the consultant's knowledge of EU agri-environmental policy and environmental issues linked to farming in the EU15. In addition, the consultant's experience with policy integration analysis and related indicator approaches; - methodology - the degree to which the methodology and detail of the consultant's work plan shows the capacity to provide the required deliverables; - project management - based on the quality of the team organization and project management procedures, which should be clearly outlined in the tender; and; - understanding - the degree to which tenderers have taken into consideration all the aspects of the tasks required by the contract, such as they appear above, as well as the contents of the deliverables; - value for money - the day rates and the number of working days offered within the maximum budget available. A points system is used to choose the best tender. The distribution of maximum of points to each criterion is as follows: - 25 points to 'Expertise', - 35 points to 'Methodology', - 15 points to 'Project Management', - 10 points to 'Understanding', - 15 points to 'Value for Money'. In descending order to priority: no.
	3)	Administrative information
	3.1)	Reference number attributed to the file by the contracting authority: Ref. No EEA/EAS/03/002.
	3.2)	Conditions for obtaining contract document and additional documents: Obtainable until 37 days from the date of publication in OJ.
	3.3)	Time-limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate (depending whether it is an open, restricted or negotiated procedure): 52 days from dispatch of notice.
	3.4)	Dispatch of invitations to tender to selected candidates (in restricted and negotiated procedure)
	3.5)	Language or languages in which tenders or requests to participate can be drawn up: Spanish, Danish, German, Greek, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian and Icelandic.
	3.6)	Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain its tender (in case of an open procedure): 6 months from the deadline stated for receipt of tenders.
	3.7)	Conditions for opening tenders
	3.7.1)	Persons authorized to be present at the opening of tenders: Officials from the agency and financial controller.
	3.7.2)	Date, time and place

Section VI: Other information
VI.	1)	Is this notice a non-mandatory one? No.
	2)	If applicable, indicate whether this procurement is a recurrent one and the estimated timing for further notices to be published
	3)	Does the contract relate to a project/programme financed by EU funds? Yes. The contract is being funded by the IRENA Operation.
	4)	Additional information (if applicable)
	5)	Date of dispatch of this notice: 10.7.2003.

Annex A
I.	2)	Address from which further information can be obtained
	3)	Address from which documentation may be obtained: European Environment Agency, for the attention of Mr Jimmy Flindt, Kongens Nytorv 6, DK-1050 Copenhagen K, tel.: +45 33 36 71 50, fax: +45 33 36 71 51, e-mail: Jimmy.flindt@eea.eu.int, URL: http://org.eea.eu.int/tenders.
	4)	Address to which tenders/requests to participate must be sent

Annex B: information about lots
Lot No 1

1.		Nomenclature
	1)	Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)
	2)	Other relevant nomenclature (CPA/NACE/CPC)
2.		Short description: Development of selected agri-environmental indicator fact sheets and contributions to the IRENA indicator report. Tasks for lot 1 are described in continuation sheet 2.
3.		Scope or quantity: 250-260 days.
4.		Indication about different starting/delivery date (if applicable)

Lot No 2

1.		Nomenclature
	1)	Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)
	2)	Other relevant nomenclature (CPA/NACE/CPC)
2.		Short description: Support for the IRENA indicator-based policy assessment report of the integration of environmental concerns into EU agriculture policy. Tasks for lot 2 are described in continuation sheet 3.
3.		Scope or quantity: 140-150 days.
4.		Indication about different starting/delivery date (if applicable)

