How do I successfully tender for public contracts of the EU … · 2017-10-26 · ASTEC ‘International Telecoms Cluster’ Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Portugal established 1995 •

www.consultingireland.org

How do I successfully tender for public contracts of the EU-Institutions?

Seamus McCann, ConsultingIreland and ASTECBrussels, Belgium25th October 2017


Overview – EU Procurement• Introduction• Summary of Public Procurement Markets

– Reasons to target these markets• EU Organisations – Services, Supplies/Products and Works• Identifying Opportunities – EU Public Procurement Projects

– TED– Other Information Sources– ‘Upstreaming’

• Procedures and Market Trends• How to Tender and Win ‘Best Practice’

– Bid/No Bid• Partnering, Sub-Contracting, Pre-Bid Agreements• Tips• Web-sites


– Background

• International activities since 1984 – Over 30 Years • Former part of Irish State Telecoms - SME since 2001• ASTEC ‘International Telecoms Cluster’

Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Portugal established 1995• Providing Advice to Governments and IFIs e.g EU• Secure Payments, Standards Procedures, Opportunities• Consulting and Training Projects in 100+ countries – 80% for EU• Pre-selected EC Framework Contractor (16 years) for ICT • Established partnerships - networks• Projects funded - EU, EIB, EBRD, World Bank, Islamic Dev. Bank, UN

- Developing Policy and Strategy, Feasibility Studies, IFI Tender Specifications

- Evaluation, Monitoring, Implementation, Bidders Advice


Public Procurement - Cross Sector experience • Legal/Regulatory – Georgia, Cyprus, Czech Rep., Ukraine• Finance – South Africa, Slovakia, Tanzania, Namibia• Education – Paraguay, Greenland, Caribbean, Belgium• Biodiversity/Energy – Macedonia, Lithuania, Jamaica• Banking – Estonia, Romania, Tajikistan • Security – Serbia, Turkey, Malawi, Croatia• Trade – Egypt, Guyana, Serbia, PR Lao, Netherlands• Agri./Rural – Bosnia, Romania• IT – China, Brazil, Belgium, Vietnam, Fiji, Kenya• Transport – Azerbaijan, Egypt• Water – Serbia, Malta• e-Government – Ethiopia, Belgium, Mongolia• Aviation – Kenya, Jordan• Broadcasting – Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia• Telecoms – Sierra Leone, UAE, Luxembourg, UK, Moldova


ConsultingIreland – Irish Business Associationwww.consultingireland.org

1. Focus on International Public Sector Markets – established in 20112. Tender Tracking System (profiled for individual company) 3. ‘Cluster’ Training programme (40+ companies incl. NI) 4. International Partnerships and Network – Regional Govts. & Chambers

1. France - ‘Grand Est’ (Alsace, Champagne, Ardenne, Lorraine) – 5.5m pop.2. Spain - Catalonia - 7.6m pop.3. Norway - South Norway (SNEO) - 200k pop.4. Italy - Campania Region - 5.8m pop. 5. Hungary - EXIM Bank – 9.9m pop.6. Ireland - 6.3m pop.

5. International Networking & Conferences – EU, WB, ADB, EBRD6. ‘INTERNATIONAL BIDDING TEAMS’

Agri/Food: Banking/Finance/Trade: Security: ICT: Tourism:Health: Energy: Infrastructure: Education: Environment

7. Sectoral Teams Multi-Sectoral International Teams

Helping organisations win Public Procurement projects


PPACT – PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AND CROSS BORDER TENDERING


Published EU Opportunities

• EU Public Procurement accounts for more than 14% of its GDP – Public Authorities (incl. EU Institutions) buy all sorts of Goods

and Services from companies– Recent Directives are designed to provide easier and better

access for SMEs e.g. European Single Procurement Document (ESPD)

• More than 460,000 calls/tenders/contracts per annum– About €420bn published on Tenders Electronic Daily (TED)

• European Commission (executive arm of the EU)– awards some 9,000 contracts for direct work – Value €2.86bn (2007)


EU28 NATIONAL/REGIONAL TENDERS EU Internal Market

• NATIONAL & REGIONAL PUBLIC PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITIES• EC28 National and Regional Projects - €2.4Trillion• UK spends €260bn per annum• Ireland €8.5bn pa• France published over 240,000 Public

