Affordable Quality Healthcare Project (AQH) aims to ensure that the health of the population of Kosovo improves, with strengthened healthcare providers and managers able to meet the needs of the patients (especially vulnerable groups)

Project ID 114940|Notice no. 828409

Invitation to tender
    Date of publication Simap : 09.07.2014
1. Contracting authority
1.1 Official name and address of the contracting authority
    Authority of need/Authority of assignment : Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA
    Authority of procurement/Organizer : Swiss Cooperation Office Kosovo,  attn Merita Stavileci Mustafa, National Programme Officer,  Rexhep Mala Str. no. 6,  10060  Pristina,  Kosovo,  E-mail:  merita.stavileci@eda.admin.ch,  URL http://www.swiss-cooperation.admin.ch/kosovo

1.2 Offers should be sent to the following address
    PLEASE DO NOT OPEN
    Swiss Cooperation Office Kosovo,  attn Merita Stavileci Mustafa, National Programme Officer,  Rexhep Mala Str. no. 6,  10060  Pristina,  Kosovo

1.3 Desired deadline for questions in written form
    23.07.2014
    Remarks : No information is given by telephone. Any question can be made by 23.07.2014 anonymously in the forum space at www.simap.ch. Questions submitted late cannot be answered. Answers will be published on www.simap.ch by 4.08.2014. Bidders are themselves responsible for downloading the answers from SIMAP and for taking them into consideration in the preparation of the bids.

1.4 Deadline for submitting offers
    Date: 18.08.2014, Specific deadlines and formal requirements:  The “Technical Proposal” and “Financial Proposal” shall be submitted in one envelope and shall contain
    a. one original signed hard copy of the Technical and Financial Proposal labelled “Original”
    b. two signed copies of the Technical and Financial Proposal labelled, “Signed Copy”
    c. one data storage device (e.g. CD, DVD or Memory Stick) of all Technical Proposal and all Financial Proposal Documents.
    No electronic submission will be considered.

1.6 Type of contracting authority
    Confederation (Central federal administration)

1.7 Type of procedure
    Open procedure

1.8 Type of commission
    Order for services

1.9 According to GATT/WTO agreement, respectively treaty
    No

2. Objects of procurement
2.1 Type of commission for services
    Other sevices
    Service category CPC:  [27] Other services

2.2 Project title of the acquisition
    Affordable Quality Healthcare Project (AQH) aims to ensure that the health of the population of Kosovo improves, with strengthened healthcare providers and managers able to meet the needs of the patients (especially vulnerable groups).

