CONTRACT NOTICE – OFFICIAL JOURNAL

Section I: Contracting Authority

I.1)

Name, Address and Contact Point(s)

I.2)

Type of contracting Authority and Main Activity or Activities

Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions National or federal agency/Office Regional or local Authority Regional or local Agency/Office Body governed by public law European Institution/Agency or International Organisation

General public services Defence Public order and safety Environment Economic and financial affairs Health Housing and community amenities Social protection Recreation, culture and religion Education

The framework agreements to be put in place allow for other organisations to call-off under the agreements. See additional information in Section VI.3) for further details

Section II: Object of the Contract

II.1)

Description

II.1.1)

Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority

II.1.2(a))

Type of works contract

II.1.2(b))

Type of supplies contract

II.1.2(c))

Type of service contract

II.1.2)

Main site or location of works, place of delivery or performance

II.1.3)

This notice involves

A public contract
The setting up of a Dynamic Purchasing System
The establishment of a framework agreement

II.1.4)

Information on framework agreement (if applicable)

Framework agreement with a single operators
Framework agreement with several operators

Number of participants to the framework agreement envisaged

Duration of the framework agreement

Justification for a framework agreement the duration of which exceeds four years

Estimated total value of purchases for the entire duration of the framework agreement

Frequency and value of the contracts to be awarded

II.1.5)

Short description of the contract or purchase(s)

Framework Agreements for Customer Research Services:

This procurement is being conducted by Knightstone Housing Association, which is the contracting authority. Knightstone Housing Association (‘Knightstone’) wish to select consultants to carry out customer research services.

The framework agreements to be put in place allows for the following organisations to call-off under the agreement:

(i) Other members of Knightstone Housing Group;

(ii) Any provider of social housing registered under Section 111 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008. See the HCA list of registered providers https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/current-registered-providers-of-social-housing

(iii) Any Welsh social landlord registered under Section 3 of the Housing Act 1996. See Welsh Government list of registered social landlords http://gov.wales/topics/housing-and-regeneration/publications/registered-social-landlords-in-wales/?lang=en

(iv) A local housing authority within the meaning of Section 1 of the Housing Act 1985; and any arms length management organisation (‘ALMO’) which is a wholly owned subsidiary of a local housing authority.

The services are being procured over 2 Lots, with different call-off mechanisms for each of the 2 Lots.

For Lot 1 call-offs will be via the cascade method as described in the invitation to tender. We expect the majority of Knightstone's requirements to be sourced through this framework agreement.

For Lot 2, call-offs will be by mini competition.

The same 3 consultants will be appointed to both lots.

The anticipated volume of purchases of services by Knightstone is 300 000 GBP over the period of the framework agreements, but this is an estimate and none of it is guaranteed. We anticipate that the majority of these services will be purchased through the framework agreement for Lot 1.

We have allowed for up to 2 500 000 GBP to be sourced through each Lot, but the actual volumes will depend on the level of take-up from Clients other than Knightstone.

This procurement is being conducted using the open procedure under Regulation 27 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (‘the Regulations’). This ITT is available to all economic operators who express an interest in this opportunity. Any interested economic operator may submit a tender in response to the contract notice. The right is reserved not to proceed or not to award enter into any Framework agreement for the whole or any part of the proposed procurement. Neither Knightstone nor any person on whose behalf of whom this procurement is undertaken is to be liable for any costs incurred by any person or organisation expressing an interest or tendering for this framework agreement.

The closing deadline for the receipt of Tenders is 9:00 on Friday, 19.2.2016.

Tenders must be submitted via the Knightstone supplier portal as per the instructions in the Invitation to Tender.

Important information: This tender is being conducted through the Knightstone Supplier Portal and all documentation is only available via this portal for which the URL is: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/knightstone

Suppliers wishing to take part in this tender are invited to express an interest upon which you will be given access to the full tender documentation through the Supplier Portal.

