Consultancy framework agreement for formulation, appraisal and review of Danish development cooperation programmes and projects

About the bid

Assignment description

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (MFA) is in the process of streamlining the management of its development cooperation. Part of this effort concerns the simplification of the procurement process of key consultancy services relating to development cooperation. Consultancy contracts are currently procured individually by the case worker responsible for the programme or project. Case workers are MFA staff from MFA Services at Home and Services Abroad. They are responsible for the procurement process of individual contracts which is often lengthy, and can have implications on programme and project implementation timelines. Moreover, the fragmentation of the process makes it difficult to use the feedback from case workers on the fulfilment of the assignments. This makes it challenging to harvest learning from past performance and ensure a sustained quality of services. It is in this context that the MFA wishes to consolidate the procurement of consultancy services through a framework agreement with multiple contractors. The streamlining of the management of Danish development cooperation entailed a revision of the Danida – Aid Management Guidelines (AMG). This foresees a delegation of key tasks to external consultants, primarily appraisals, and thereby an expected rise in the number of consultancy services to be requested. It is therefore an opportune time to seek a more streamlined procurement process of consultancy services. The AMG’s Bilateral Guidelines (https://amg.um.dk/bilateral-cooperation/guidelines-for-programmes-projects-country-strategic-frameworks-and-hard-earmarked-multilat-support) and Financial Management Guidelines (https://amg.um.dk/bilateral-cooperation/financial-management) constitute the basic set of procedures for all Danish bilateral development cooperation. The guidelines outline the processes and requirements for the preparation, formulation, quality assurance, approval, implementation, completion and closure of Danish bilateral programmes and projects. The purpose of the framework agreement is to make the MFA procurement of key consultancy services relating to Danish bilateral development programmes and projects more effective and efficient by ensuring quick access to relevant specialists, reducing the procurement time for assignments, and improving the quality of services provided. The objective of the framework agreement is to have a contractual set-up between the MFA and a number of contractors who can provide, upon demand and in a timely manner, the required expertise and service quality for the formulation, appraisal and review of Danish bilateral development programmes and projects. The objective of each assignment and the required outputs will be described in the Terms of Reference, which will be part of the Delivery Contract for the individual assignment. The Framework Agreement solely covers Denmark’s bilateral development cooperation programmes and projects. Therefore, the scope of work of consultancy services solely pertains to Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds. The framework agreement is divided into two lots that reflect the thematic areas and priorities of Denmark’s Strategy for Development Cooperation: Lot 1: Climate, environment, private sector and financing. Lot 2: Governance, fragility, and migration. The framework agreement will require the provision of the following services pertaining to the design and implementation phases of bilateral development cooperation programmes, namely: Formulation of bilateral programmes and projects. This may include preparatory work in the formulation process if and as needed. Appraisal of the design of bilateral programmes and projects as a quality assurance milestone prior to approval. This includes external appraisals led by the consultant and early appraisals of larger or high-risk programmes/projects led by LÆRING. Review of bilateral programmes and projects under implementation. This can span inception, midterm and technical reviews covering the full implementation period of the programme/project as part of the MFA unit’s monitoring and reporting cycle. Reviews do not have the same scope of work, methodology and methods as an evaluation. The MFA’s definition of appraisal, review and evaluation services is aligned with the definitions provided by OECD/DAC (https://one.oecd.org/document/DCD/DAC/EV(2022)2/en/pdf). The content of the services will vary and be defined by the MFA in the specific Terms of Reference for each individual assignment. The following themes and types of services will not be part of the framework agreement: Research and university partnerships. Training programmes and tracer studies. Culture. NGO strategic partnership agreements with the MFA (SPA agreements). Core support to multilateral organisations as described in Danish Organisation Strategies. Strategic Sector Cooperation. Audit assignments. Legal assessments. Monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) unit contracts and multi-year MEAL technical assistance. Evaluations. Tender process consultancies. Please refer to the Consultancy Framework Agreement and Appendix 1 Scope of Services for a more detailed description of the object of the procurement.Main features of the procedureThe procurement procedure is conducted as a restricted procedure. Thus, all economic operators may request participation in response to the contract notice published in the Official Journal of the EU but only candidates invited by the contracting authority may submit tenders. Access to the procurement procedure requires online registration. Guidance (in Danish and English) on the use of the tendering system can be found at: https://mercell.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/3/article/177996038?src=1869524006. The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, through the tendering system. An economic operator may submit a request to participate for both lots, can be selected as a candidate to be invited to submit tenders for both lots, and may be awarded a framework agreement for both lots. However, the economic operator must submit separate requests to participate for each lot, and selected candidates must submit separate tenders for each lot. If an economic operator requires any clarification in relation to the procurement documents, the economic operator may submit written questions in English via the “Communication” tab in the tendering system. Economic operators shall refrain from contacting the contracting authority in any other way. Economic operators must submit a European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) in the request to participate as preliminary evidence that the economic operator is not subject to exclusion grounds and that the economic operator fulfils the requirements for economic and financial standing and technical and professional ability. Please see section 2.1.6 of this contract notice and the Instructions to Tenderers regarding the necessary information in the ESPD. If the economic operator is participating in the procurement procedure together with others (e.g. a consortia or joint venture) or if the economic operator relies on the capacities of other entities in order to meet the selection criteria, the economic operator must submit an ESPD from each participant or entity. While observing the principles of equal treatment, transparency and proportionality, the contracting authority may request economic operators to supplement, specify or complete requests to participate by submitting relevant information or documentation, where the information or documents submitted in requests to participate are incomplete or incorrect, or where specific documents are missing. For more information regarding the submission of tender, please see the Instructions to Tenderers. For each lot, the contracting authority will award a framework agreement to the five most economically advantageous tenders. The contracting authority will request documentation of the information provided in the ESPD from the tenderers that have submitted the five most economically advantageous tenders for each lot. If a tenderer is participating in the procurement procedure together with others or relies on the capacity of other entities, each involved economic operator or entity must present documentation of the information provided in the ESPD. When the contracting authority has verified the documentation from the tenderers that have submitted the five most economically advantageous tenders for each lot, all tenderers will be notified simultaneously via the tendering system of the decision made by the contracting authority on the award of framework agreement. Notification of the award decision does not mean that a framework agreement has been entered into or will be entered into. The framework agreement is not final until it is signed. The framework agreement cannot be awarded to a tenderer subject to Article 5k(1) of Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 of 31 July 2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine, as amended by Council Regulation (EU) No 2023/1214 of 23 June 2023. The framework agreement cannot be concluded until the expiry of a standstill period of ten calendar days following the contracting authority’s notification of the award decision. The date of expiry of the standstill period will be specified in the notification of the award decision. Economic operators and tenderers shall bear all costs incurred in relation to the procurement procedure. Please refer to the Instructions to Tenderers for a more detailed description of the procedure.