Sector tenders in 2016

• ‘COMMERCIAL PROJECTS’– Only those above ‘EU Threshold levels’ must be published in

Official Journal/TED

• EC28 PROJECTS – Priority, fully funded


International Opportunities External to EU

• Over €1 TRILLION Public Sector tenders p.a. – EC, World Bank, UN, EIB, ADB, AfDB, IADB, EIB– Bi-lateral such as DFID (UK), USAID, GIZ, SIDA, IrishAid– H2020 is less than 8% of EC Budgets

• 5,000 new tenders DAILY – 1.5m tenders per annum– Average 200,000 live opportunities on any given day

• Tenders from 140 Donor Agencies

• More Commercial – less R&D Leading to Private Sector Business


Monitoring Opportunities

• IFI web-sites – free but often cumbersome• Tender services – e.g. Assortis, Devex, TendersInfo, InfoTrade,

EuropeAid - tenders focus on different regions and IFIs• Country websites e.g. Belgium – local partner can translate• Local Partners – particularly those with ‘contacts’• International Partners – different sector partners• Country visits – visit to EU Institutions• Visit IFI HQ and regional offices - Brussels, Luxembourg,

London, Washington, Manila• In-country Ministries • Embassies/Trade Missions & Portals


Key Sectors and sub-sectors• 21 Key sectors - including Agriculture, Banking,

Construction, Energy, Law, Transport, Urban Dev.

• Nearly 400 Sub-Sectorse.g. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYArtificial intelligence Automation

Computer Networks / Operations / Maintenance and Support / Security

Computer-Assisted Design (CAD/CAM)

Databases / Warehouses / Data Recovery Decision Support Systems

Geographical Information / Localisation /Surveillance Systems

Hardware / Equipment / Software

Information society / Policy Internet / e-Commerce / e-Governance

Management Information Systems (MIS) Teletext

Web Design


Daily Tenders per Sector- Services, Supplies and Infrastructure

Sectors International Public Sector Opportunities Local Tenders

Agriculture/Food 9,674

ICT 13,542 Romania 757Ireland 114

Transport 10,250Services 28,068

Construction 25,151Environment

/Energy 11,611 Turkey 1,272Finance 3,251

Health 17,814 Poland 1,594UK 1,131

Industry 31,728


International Public Sector Tenders (ICT tenders - 13,542)

• Software Package and information systems – 2,670• Radio, television, communications, telecoms and related

equipment – 2,270• Office and computing machinery – 4,481• IT Services: consultancy, internet, software development and

support – 4,721• Post and Telecoms Services – 1,764• Opportunities per country

– Poland 1,265– France 2,391– Romania 757– Ireland 114


0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

IRL FI DK AT NL BE GR UK DE ES CZ PL RO BG LT SK

341407

605744

13471831

700

2915

1950

541

18761550

1107

368 360

Cyprus 128

Malta 75

Sweden 575

Portugal 497

Latvia 298Slovenia 403

Estonia 240

Lux’bourgFranceItalyHungaryCroatia

3853,0082,6087771,515

Public Procurement – EU RankingPossible partners and also competitors

4208UK NO. 1

POST BREXIT??


Reasons to target Public Procurement projects

• Transferable / ‘Relevant experience’ - incl. SMEs

• ‘Market-Entry’ Strategy

• Use of Short-listings, Transparency

• Advances up to 60%

• Payments secure

• Procedures common for EU procurement

• Available work for all company sizes


EU Institutions – Public Contracts

To carry out their tasks, the EU Institutions will need a wide range of Goods and Services - Consultancy on Policy and Legislation, Courier Services, Office Equipment, and Maintenance of Buildings

• European Parliament• Council of the European Union• European Commission – Services 81%, Supplies 12%, Works 7% • Court of Justice of EU• European Central Bank• European Court of Auditors• European Economic and Social Committee• Committee of the Regions• European Investment Bank• EU Ombudsman• EU Agencies and Other Bodies


TED and Tender Tracking Systems

• TED – Tenders Electronic Daily– Online version of ‘Supplement to the Official Journal’ (S

Series)– Free Access– Updated 5 times a week

• Private Data Vendors - Paid Services– Assortis– EuropeAid– InfoTrade2000


Tender Procedures• OPEN

– One Step Process– Open to Anyone– Tender response due a minimum number of days from Publication– THE MOST COMMON > 50% - Direct for the EC Institution