Tender submissions must be made via this Supplier Portal. All documents should be uploaded via the Portal. Be sure to press the Red button Submit Return and you will then receive a receipt.

Please allow sufficient time to submit your return as late returns are Not permitted.

If you have any problems accessing the documents or any other questions, then please send a message using the correspondence function on the Supplier Portal.

II.1.6)

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

II.1.7)

Contract covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

II.1.8)

Division into lots

one lot only

one or more lots

all lots

II.1.9)

Will variants be accepted

II.2)

Quantity or Scope of the Contract

II.2.1)

Total quantity or scope

II.2.2)

Options

Provisional timetable for recourse to these options

Number of possible renewals

In the case of renewable supplies or service contracts, estimated time frame for subsequent contracts

Section III: Legal, Economic, Financial and Technical Information

III.1)

Conditions Relating to the Contract

III.1.1)

Deposits and guarantees required

The specific requirements are set out in the tender documentation and may include a parent company guarantee if required by Knightstone.

III.1.2)

Main Terms of financing and payment and/or reference to the relevant provisions

Payments will be made in arrears within 30 days of invoice for completed services in accordance with the contract documentation.

III.1.3)

Legal form to be taken by the grouping of suppliers, contractors or service providers to whom the contract is to be awarded

No specific legal form is required. However, if a consortium submits a tender, Knightstone may require the consortium to form a legal entity before entering into a contractual requirement. Joint and several liability of all consortium members may be required (and/or guarantees and/or undertakings by some or all of the consortium members).

III.1.4)

Other particular conditions to which the performance of the contract is subject

For more information on Knightstone's specific requirements, please refer to the Framework documents.

III.2)

Conditions for Participation

III.2.1)

Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

Organisations will be required to complete the Evaluation Questionnaire, which includes minimum selection questions. This can be completed via Knightstone's Supplier Portal. The minimum selection requirements are set out in the Invitation to Tender (ITT).

III.2.2)

Economic and financial capacity

III.2.3)

Technical capacity

III.2.4)

Reserved contracts

The contract is restricted to sheltered workshops
The execution of the contract is restricted to the framework of sheltered employment programmes

III.3)

Conditions Specific to Service Contracts

III.3.1)

Is provision of the service reserved to a specific profession?

III.3.2)

Will legal entities be required to state the names and professional qualifications of the personnel responsible for the execution of the service?

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1)

Type of Procedure

Open		Restricted
Accelerated restricted		Negotiated
Accelerated negotiated		Competitive dialogue

Justification for the choice of accelerated procedure

IV.1.1)

Have candidates already been selected?

IV.1.2)

Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate

Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates

IV.1.3)

Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue

Recourse to staged procedure to gradually reduce the number of solutions to be discussed or tenders to be negotiated

IV.2)

Award Criteria

IV.2.2)

An electronic auction will be used

IV.3 Administrative Information

IV.3.1)

Reference number attributed to the notice by the contracting authority

IV.3.2)

Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract

Prior Information Notice
Notice on a Buyer Profile

Other previous publications

IV.3.3)

Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents

IV.3.4)

Time-limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

IV.3.5)

Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates

IV.3.6)

Language or languages in which tenders or requests to participate can be drawn up

IV.3.7)

Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender 

IV.3.8)

Conditions for opening tenders

Section VI: Other Information

VI.1)

Indicate whether this procurement is a recurrent one and the Estimated timing for further notices to be published

VI.2)

Does the contract relate to a Project/Programme financed by Community Funds?

VI.3)

Additional Information

This procurement is being conducted by Knightstone Housing Association, which is the contracting authority. Knightstone Housing Association (‘Knightstone’) wish to select consultants to carry out customer research services.

