EEA/EAS/05/001 - Study on environmental cross-compliance indicators in the context of the farm advisory system - CIFAS

Call For Tender Published 04 Apr 2005

Award notice

DK-Copenhagen: study on environmental cross-compliance indicators in the context of the farm advisory system - CIFAS

2005/S 75-071896

Contract notice

Services

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

Section I: Contracting authority
I.1)		Official name and address of the contracting authority: European Environment Agency, Att: Mr Jan-Erik Petersen, Kongens Nytorv 6, DK-1050 Copenhagen. Tel.: (45-3) 336 71 00. Fax: (45-3) 336 71 51. E-mail: jan-erik.petersen@eea.eu.int; procurement@eea.eu.int. URL: http://www.eea.eu.int/tenders.
I.2)		Address from which further information can be obtained: As in I.1.
I.3)		Address from which documentation may be obtained: As in I.1.
I.4)		Address to which tenders/requests to participate must be sent: As in I.1.
I.5)		Type of contracting authority: EU institution.
Section II: Object of the contract
II.1)		Description
II.1.1)		Type of works contract
II.1.2)		Type of supplies contract
II.1.3)		Type of service contract: Service category: 27.
II.1.4)		Is it a framework agreement? No.
II.1.5)		Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority: Study on Environmental Cross-Compliance Indicators in the context of the Farm Advisory System - CIFAS.
II.1.6)		Description/object of the contract: Based on provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003, Member States (MS) are required to define statutory management requirements and minimum standards for good agricultural and environmental condition for the implementation of cross-compliance ('cross-compliance requirements and standards'). The implementation of these requirements and standards is a challenging task that will be supported via farm advisory systems (articles 13 to 16 of Regulation 1782/2003), which Member States have to set up by 1.1.2007. The general aim of the study is to help the building and the functioning of the above-mentioned farm advisory systems, by contributing to the development of suitable advisory tools, and particularly 'farm level indicators' related to cross-compliance requirements and standards in the area of the environment. The CIFAS study is financed by the European Commission and managed and coordinated by the EEA. It will result in 1) a database compiling requirements and standards and other relevant information on the cross-compliance requirements in the domain of the environment, 2) an inventory of the farm advisory tools and systems developed or under development to help farmers meeting these requirements and standards and 3) recommendations concerning farm advisory tools in the domain of the environment relevant to cross compliance. The aims of the consultancy work are to identify best practices among the farm advisory tools already developed in EU Member States and to prepare proposals for farm advisory tools (based on farm and land management models related to large region and farming system types) that, together with the best practices identified, could be elements to be included in a non-exhaustive guidance for the farm advisory systems to be set up by Member States. The advisory tools to be developed under the CIFAS study should help with the: identification of current land and farm management practices used by the farmer and relevant for environmental requirements and standards; assessment of the level of achievement of environmental cross-compliance requirements and standards applicable to the farmer concerned; identification of farm practices, which can help to achieve cross-compliance. To fulfil the aims of the consultancy work, the successful tenderer will collect relevant information about: cross-compliance requirements and standards in the area of the environment, as defined by the EU Member States; environmental farm advisory systems already in place or under development in the EU Member States; farm level indicators and other advisory tools already developed or under development at Member State, regional or local level; the key characteristics of regional farming systems and farm structures in selected Member States. The support required from the successful tenderer is split up into eight different tasks. All written project outputs have to be provided in English.
II.1.7)		Site or location of works, place of delivery or performance: The contractor will operate from his own premises and the services will be delivered at the address indicated in I.1.
II.1.8)		Nomenclature
II.1.8.1)		Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV):
II.1.8.2)		Other relevant nomenclature (CPA/NACE/CPC)
II.1.9)		Division into lots: No.
II.1.10)		Will variants be accepted? (where applicable): No.
II.2)		Quantity or scope of the contract
II.2.1)		Total quantity or scope The maximum budget available for work on the above tasks, including travel and subsistence costs, is EUR 130 000.