• RESTRICTED – 2 stage process including EOI Phase 1 – (Preferred to Open)– Anyone may ask BUT only ‘PRESELECTED’ will be invited to submit– Analyses capacity of the Participants against the exclusion and

selection criteria• NEGOTIATED – only done in limited cases

– With Prior Publication – Without Prior Publication – Urgent cases, no tender submitted, where

only a SINGLE Business can do it– Usually less requirements – when <60k direct for EC


Tender Procedures

• FRAMEWORKS (EC and EIB) – a particular type of contractthatestablishes only the general outline of the services or goods to be delivered– Single, Cascade and Multi– Time period, with possible extensions– Quick turnaround– Framework itself no monetary value – only the individual tender

• COMPETITIVE DIALOGUE – Complex Projects e.g. Large Infrastructure tenders


Framework Contracts – example • EC use Frameworks/Restricted Tenders < 300k• Different Lots (12) – Agriculture, Transport, Energy,

Environment, Finance, Education, Health etc.• Faster turnaround and deployment• Less documentation – after initial FWC submission• Shorter Evaluation period – 14 days• Guaranteed response – ASTEC responds almost

100%• Known firms – usually maximum 6/7 per Lot• Known parameters – maximum budget, days and

experts• Consortia listed on EC Web-site


IFI Procedures and Requirements

• Register on IFI databases – if required

• Expression of Interest (EoI) Format/Pre-Qualification – different for the various IFIs

• Tender format – Approach and Methodology, References, CVs

• CV format – certificate, exclusivity statement

• Firm/Project References – EC and WB format different (also one € other $) – ‘REFERENCES ARE KING’

• Seek reason for unsuccessful EOI or bid


REFERENCES - ECRef no 2791 Project title The establishment of the integral Croatian Vessel Traffic Monitoring and Management

Information System (CVTMIS)

Name of legal entity Country

Overall project

value (EUR)

Proportion carried out

by legal entity (%)

No of staff provided Name of client Origin of

fundingDates

(start/end)

Name of consortium

members, if any

ASTEC Global Consultancy Croatia 150,000 100 2

Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure

EC Dec 2008- Feb 2010 N/A

Detailed description of project Type of services provided

Global Objective:Improvement of maritime safety and prevention of pollution fromships in line with the Directive 2002/59/EC of the EuropeanParliament and of the Council of 27 June 2002 establishing aCommunity vessel traffic monitoring and information system andrepealing Council Directive 93/75/EEC

Specific Objective:To provide additional technical expertise and assistance to theManaging Authority related to procurement of the equipment of theVessel Traffic Monitoring and Information System. In particular, themain goal of the activities was to ensure that time critical activitiesof implementation of supply and installation were performed asrequired by tender dossiers, relevant EU Directives, relevantCroatian national legislation as well as state-of-the-art internationaltechnical standards.

• analysis of existing technical documentation including at least the CroatianVessel Traffic Monitoring and Information System (CVTMIS) Study,

• analysis of tender documentation for Vessel Traffic Monitoring andInformation System establishment and VHF Communications Subsystem ofthe VTMIS System establishment (as published on CFCA and EuropeAidwebsites),

• assistance in monitoring of implementation of supply of Vessel TrafficMonitoring and Information System and VHF Communications Subsystem ofthe VTMIS System covering at least analysis, evaluation and draftingcomments on Detailed technical documentation of the final design receivedby the contractors for the listed supply contracts (VTMIS and VHF) such asdrawings, calculations, coverage diagrams and geographical model as wellas work plan,

• drafting of technical specifications and equipment installation plans fortendering and procurement of equipment assumed to be a part of the VTMISsystem (as described in Croatian Vessel Traffic Monitoring and InformationSystem (CVTMIS) Study) covering at least:

o Radio Direction Finder Subsystemo CCTV Subsystemo Meteorological Sub-system

• Providing technical advice and support on development of entire VTMISsystem.

• Project evaluation.