Continuation sheet 1
Introduction
Background:
During each of its meetings in Cardiff (June 1998), Vienna (December 1998) and Helsinki (December 1999), the European Council required the Commission to report on the integration of environmental concerns into Community sectoral policies. As a contribution to meeting this requirement for the agricultural sector, it is necessary to develop indicators to monitor such integration, i.e. agri-environmental indicators (AEI). A set of indicators has been identified in the Communication from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament, COM (2000) 20, and this set, and the statistics and other information needed to realise the indicators, was the subject of a further Commission Communication COM (2001) 144.
In response to COM (2000) 20 and COM (2001) 144 a Memorandum of Understanding between DG Agri, DG Env, DG Eurostat, DG JRC and the EEA was signed. The purpose of the Memorandum of Understanding is to specify the basis for cooperation amongst the partners in achieving the common aim of producing and assessing agri-environmental indicators and, in particular:
- to improve, develop and compile a set of agri-environmental indicators at least corresponding to indicators identified in Commission Communication COM(2001)144;
- to develop data sets required for computing such a set of indicators at the appropriate geographical levels in order to undertake regional analyses;
- to produce an assessment of the integration of environmental concerns into EU agricultural policy.
The outcome of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is the IRENA Operation (Indicator Reporting on the Integration of Environmental concerns into Agricultural policy). The IRENA Operation is managed and coordinated by the EEA, building on contributions from all five partners of the MoU. It will result in 1) indicator fact sheets with all technical details for each indicator, 2) an indicator report, providing an environmental assessment of EU15 agriculture based on 35 indicators listed below (Table 1) and grouped by environmental theme, and 3) a policy assessment report linking the indicator output and other material to an overall framework for analysing the integration of environmental concerns into agriculture policy.
The Commission Communications on agri-environmental indicators (COM (2000) 20 and COM (2001) 144) list 35 indicators to be developed and validated (Table 1).
Table 1 - list of agri-environmental indicators COM (2001) 144:
DPSIR; themes; No; EU indicator:
responses:
public policy: 1) Area under agri-environment support, 2) Regional levels of good farming practice, 3) Regional levels of environmental targets, 4) area under nature protection,
market signals: 5.1) organic producer price premiums, 5.2) agricultural income of organic farmers;
technology skills: 6) holders' training levels.
attitudes: 7) area under organic farming;
Driving forces:
Input use: 8) fertilizer consumption, 9) consumption of pesticides, 10) water use (intensity), 11) energy use;
Land use: 12) topological change, 13) cropping/livestock patterns;
Management: 14) management practices;
Trends: 15) intensification/extensification; 16) specialization/diversification; 17) marginalization.
Pressures:
pollution: 18) soil surface nutrient balance; 19) methane (CH4) emissions; 20) pesticide soil contamination; 21) water contamination;
resource depletion: 22) ground water abstraction; 23) soil erosion; 24) land cover change; 25) genetic diversity;
benefits: 26) high nature value (farming) areas; 27) production of renewable energy (by source);
State:
Biodiversity: 28) species richness;
Natural resources: 29) soil quality; 30) nitrates/pesticides in water; 31) ground water levels;
Landscape: 32) landscape state.
Impact:
habitats and biodiversity: 33) impact on habitats and biodiversity;
natural resources: 34.1) share of agriculture in GHG emissions; 34.2) share of agriculture in nitrate contamination; 34.3) share of agriculture in water use;
landscape diversity; 35) impact on landscape diversity.
Previous work:
Work carried out so far has focussed on developing methodology fact sheets for all the 35 COM (2001) 144 indicators. The methodology sheets contain information concerning the description and definition of the indicator; the data sources available for indicator development; a conceptual description of the indicator; limits to the development of the indicator; the tools available for computing the indicator; the proposal for further indicator development; and reference material or websites at the Community and Member States level.
Call for tender
The call for tender is divided into two lots:
lot 1: development of selected agri-environmental indicator fact sheets and contributions to the IRENA indicator report;
lot 2: support for the IRENA indicator-based policy assessment report of the integration of environmental concerns into EU agriculture policy.
If tenderers wish to apply for both lot 1 and lot 2, two separate tenders should be submitted.
Lot 1: development of selected agri-environmental indicator fact sheets and contributions to the IRENA indicator report:
the first objective of lot 1 is to provide support for indicator development and fact sheet writing for a selected number of indicators: No 5 Organic producer price premiums and agricultural income of organic farmers, No 11 Energy use, No 13 cropping/livestock patterns, No 15 intensification/extensification, No 16 specialization/diversification, No 17 marginalization and No 27 production of renewable energy (by source).
A key market response to different types of farming such as organic farming is the price premium (indicator No 5.1) and the income of organic farmers (indicator No 5.2). Available data to elaborate these indicators need to be reviewed and the indicator fact sheets for IRENA reporting need to developed.
Indicators No 11 and No 27 are indicators of agricultural energy use and the production of renewable energy on agriculture holdings. Only limited data sets are currently available to elaborate these indicators. The significance of these indicators for the environmental impact of agriculture, as well as its contribution to renewable energy production, needs to be evaluated.
Indicators No 13, No 15, No 16 and No 17 are agricultural land use or economic trend indicators. To develop and interpret these agri-environmental indicators a typology of agricultural holding needs to be established that is based on key environmental characterictics and the management of farms. An example for a typology that is potentially useful for the purposes of the IRENA operation is a model developed by the European Livestock policy evaluation network (ELPEN). This focuses on grazing livestock systems based on land use, the intensity of farming and the size of production (http://www.macaulay.ac.uk/elpen/index.htm). Related software is available from the network partners. The ELPEN typology or a similar approach needs to be developed to provide a farm typology suitable for the purposes of the IRENA operation, and including livestock, arable, horticulture and permanent crop farming systems.
The second objective of lot 1 is to support the writing of the IRENA indicator report. The IRENA indicator report provides an environmental assessment of EU15 agriculture based on the 35 agri-environment indicator fact sheets. The environmental assessment will be carried out using the DPSIR framework to establish and understand the causal links between indicators by theme. In the case of lot 1 the two relevant environmental assessment themes are:
- energy use in EU15 agriculture (Nos 11 and 27); and,
- farming system changes in EU15 agriculture (Nos 13, 15, 16 and 17).
Lot 2 support for the IRENA indicator-based policy assessment report of the integration of environmental concerns into EU agriculture policy:
the objective for work under lot 2 is to provide support to the IRENA operation in the analytical assessment of agri-environmental policy integration in the EU. This relates to help in the development and application of an analytical framework as well as the writing of the policy assessment report.
Assessment and reporting on the integration of environmental concerns into EU agricultural policy is a major task under the IRENA operation. The following paragraph summarises the text from the IRENA grant agreement on this objective.
Policy assessment indicators will be used to arrive at a systematic and integrated assessment of progress made in the integration of environmental concerns into agricultural policy, as mandated by the Cardiff process. Existing concepts and frameworks, such as the DPSIR assessment scheme, will guarantee a balance between a synthetic overview and the answers to current policy questions. Analysis of environmental policy integration will include the following aspects:
- institutional integration,
- market integration,
- management integration,
- monitoring/reporting progressContinuation sheet 2
Tasks for lot 1: development of selected agri-environmental indicator fact sheets and contributions to the IRENA indicator report
The tasks to be performed are:
1. Survey of datasets - screening of available data (including those of administrative nature) at EU level, as well as in the Member States, for their suitability as basis for the development of the specified IRENA indicators;
2. Data compilation - a full database of information supporting the indicator work is required at EU and Member State level for the indicators specified. Digital data supplied should be ascii or Excel files, which are compatible for importing into GISCO NUTS 2 and NUTS 3 coverages and into the EEA Data warehouse structure;
3. Development of typology of agricultural holdings based on key environmental characteristics and management of farms in different agricultural sectors - Selection of relevant parameters and elaboration of a quantitative aggregation protocol that will enable the discrimination of agricultural holding categories based on an EU wide typology with an agri-environmental focus;
4. Development of methodology / data fact sheets and indicator fact sheets - these fact sheets represent the reporting and communication mechanism for indicator development and analysis. Model fact sheets have been developed for the IRENA operation, in view of developing a web site for reporting and updating agri-environmental indicators. The indicator fact sheets need to be of sufficient quality to be published on the EEA website. Model fact sheets are included in Annexes B and C;
5. Validation of approach and results - the validation of the approach and results will initially be carried out by the IRENA staff. If appropriate EU wide results and illustrative case studies will also be presented to the IRENA steering group meeting and/or an IRENA expert meeting;