Contact information

Contact name

Carsten Sommer Andersen (Bech-Bruun Law Firm)

Contact phone

+45 7227 0000

Contact email

CSA@bechbruun.com

Address

Asiatisk Plads 2, 1402 Copenhagen

• Organisational and Management

  12%

  Description

  Please refer to the Criteria and Method of Evaluation and Appendix 1 Scope of Services for a more detailed description of the award criterion.

• Mobilisation of Specialists

  12%

  Description

  Please refer to the Criteria and Method of Evaluation and Appendix 1 Scope of Services for a more detailed description of the award criterion.

• Quality Assurance

  16%

  Description

  Please refer to the Criteria and Method of Evaluation and Appendix 1 Scope of Services for a more detailed description of the award criterion.

• Thematic Specialists

  48%

  Description

  Please refer to the Criteria and Method of Evaluation and Appendix 1 Scope of Services for a more detailed description of the award criterion.

• Financial Management Specialists

  12%

  Description

  Please refer to the Criteria and Method of Evaluation and Appendix 1 Scope of Services for a more detailed description of the award criterion.

• Minimum specific yearly turnover

  Description

  Total specific turnover of at least DKK 25,000,000 from assignments related to official development assistance programmes or projects in the three most recent financial years for which annual accounts are available (i.e., the total specific turnover in the three most recent financial years, and not the specific yearly turnover). An economic operator requesting to participate in both lots is required to meet the requirement only once.

  Documentation Requirement

  In Part IV.B of the ESPD, the economic operator must fill in its specific yearly turnover from assignments related to official development assistance programmes or projects in the three most recent financial years for which annual accounts are available.

• Reference projects

  Description

  The references must concern consultancy services actually performed within the five most recent years preceding the time limit for receipt of requests to participate. Where a reference concerns a contract or framework agreement that commenced before that period, only the consultancy services actually performed within the five most recent years preceding the time limit for receipt of requests to participate may be included. Where a reference concerns a contract or framework agreement that is ongoing, only the consultancy services actually performed at the time limit for receipt of requests to participate may be included. The maximum number of references applies separately for each lot. For each lot, the number of references will be determined across all ESPDs submitted with the request to participate (i.e., from all involved economic operators in a group of economic operators and/or other supporting entities). If more than 10 references are submitted for a lot, the contracting authority will read and assess only the 10 most recent references, determined first by the end date and then by the start date. Each reference should include the following information: Description: A concise and precise description of the consultancy services actually performed by the economic operator which should be described under the following headings: (1) Role of the economic operator, (2) Type of consultancy services and the main deliverables, (3) Percentage of the consultancy services performed by subcontractors, (4) Forms of bilateral development cooperation modalities covered, (5) Geographic coverage, and (6) Area(s) of expertise. The description should not exceed 2,000 characters, including spaces, and should avoid unnecessary information that is not relevant to the assessment. Amount: The total contract value received by the economic operator for the consultancy services covered by the reference, net of value-added tax (VAT). Start date: The date when the consultancy services covered by the reference began. End date: For completed consultancy services, the date when the consultancy services covered by the reference were completed. For ongoing consultancy services, the time limit for receipt of requests to participate. Recipient: The name and contact information of the client or donor financing the consultancy services. Where the economic operator has been a subcontractor and only performed parts of the consultancy services, only the subcontracted consultancy services actually performed by the economic operator may be included in the reference. Where a reference concerns a framework agreement, the description and amount may summarise the contracts for consultancy services performed under that framework agreement within the five most recent years preceding the time limit for receipt of requests to participate. The contracting authority encourages economic operators to also meet the criteria for choosing the selected candidates to the greatest extent possible. A reference may be relied upon for more than one type of consultancy services and/or area of expertise where the description of the consultancy services actually performed demonstrates performance in each area for which the reference is relied upon. If a reference is not relevant to the required services (e.g., the reference is an evaluation), it may be relied upon to demonstrate performance in other areas (e.g., an area of expertise, or related to the criteria for choosing the selected candidates). A reference may also be relied upon for both lots where the description of the consultancy services actually performed demonstrates relevant performance for each lot.

  Documentation Requirement

  In Part IV.C of the ESPD, the economic operator must fill in a list of no more than 10 references for each lot. Economic operators are encouraged to provide information in Part IV.C of the ESPD as shown in the Instructions to Tenderers.

See the full notice