Public Sector Contracts - Definitions

• Public Service Contracts

• Public Supplies Contracts

• Public Works Contracts


Service Contracts

• Studies and Technical Assistance– Preparation of tenders, Feasibilities Studies, Technical Studies,

Audits, Economic and Market Studies, Manage & Supervision of Project, Provide Expertise

• Types of Service Contracts– Global Price - e.g. organising a conference – Fee Based - e.g. usually Technical Assistance

• Shortlists – 4-8 Candidates• Quality/Price Ratio

– Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)


Supply Contracts

• Purchase, Leasing, Rental or HP of Products, Equipment & Materials

• Catering, Security, IT Equipment, Printing

• Usually a 6-7 Month Process

• Drafting Tender Dossier

• Envelope System


Works Contracts• Works Contracts are usually concluded by the Partner

Country with the EC – Building and Civil Engineering Works• Public Authorities publish Nationally and send to EU

Publications Office• Public Works Contracts – may include Tests, Inspections and

Construction Techniques• Different Criteria for awarding Contract – e.g. Lowest Price• Different weighting to e.g. Price, Technical, Environmental• Certain Notices must be Published if over Threshold levels• May issue Prior Information Notice (PIN) to reduce time• Contract Awards are announced - MEAT


Bid/No Bid - Important Considerations

• Is opportunity ‘Good fit’ for your company/organisation– Project experiences/references

• Do you have access to background information– Project Fiche– TORs

• Be clear on what you offer• What partners do you need

– Junior role in first instance

• Lead Partner should have:– Detailed knowledge of project– Good relationship with Beneficiary and Funder


Pre- Qualification/Expression of Interest’believe in your capabilities’

2 Stage Process – (1) EOI then (2) Shortlisted for Tender

• Review of EOI process– Finding the ‘right tender’ to bid on– How to fulfil basic requirements – T/O, references,

finance, specialisations– Other requirements (partners, pre-bids, delivery system)

• Resourcing– Requirements for international project unit/division– Project management - staffing


Checklist for EOI

LEGAL ENTITY (making application)Leader

Member(s)

CONTACT PERSON Details

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CAPACITY Based on your annual accounts and latest projections

STAFF Statistics on staff for the current year and two previous years

AREAS OF SPECIALISATION Indicate specialist knowledge related to the contract – Maximum 10

EXPERIENCE/REFERENCES Your references (no more than 15)

STATEMENT On behalf of the Candidate –e.g. not bankrupt, no filed judgements


Checklist for Resourcing

MANPOWER

Staffiing

Administration

Project Managers

TENDER SUBMISSION Tender writers, Experts (Internal /External)

FINANCING

Budgets

Accounting

Travel

FACILITIES and MARKETING

IT Equipment

Marketing material, Brochures, Website

Offices/Accommodation

POLICIESQuality, Health and Safety

Separate Legal Entity or Division

SPECIALISATIONYour references in various IFI Formats

Company Profile, Completions Certs

OTHERSBank Accounts, Performance Bonds

Partners, International Couriers


Tender Submissions – ‘Bidding’

• The most common reason for lack of success is poor choice of tender opportunity

• First Steps– Download all relevant documents– Read Thoroughly– Read the Contract Terms– Have available documentations e.g. Audited Accounts – see Certis– Identify Competitors– Can you do the work, have you the resources and capacity (>25% of T/O

then too risky)– Team available to do the response by deadline dates– Do you need partner to complete all elements


Writing A Successful Tender Response• Keep it simple

• Address what the Buyer/Beneficiary ask – ONLY that

• Proposed sections– Executive/Management Summary– Contents Table– Introduction– Understanding the Requirements– Approach and Methodology/Solution

• How will you deliver the service or product• Who will be involved – their experience• Management of Contract and MM team• Communication between Buyer and Supplier• How will you ensure continuity of Service/Product


Writing A Successful Tender Response

• Other Information– Case Studies/Customer and Project References– Staff CVs– Added Value aspects– Alternative offer – better way of doing it but in Separate Section (appendix)– Standards and Procedures– Commercial Sensitivities – mark clearly sections that contain

confidential/sensitive information.