The framework agreements to be put in place allows for the following organisations to call-off under the agreement:

(i) Other members of Knightstone Housing Group;

(ii) Any provider of social housing registered under Section 111 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008. See the HCA list of registered providers https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/current-registered-providers-of-social-housing;

(iii) Any Welsh social landlord registered under Section 3 of the Housing Act 1996. See Welsh Government list of registered social landlords http://gov.wales/topics/housing-and-regeneration/publications/registered-social-landlords-in-wales/?lang=en

(iv) A local housing authority within the meaning of Section 1 of the Housing Act 1985; and any arms length management organisation (‘ALMO’) which is a wholly owned subsidiary of a local housing authority.

The services are being procured over 2 Lots, with different call-off mechanisms for each of the 2 Lots.

For Lot 1 call-offs will be via the cascade method as described in the invitation to tender. We expect the majority of Knightstone's requirements to be sourced through this framework agreement.

For Lot 2, call-offs will be by mini competition.

The same 3 consultants will be appointed to both lots.

The anticipated volume of purchases of services by Knightstone is 300 000 GBP over the period of the framework agreements, but this is an estimate and none of it is guaranteed. We anticipate that the majority of these services will be purchased through the framework agreement for Lot 1.

We have allowed for up to 2 500 000 GBP to be sourced through each Lot, but the actual volumes will depend on the level of take-up from Clients other than Knightstone.

This procurement is being conducted using the open procedure under Regulation 27 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (‘the Regulations’). This ITT is available to all economic operators who express an interest in this opportunity. Any interested economic operator may submit a tender in response to the contract notice. The right is reserved not to proceed or not to award enter into any Framework agreement for the whole or any part of the proposed procurement. Neither Knightstone nor any person on whose behalf of whom this procurement is undertaken is to be liable for any costs incurred by any person or organisation expressing an interest or tendering for this framework agreement.

The closing deadline for the receipt of Tenders is 9:00 on Friday, 19.2.2016.

Tenders must be submitted via the Knightstone supplier portal as per the instructions in the Invitation to Tender.

Important information: This tender is being conducted through the Knightstone Supplier Portal and all documentation is only available via this portal for which the URL is: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/knightstone

Suppliers wishing to take part in this tender are invited to express an interest upon which you will be given access to the full tender documentation through the Supplier Portal.

Tender submissions must be made via this Supplier Portal. All documents should be uploaded via the Portal. Be sure to press the Red button Submit Return and you will then receive a receipt.

Please allow sufficient time to submit your return as late returns are Not permitted.

If you have any problems accessing the documents or any other questions, then please send a message using the correspondence function on the Supplier Portal.

VI.4)

Procedures for appeal

VI.4.1)

Body responsible for appeal procedures

Body responsible for mediation procedures

VI.4.2)

Lodging of appeals
Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals:

The Contracting Authority will incorporate a minimum 10 calendar day standstill period at the point that information on the award of the Frameworks is communicated to tenderers. If an appeal regarding the award of the frameworks has not been successfully resolved, the Public Contracts Regulations provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by a breach of the rule to take action in the High Court (England, Wales and Northern Ireland). Any such action must be started within 30 days beginning with the date when the aggrieved party first knew or ought to have known grounds for starting the proceedings had arisen. The Court may extend the time limit for starting proceedings where the Court considers that there is a good reason for doing so but not so as to permit proceedings to be started more than 3 months after that date. Where a contract has not been entered into, the Court may order the setting aside of the award decision or order the contracting authority to amend any document and may award damages. If the contract has not been entered into the Court may only award damages or, where the contract award procedures have not been followed correctly, declare the contract to be ineffective.

VI.4.3)

Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained

VI.5)

Dispatch date of this Notice

ANNEX B

Information About Lots

1)

Short Description

All organisations referenced in the Contract Notice may call-off contracts using the cascade method.

2)

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

3)

Quantity or scope

4)

Indication about different contract dates

5)

Additional Information about lots

ANNEX B

Information About Lots

1)

Short Description

All organisation referenced in the Contract Notice may call-off contracts from this Lot using the mini-competition procedure.

2)

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

3)

Quantity or scope

4)

Indication about different contract dates

5)

Additional Information about lots