6. Support for the writing of the IRENA indicator report - this report will provide an environmental assessment of EU15 agriculture based on 35 indicators grouped by environmental theme. The successful tenderer will write two environmental assessments that will contribute to the IRENA indicator report: energy use in EU15 agriculture (Nos 11 and 27) and farming system changes in EU15 agriculture (Nos 13, 15, 16 and 17). The first task (6a) is to develop an outline that will be discussed with EEA staff and second tasks (6b) is to produce the final document.
The indicator reporting level the successful tenderer has to work on is the appropriate geographical level to undertake regional analysis (at least NUTS 2 for Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and NUTS 3 for Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom) - subject to data availability with the timeframe of the project. For certain indicators a geographical breakdown to landscape units (such as water basins) will be appropriate.
For indicators that cannot be developed at EU15 level, three representative case study areas shall be selected for indicator development and validation in three pilot regions of the EU (representative for agricultural systems in Westerns, Northern and Southern EU15 countries respectively).
Indicators need to meet the general criteria as given in the Commission Communication on agri-environmental indicators (COM (2001) 144 final):
1. Policy-relevance - address key environmental issues;
2. Responsiveness - change sufficiently quickly in response to action;
3. Analytical soundness - be based on sound science;
4. measurability - be feasible in terms of current or planned data availability;
5. ease of interpretation - communicate essential information in a way that is unambiguous and easy to understand;
6. cost effective - costs in proportion to the value of information derived.
Close coordination of work under the contract with other work at the EEA within the IRENA operation and the Bio-IMPs project needs to be ensured at all times. Consultation and cooperation with other partners in the Memorandum of Understanding between DG Agri, DG Env, DG Eurostat, DG JRC and the EEA is also essential.
The maximum budget available for work on the above tasks, including travel and subsistence costs, is 100 000 EUR. The precise division of work and budget within the contract will be agreed with the successful tenderer at the beginning of the contract.Continuation sheet 3
Tasks for lot 2: support for the IRENA indicator-based policy assessment report of the integration of environmental concerns into EU agriculture policy.
The tasks to be performed are:
1. analyse, describe and rank agri-environmental policy issues and CAP policy instruments that need to be covered by the indicator-based assessment. This is to be carried out on the basis of existing EU policy documents. EEA reports and relevant research literature, in consultation with the IRENA partners;
2. expand a first EEA analysis of CAP policy targets that are relevant for the indicator-based assessment of policy integration (draft paper presented to EUROSTAT WG AEI 4 December 2002, included in Annex D);
3. review how far the issues identified under 1. and 2. are covered by the 35 indicators and existing material at the EEA produced in the past.
4. on the basis of task 1 to 3 propose an extended outline of content for the indicator-based assessment that takes into account the integration areas listed under section 1.1.3 Lot 2 (Institutional Integration, market integration, management integration, monitoring-reporting progress). This outline needs to integrate the outcome of IRENA steering group meetings on the topic of policy integration (as documented in meeting minutes) and the summary record of a planned IRENA expert workshop on agri-environmental policy integration indicators;
5. after approval of the outline under point 4 by EEA project managers (in consultation with IRENA partners) writing of a draft indicator-based policy assessment report on policy integration in cooperation with EEA and IRENA staff;
6. finalization of the indicator-based assessment on the integration of environmental concerns into agriculture policy, after consultation on the draft report among IRENA partners and the EEA EIONET.
Close coordination of work under the contract with other work at the EEA within the IRENA operation and the Bio-IMPS Project needs to be ensured at all times. Consultation and cooperation with other partners in the Memorandum of Understanding between DG Agri, DG Env, DG Eurostat, DG JRC and the EEA is also essential.
The maximum budget available for work on the above tasks, including travel and subsistence costs, is 60 000 EUR. The precise division of work and budget within the contract will be agreed with the successful tenderer at the beginning of the contract.

Download:

IRENA call for tender Technical Specification

IRENA contract notice

Annex I: Model for standard service contract IRENA

Annex II: General terms and conditions applicable to contracts awarded by EEA

Annex III: Identification sheet

Annex IV: Reimbursement of travel expenses

Annex V: EC VAT and excise duty exemption certificate