• Review Cycle and Sign-off• Submitting Hard Copy

– number of copies, envelope and binding, hand delivery or otherwise

• Submitting Electronically– Know how to use system, check word limitations, save and record


Shortlist:

Request for Proposal (RFP)

Terms of Reference (ToR)


First Actions

1. Contact partners (if any)

2. Study the RfP & the ToR: Scope Roles Exclusion criteria, Administrative and

Submission Requirements – Data Sheet

3. Clarifications


BID PLAN

• BID TEAM– Bid Manager– Technical Experts– Contributors– Tender Writers– Administrators– Proof Readers– Fault-Finder – pessimistic reviewer with ‘cold eye’


Appoint a Bid MangerBid PlanItem Description Responsible Deadline Notes

1Distribution & reading of RFP; Datasheet; Instructions; ToR; ALL relevant information and requirements; All Forms

All members of Consortium 29/10/2012

2 Info on project, competition key issues All members of Consortium 29/10/20123 Prepare Tech Proposal Framework ASTEC 02/11/20124 Suggested Experts' CVs All members of Consortium 09/11/20125 Evaluate Experts and Choose CVs ASTEC 13/11/2012

6 Agree Experts' Fees All members of Consortium / Experts 13/11/2012

7 Request Input into Methodology from Experts Relevant Consortium Members 13/11/2012

8 Experts to sign and send SoEs Experts 16/11/20129 Experts' Diplomas, References etc. to be sent to ASTEC Experts 18/11/2012

10 Initial Budget All members of Consortium 19/11/2012

11 1st Draft Methodology & Approach All members of Consortium / Experts 19/11/2012

12 Last Day for Clarifications All members of Consortium 19/11/2012

13ASTEC to receive All Forms, Declarations & Official Documents from partners, in original / copy as specified

All members of Consortium 27/11/2012

14 Finalise Methodology and Work Plans. All members of Consortium / Experts 30/11/2012

15 Finalise Budget ASTEC 30/11/2012

16 Finalise Experts' CVs tailored to include Key Words from ToR

All members of Consortium / Experts 03/12/2012

17 Quality Check & Complete Bid ASTEC 04/12/201218 Print, copy, bind & Hand in Bid ASTEC 05/12/2012

19 Deadline for Submission ASTEC 10/12/2012


Proposal Structure

I. Technical Proposal

II. Financial Proposal


Proposal StructureTechnical Proposal – Standard Forms• Technical Proposal Submission Form

• Consultant’s Organisation

• Consultant’s Experience

• Comments or Suggestions on the Terms of Reference

• Approach, Methodology

• Work Plan, Work Schedule and Planning for the Deliverables

• Team Composition, Key Experts’ Inputs, and attached Curriculum Vitae


What else to include?

• Confidentiality & Non-disclosure• Communications within consortium and with CA• Duration of Agreement• Intellectual Property rights• Applicable Law; Liability• Consequences of not complying; Dispute

resolution• Ethics / Code of Conduct


ProposalAdministrative DocumentsEuropean Commission

• A signed Declaration from each legal entity

• A completed Financial Identification Form to nominatethe bank account into which payments would be madein the event that the tender is successful

• The Legal Entity Form and supporting documents

• Duly authorised signature: an official document provingthat the person who signs on behalf of thecompany/JV/consortium is duly authorised to do so.

• Statement of Exclusivity (SoE) from the Experts namedin the Proposal

• Financial Statements and Statement of Turnover for thelast 3 years

• Certificate of Registration

• Vat Registration

• Tax Clearance Certs


Financial Identification Form• Account Name

• Address

• Contact Details

• Bank Details

• Bank Stamp

• Date & Signature of Account Holder


Legal Entity Form

• Type of Company

• Names and Abbreviations

• Address of Head Office

• VAT

• Registration Details• Contact Details


Financial Proposal The Technical Proposal does not include any financial

information.

A Technical Proposal containing material financialinformation is declared non-responsive.

The Financial Proposal is prepared using theStandard Forms provided in the RFP.

It usually lists all costs associated with theassignment:

a) remuneration for Key Experts and Non-Key Expertsb) reimbursable expenses indicated in the Data Sheetc) any additional forms that the RfP might contain.


Proposal Checklist

All Sections of both Technical and FinancialProposal are completed

All Administrative Documents are included

Both Proposals are packaged and addressedin accordance to the instructions in theInvitation to Tender or RfP


Exclusion Criteria check you do no fall into any of these

To qualify to tender, economic operators must:1. not be bankrupt; 2. not have been convicted of an offence concerning their

professional conduct; 3. not have been guilty of grave professional misconduct; 4. have fulfilled their obligations for payment of taxes and

social security contributions; 5. not have been convicted for fraud, corruption, involvement

in a criminal organisation or any other illegal activity against the European Union’s financial interests;

6. not have been excluded from tendering due to a breach in a previous tender or contract.