II.2.2)		Options. Description and time when they may be exercised
II.3)		Duration of the contract or time limit for completion: 13 months (from the award of the contract).
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1)		Conditions relating to the contract
III.1.1)		Deposits and guarantees required (if applicable)
III.1.2)		Main terms of financing and payment and/or reference to the relevant provisions (if applicable):
III.1.3)		Legal form to be taken by the grouping of suppliers, contractors or service providers to whom the contract is awarded
III.2)		Conditions for participation
III.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: Candidates or tenderers shall be excluded from participation in a procurement procedure if: (a) 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; (b) they have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgment which has the force of res judicata; (c) they have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the contracting authority can justify; (d) 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; (e) 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; (f) they have been convicted for an environmental offence in the exercise of the profession; (g) 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. Exclusion from awarding: Contracts may not be awarded to candidates or tenderers who, during the procurement procedure: (a) are subject to a conflict of interest; (b) are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the contracting authority as a condition of participation in the contract procedure or fail to supply this information.
III.2.1.1)		Legal position - means of proof required: (a) identification sheet (see tender documents); (b) copy of inscription in trade register, where applicable, and a copy of inscription in VAT registers.
III.2.1.2)		Economic and financial capacity - means of proof required: (a) appropriate statements from banks or evidence of professional risk indemnity insurance; (b) the presentation of 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; (c) a statement of overall turnover and turnover concerning the services covered by the contract during a period which may be no more than the last three financial years.
III.2.1.3)		Technical capacity - means of proof required: (a) the educational and professional qualifications of the service provider or contractor and/or those of the firm's managerial staff and, in particular, those of the person or persons responsible for providing the services; (b) a list of the principal services provided in the past three years, with the sums, dates and recipients, public or private; (c) a statement of the service provider's average annual manpower and the number of managerial staff for the last three years; (d) a description of the service measures for ensuring quality; (e) an indication of the proportion of the contract which the service provider may intend to subcontract.
III.3)		Conditions specific to services contracts
III.3.1)		Is provision of the service reserved to a specific profession? No.
III.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.
IV.1.1)		Have candidates already been selected?
IV.1.2)		Justification for the choice of accelerated procedure
IV.1.3)		Previous publication concerning the same contract
IV.1.3.1)		Prior information notice concerning the same contract:
IV.1.3.2)		Other previous publications
IV.1.4)		Envisaged number of suppliers which will be invited to tender
IV.2)		Award crieria: The most economically advantageous tender in terms of criteria as stated in contract documents.
IV.3)		Administrative information
IV.3.1)		Reference number attributed to the file by the contracting authority: EEA/EAS/05/001.
IV.3.2)		Conditions for obtaining contractual documents and additional documents Obtainable until: 13.5.2005.
IV.3.3)		Time-limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate: 52 days from dispatch of notice. Time: 16.00.
IV.3.4)		Dispatch of invitations to tender to selected candidates
IV.3.5)		Language or languages in which tenders or requests to participate can be drawn up: English.
IV.3.6)		Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain its tender: 6 months from the deadline stated for receipt of tenders.
IV.3.7)		Conditions for opening tenders
IV.3.7.1)		Persons authorized to be present at the opening of tenders (where applicable): EEA's representatives and one representative of each tenderer. Please inform Mr Jan-Erik Petersen by separate e-mail if you wish to attend the opening.
IV.3.7.2)		Date, time and place: 30.5.2005. Time: 11.00. Place: EEA premises, address as in I.1.
Section VI: Other information
VI.1)		Is this notice a non-mandatory one? Yes.
VI.2)		If applicable, indicate whether this procurement is a recurrent one and the estimated timing for further notices to be published
VI.3)		Does the contract relate to a project/programme financed by EU funds?
VI.4)		Additional information (if applicable):
VI.5)		Date of dispatch of this notice: 4.4.2005