Invitation to tender

Date of publication Simap : 05.07.2016

1. Contracting authority

1.1 Official name and address of the contracting authority

Contracting authority/Authority of assignment : Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA
Procurement authority/Organizer : Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC
Western Balkans Division, Freiburgstrasse 130,  3003  Bern,  Switzerland,  URL www.eda.admin.ch

1.2 Offers should be sent to the following address

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC
Western Balkans Division
PLEASE DO NOT OPEN,  attn Christa Romagnini, Freiburgstrasse 130,  3003  Bern,  Switzerland

1.3 Desired deadline for questions in written form

25.07.2016

Remarks : No information is given by telephone. Any question can be made by 25.07.2016 anonymously in the forum space at www.simap.ch. Questions submitted late cannot be answered. Answers will be published on www.simap.ch by 2.08.2016. 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: 05.09.2016, Specific deadlines and formal requirements:  Submission of offers: 1 Original and 2 copies, plus EDP medium as CD, DVD or Memory Stick

1.6 Type of contracting authority

Confederation (Central federal administration)

1.7 Type of procedure

Open procedure

1.8 Type of order

Order for services

1.9 According to GATT/WTO agreement, respectively to the international treaties

No

2. Objects of procurement

2.1 Service category CPC:

[27] Other services

2.2 Project title of the acquisition

COLLABORATION WITH CENTRES OF EXPERTISE IN DEMOCRATISATION, DECENTRALISATION AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE.

2.3 Reference / project no.

7F-88483

2.4 Common Procurement Vocabulary

CPV:	98300000 - Miscellaneous services

2.5 Detailed task description

The SDC Thematic Unit (TU) Democratisation, Decentralisation, Local Governance (DDLG) objective is to realize a results-oriented collaboration with a center of expertise in the DDLG thematic area. Through the mandate, the TU shall receive the necessary support to raise DDLG network members’ competencies and increase their impact on programming by receiving a more steady access to state of the art knowledge and advice and to enhance SDC’s influence in DDLG-related international fora.
The bidder will fulfill the following tasks:
·Provide backstopping services to the TU in the form of DDLG-related thematic advice, through comments on or contributions to TU DDLG thematic position papers, for internal and external use, the mobilization of access to knowledge resources and networks as well as DDLG network animation and outreach activities
· Conduct Action Research or other Research activities.
· Accompany learning processes, organize face to face and online learning events and write learning materials.

2.6 Location where service is to be delivered

Berne, Switzerland, and worldwide.

2.7 Division into lots?

No

2.8 Will variants be accepted?

No

2.9 Are partial offers permitted?

No

2.10 Implementation date

Start 01.02.2017 and finish 31.12.2020

3. Conditions

3.2 Deposits/guarantees

None

3.5 Consortium of bidders

Not permitted.

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 according to annex 1 Bidder information. Subcontractors are allowed to participate in different bids

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
Languages of documents :  English
Further information for obtaining the tendering documentation : The documentation on the public call to tender for the project mentioned can be downloaded from the platform www.simap.ch under: Running procedures, Confederation, Invitations to tender. In order to do so, you first have to register in the mentioned project. You will then be able to log in and use the password that you will have been sent by e-mail to download the documentation desired

4. Other information

4.1 Conditions for countries not party to the WTO agreement

None

4.2 Terms of business

General Conditions of Business for Mandate Type B: These General Conditions of Business (GCB) shall be deemed accepted by the Contractor on submission of the offer.

4.3 Negotiations

remain reserved

4.4 Basic procedural principles

The client only awards public commissions for services in Switzerland to tenderers who comply with job security regulations and the conditions of work for employees, and provide equal payment for men and women.
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 are in accordance with Section 3 of the Federal Ordinance on Public Procurement (PPO). There is no right of appeal.

4.6 Official organ of publication