ONLY WINNERS HAVE TO PROVIDE EVIDENCE


Packaging

• Two Envelope System– Financial and Technical in separate envelopes

• Labelling Instructions– Ensure your company name not on outside of package


Delivery

• Delivery Options– Ensure it arrives on time – lost a number of bids because

DHL did not get there on time– Electronic submissions – ensure you can operate the

system as process often times out

• Receipt – ensure you get it signed etc. and is legible

• Track delivery– If possible delay, maybe local contact can make delivery


Post Submission

• Tender Evaluation – deadlines often slip

• Internal Debrief Meeting – to improve e.g. future bids, quality etc.

• Evaluation Process – interaction between buyer and seller, clarifications, interviews, sites visit, meet key staff

• Evaluation Feedback – ideal to have ideas on improvements, usually in a table format

• Complaints Process – Escalate if not happy, DHL, registered post

• Update Bid Repository and Documents

• Tools – keep debriefing forms on file for future reference.


Selection Criteria – Evaluation Committee

Economic Operators must have:

1. Minimum Levels of Financial, Economic, Technical and professional capacity necessary to carry out contract– Use of ESPD form

2. Minimum Levels e.g. Reference sizes, Financial standing, size of projects (e.g. two individual projects with certain turnover) – Consortium and partnering can help in many cases as combined

totals3. Project completion certificates, Audited Accounts, qualification

of staff/experts


Award Criteria

Evaluation of Offers under ‘Most Economically Advantageous Tender’ (MEAT)1. Typically 3 award methods

– Best Price Quality Ratio (BPQR) – most popular– Lowest Price– Lowest Cost

2. For different type of contract some are most cost sensitive particularly supply items. Other such as services are more technically weighted 80/20– The relative weighting given to each of the criteria are given in

the technical specifications


Project implementation/Project Management

• Deliver Goods/Services as per specifications

• Contract prevails over the technical specifications if dispute

• Quality Checks

• Proper Reporting structure – Initial, Interim and Final Reports

• Continual communications with Beneficiary/Funder/Experts

• Timely Invoicing of project


Reasons to CollaborateFind Partner or form Consortium

1. Need for certain skillset – you may not have2. Size and complexity of project/tender – multi-sectoral3. Requirement on size of references – too large for an SME4. Limited references and experience – seeking minor role5. Regional and cultural requirements6. Language capabilities7. Attractive alternative to Incumbent8. Partner Experts maybe cheaper, more

economical – ‘blended approach’


Sourcing Partners

• EU/IFI Tender List, Specialist Data Vendors• Visits to EU Brussels, EU Delegations, Country visits • Embassies – Belgian and Foreign Embassies• Government Agencies • Chambers • LinkedIn, Google Search• From current Partners and Business Associates• Experts, Advertisements, Recruitment Agencies • Consulting Networks – e.g. EEN Networks Belgium• Multinationals – e.g. MS, HP, Oracle


Limited Public Procurement Experience

Getting Started

• Do not seek to lead project

• Join consortium as junior partner or sub-contractor

• Provide experts to bidders - sub-contact to gain reference

• Contact those with Procurement experience - provide niche input


Junior Partner – Things to Watch

• Management Fees• How work is divided up – number of days• Share of Margin• Eligible expenses• Lead firm trying to ‘squeeze’ in extra expenses• Payment delays• Procedure for Follow-on contracts


Sub-Contracting

• The Contractor must submit appropriate documents to the Contracting Authorities attesting that the proposed subcontractor(s) is/are not in an exclusion situation.

• Subcontracting is permitted in the tender but the contractor will retain full liability towards the Contracting Authority for performance of the contract as a whole.

• Tenderers must give an indication of the proportion of the contract that they intend to subcontract.

• Tenderers are required to identify all subcontractors whose share of the contract is above a certain percentage (e.g. 10%.)

• During contract execution, the change of any subcontractor identified in the tender will be subject to prior written approval of the Contracting Authority.