2.3 Reference / project no.
    7F-08891.01

2.4 Common Procurement Vocabulary
    CPV:      98300000 - Miscellaneous services

2.5 Detailed task description
    Part 1: Tasks and responsibilities for the preparation of the project and elaboration of a Project Document (an inception phase of maximum 9 months is envisaged)
    - Initiate a participatory project development process in order to develop ownership among key stakeholders and elaborate the details of the project, in close collaboration with SDC.
    - Elaboration of a detailed hierarchy of objectives, theory of change, action lines and related strategies of the project.
    - Elaborate a clear intervention strategy and approaches to be adopted in view of seizing opportunities for scaling up and ensuring the sustainability of interventions.
    - Selection of partner municipalities including the conclusion of preliminary agreements with selected municipalities. Clear criteria, preliminarily agreed with SDC, shall guide the selection process.
    - Elaborate a thorough risk assessment and risk management framework, with a specific focus on the risk of corruption.
    - Identify entry points and devise respective plans for addressing SDC’s transversal themes, gender equity and good governance. A special attention should be paid to social inclusion of vulnerable and excluded groups.
    - Prepare a thorough stakeholder analysis, identifying possible drivers and restrainers of change, understanding prevailing power relations, and define the Project’s approach related to strategic partnerships and cooperation.
    - Define and operationalize the Project set up, organization and management, in close collaboration with SDC.
    - Develop a monitoring system, including the establishment of a baseline related to outcome and impact indicators agreed upon with SDC. The basis for conducting a cost benefit analysis should also be established.
    - Identify and plan synergies between the Project and SDC’s intervention in local government and decentralization (DEMOS, AKM) as well as SDC’s interventions in enhancing private sector development (PPSE and EYE). Special attention shall be paid to SDC’s contribution to the WB (Swiss Trust Fund: Improving Financial Protection and Quality of Care) in order to ensure a programmatic approach.
    - Ensure coordination with other important development projects supporting healthcare reform, in particular with the WB’s KHP and Lux Dev. Explore and promote the applicability of the Providing for Health (P4H) approach.
    - Close and continuous cooperation and discussion with SDC Head Office, SCO Kosovo and other relevant local stakeholders.
    - On the basis of the above, elaboration of a Project Document and respective annexes. The document has to be presented to SDC latest by the end of the sixth month of inception phase. SDC reserves the right to ask for amendments to the presented Project Document.
    Part 2: Implementation of the Project
    - Overall management and coordination of and implementation of the Project according to the Project Document and the approved SDC Credit Proposal. The Project Management shall strive to fulfil a facilitation role, and avoid creating parallel implementing structures, which are less sustainable.
    - Management of staff, consultants, and eventual subcontractors.
    - Provision of technical assistance to partner municipalities, health facilities and respective institutions at the central level.
    - Operational and financial planning, management and reporting.
    - Monitoring of the planned activities, outputs, outcomes and impact.
    - Build a solid network with respective actors and stakeholders in Kosovo’s health sector
    - Exchange and coordinate with SDC and its relevant partners in Kosovo, in the region and beyond.
    - Knowledge management and know-how transfer to local stakeholders. In addition, ensure sharing of experiences and good practices with other SDC health programmes in Eastern Europe.
    Profile of the Bidding Organisation
    A bidder must be an institution, organization or company with a sound background in implementing complex health development projects, preferably with a broad experience base in transition countries, ideally in the Western Balkans and/or Kosovo. The organization shall have proven management capacity related to complex, large, multitier and multiactor health support projects. Because of the broad scope of the project, the bidder must have – besides its experiences and knowledge - access to an established network of specialists in sub- fields of public health, such as health system management and financing, capacity development of health professionals, health promotion, and community mobilization. Consultants with specific expertise may be subcontracted by the implementer. This has to be reflected in the technical and financial offer of the bid.

2.6 Location where service is supplied
    Kosovo

2.7 Division into lots?
    No

2.8 Will variants be accepted?
    Yes
    Remarks : Yes. Variants are to be indicated expressly as such and to be submitted separately in addition to the basic bid. Bidders must give reasons in writing for the advantages and equivalence of the variants in relation to the achievement of objectives. Otherwise they will not be taken into consideration.

2.9 Are partial offers permitted?
    No

2.10 Implementation date
    Start  01.11.2014  and finish  31.07.2019

3. Conditions
3.1 General conditions of participation
    None

3.2 Deposits/guarantees
    None

3.3 Conditions of payment
    None

3.4 Costs to be included
    None

3.5 Consortium of bidders
    Consortia of bidders re permitted. If a bidder participates in the procedure as part of a consortium, he must identify a member of the consortium who performs the lead function (deputisation, coordination). The bidder lists all members and their roles. All members of the consortium together bear responsibility for the bid.

3.6 Subcontractor
    Subcontractors are permitted. If the bidder engages a subcontractor to provide certain services, the bidder bears full responsibility for the provided services. He lists all subcontractors involved with their assigned roles.

3.7 Suitability criteria
    based on the criteria given in the documentation

3.8 Evidence required
    based on the evidence required in the documentation

3.9 Award criteria:
    based on the criteria given in the documentation

3.10 Conditions for obtaining the tendering documentation
    Costs: none

3.11 Languages for offers
    English

3.12 Validity of offers
    180 days after deadline for receipt of offers

3.13 Supplying source of the tendering documentation
    at www.simap.ch
    Documents of the invitation to tender are available from : 09.07.2014  until  18.08.2014
    Languages of documents :  English

4. Other information
4.1 Conditions for countries not party to the WTO agreement
    None

4.2 Terms of business
    General Conditions of Business (GCB) for the project implementation mandates

4.3 Negotiations
    remain reserved

4.4 Basic procedural principles
    The contracting authority awards public contracts for services provided in Switzerland only to bidders who ensure compliance with the health and safety regulations and employment conditions for employees, as well as equal pay for women and men.
    If the service is provided abroad, the bidder must ensure at least compliance with the International Labour Organization’s fundamental conventions in accordance with Annex 2a PPO.
    These principles shall be deemed accepted by the Contractor on submission of the offer.

4.5 Additional information
    1. The option of directly awarding follow-up mandates is reserved.
    2. The tender proceeds in accordance with Section 3 of the Federal Ordinance on Public Procurement (FOPP). There is no right of appeal.

4.6 Official organ of publication
    www.simap.ch