Pre-Bid Agreement

• Joint Venture Agreement, Teaming Agreement, MOU, Consortium Agreement etc.

• Governs each member’s rights and responsibilities during the bidding and implementation process

• Benefits– Members agree on key points such as exclusivity, profits, fees,

and division of work– Reduces potential project conflicts


When?

Expression of Interest

Full Proposal

Contract Award

Pre-Bid Agreement


Terminology

Be clear with the terminology

• Include dates, name of project, names of all partners, addresses etc. – Name the Lead / Associate partners

• “X and Y are entering into a Joint Venture for the purpose of this project”

• “X will be the Lead company but both companies will be jointly and severally liable”

• Legally binding or not? • Have the PBA reviewed by Solicitor / Legal Dept. perhaps?


What to Include in Agreements?

• Rights and Obligations of members• Inputs• Profit & Payment• Management Responsibility and Fees• Allowable Expenses• Follow-on work? Requirement to bid together?


‘Best Practice’• Choose Tender carefully• Be Prepared – ‘Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail’• Seek Clarifications early in the process• Determine what evaluators wants• Partner/Collaborate/engage Tender Writers• Answer the ToR – no waffle/padding• USP – Play to your strengths• Check Proposal • Keep Bidding - shows commitment

– If you loose find out who won – possible subcontract or future partnership

• Review Process and Learn


General Observations/Tactics• BE AWARE if first time you hear is when Tender issues, it is

generally too late– somebody has written the tender, – you been asked to bid to create competition e.g. EBRD – Winner already identified (this is where you need market

Intelligence)To Counteract this:• Early Positioning/’Upstreaming’• Network – get to know the client, go to events where

evaluators or contractor might be - ‘Meet the Buyer’ events• Narrow your focus to certain departments subject areas• No prior experience – then bid as junior partner first or for

smaller contracts – BID and do not make excuses


General Observations/Tactics (2)• Do tailored project references (commercial experience) for

tenders• Do not assume anyone knows you e.g. HP case• Checklist and respond on time e.g. Danish bid by DHL• Know key vendors, competitors, local contacts• Bid strategy – determine what you can offer from outset and

not overpromise (lose money here)• Good and clear management summary of offer in the tender• Differentiate be innovative but fulfil the ToR• Multi discipline team• Bid Plan• Ask yourself and client what you could have done better


Useful Procurement Links

1. PRAG Guide - Guidelines, Forms and Templates available from this websitehttp://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/document.do?locale=en

2. EU: Policy on Public Procurementeuropa.eu/pol/singl/index_en.htm

3. Single European market: Public procurementec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/public-procurement/

4. PPN: European Public Procurement Network is a co-operation network of public procurement expert officials, dedicated to European companies, also has links to the national public procurement portals.www.publicprocurementnetwork.org

5. SME portal: access to information to Europe's small and medium-sized enterprisesec.europa.eu/growth/smes

6. e-CERTIS: documents / certificates for international procuremente-CERTIS provides detailed information on the certificates and documents commonly required in procurement in the various EU countries. Integrated with European Single Procurement Document (ESPD)ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/public-procurement/e-procurement/e-certis/index_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/document.do?locale=en

http://europa.eu/pol/singl/index_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/public-procurement/

http://www.publicprocurementnetwork.org/

http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/

http://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/public-procurement/e-procurement/e-certis/index_en.htm


Market Approach - Way Forward

• Develop Business Plan – Policy and Strategy Obtain Board/Director level support

• Target sector and funder - Long term strategy needed to show commitment

• Determine availability of Funds - ‘follow the money’

• Visit client/location – to understand priorities

• Visit relevant IFIs and Clients to get better understanding of opportunities – visit before bid


Way Forward (2)• Develop References and profile – first question you will

be asked by a potential Partner.

• Look for Local and International partners - Engage with other firms/consultants

• Junior consortia member initially (if limited experience)

• Submit a number of EOIs and Tenders – to show commitment/interest

• Do not give up after first loss - Review reasons for losses

Keep current and embrace change/diversify –particularly true for those in ‘Niche’ business areas


Contact DetailsConsultingIreland25 Merrion SquareDublin 2Republic of Ireland

Telephone: +353 1 6633976Fax: +353 1 6619112Web site: www.consultingireland.org E-mail: [email protected]

[email protected]

Thank You

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