Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs DAERA
303 Airport Road West
BELFAST
BT3 9ED
Contact
SSDAdmin.CPDfinance-ni.gov.uk
ssdadmin.cpd@finance-ni.gov.uk
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UK - United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
Buyer's address
https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
one.2) Information about joint procurement
The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body
one.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at
https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted to the above-mentioned address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
General public services
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
ID 4881595 - DAERA - Livestock Genetics and Data Branch - Bovine Genetics Programme
Reference number
ID 4881595
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
DAERA (the Buyer) is seeking to establish a contract with a Supplier to provide genetic and genomic evaluations, benchmarking services, and associated customer support services for the Northern Ireland Bovine Genetics Programme. The main objectives of this programme are to create an integrated bovine data platform via a managed solution which will deliver and future-proof the functionality to provide genetic and genomic evaluations, benchmarking services, and associated customer support services, to the Bovine Genetics Programme and additionally provide flexibility to exploit the use of new technology where this provides benefit to the programme. The initial contract period is for 5 years with two optional extension periods of 2 years each and a further optional extension period of 1 year. For further details regarding the requirement, please refer to document entitled “ID 4881595 – Mid-Tier Schedule 02 (Specification)”.
two.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: £50,000,000
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 72300000 - Data services
- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services
- 73100000 - Research and experimental development services
- 73200000 - Research and development consultancy services
- 73300000 - Design and execution of research and development
- 48000000 - Software package and information systems
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKN - Northern Ireland
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
DAERA (the Buyer) is seeking to establish a contract with a Supplier to provide genetic and genomic evaluations, benchmarking services, and associated customer support services for the Northern Ireland Bovine Genetics Programme. The main objectives of this programme are to create an integrated bovine data platform via a managed solution which will deliver and future-proof the functionality to provide genetic and genomic evaluations, benchmarking services, and associated customer support services, to the Bovine Genetics Programme and additionally provide flexibility to exploit the use of new technology where this provides benefit to the programme. The initial contract period is for 5 years with two optional extension periods of 2 years each and a further optional extension period of 1 year. For further details regarding the requirement, please refer to document entitled “ID 4881595 – Mid-Tier Schedule 02 (Specification)”.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion - Name: Qualitative Criteria / Weighting: 70
Cost criterion - Name: Quantitative Criteria / Weighting: 30
two.2.6) Estimated value
Value excluding VAT: £50,000,000
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Duration in months
60
This contract is subject to renewal
Yes
Description of renewals
This Contract is for an initial period of 5 years with 2 optional extension periods of up to 2 years each and 1 further optional extension period of up to 1 year.
two.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted: No
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: Yes
Description of options
This Contract is for an initial period of 5 years with 2 optional extension periods of up to 2 years each and 1 further optional extension period of up to 1 year.
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
Section three. Legal, economic, financial and technical information
three.1) Conditions for participation
three.1.2) Economic and financial standing
Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Open procedure
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date
1 April 2024
Local time
3:00pm
four.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
English
four.2.6) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
Tender must be valid until: 30 July 2024
four.2.7) Conditions for opening of tenders
Date
1 April 2024
Local time
3:30pm
Section six. Complementary information
six.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement: Yes
Estimated timing for further notices to be published: This contract will potentially be due to be re-procured after the initial contract period and/or following any extensions
six.3) Additional information
Contract Value . . The current estimated budget for the maximum contract term including all optional extensions (10 years in total) is £36.5m. This budget also includes the annual support and maintenance based on approximately 21,500 users; however actual costs will be calculated on a pro rata basis depending on the actual number of users. . . The estimated budget of £36.5M is based on current requirements as detailed in the Specification Schedule and associated documentation. However, the total potential maximum value of the contract is up to £50m (excl. VAT) for the maximum contract term including all optional extensions (10 years in total). This value reflects the potential scale of the contract and takes into account changes and potential modifications to the contract that may be required due to legislative, operational and technological developments and/or additional functions and additional services that DAERA may be required to provide during the contract term. This is an estimated maximum contract value only and the Buyer reserves the right to award a contract for a lower or higher amount.. . The Buyer, in its sole discretion, will determine the level of services required from the Contract. The Buyer reserves the right to adjust the Contracts annual budget dependent on required service provision and Suppliers should take this into account when deciding whether to bid for this opportunity. CPD and DAERA cannot give any guarantee as to the level of business under this contract/agreement. Should a Supplier wish to gain a competitive advantage, they should price their bid accordingly. The award of a Services Contract does not confer exclusivity on the successful Supplier.. . Contract monitoring: the successful contractor’s performance on the contract will be regularly monitored. Contractors not delivering on contract requirements is a serious matter. It means the public purse is not getting what it is paying for. If a contractor fails to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance they will be given a specified time to improve. If, after the specified time, they still fail to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance, the matter will be escalated to senior management in construction and procurement delivery (CPD) for further action. If this occurs and their performance still does not improve to satisfactory levels within the specified period, this may be considered grounds for termination of the contract at your expense as provided for in the Conditions of Contract. In lieu of termination, CPD may issue a Notice of Written Warning or a Notice of Unsatisfactory Performance. A supplier in receipt of multiple Notices of Written Warning or a Notice of Unsatisfactory Performance may, in accordance with The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended), be excluded from future public procurement competitions for a period of up to three years. The Services to be delivered by the Supplier are the full range of Services required by the Buyer to support its operational requirements over the initial Term of the contract and, if extended, the extension(s) to the Term of the contract. . The Services may be subject to change during the Term in order to address and remain consistent with future changes to the Buyer’s operational requirements, including, but not limited to: Changes to the Buyer’s delivery model; Changes to the Buyer’s organisation, including wider changes to NICS Departmental structures; and/or where key functions of the current Buyer organisational structure are provided by different/alternative public sector organisations; and/or where new functions are provided by the Buyer; and. Changes requiring the Supplier to provide services to/for other public sector organisations to fulfil the Buyer’s operational requirements. Such changes may result in increases or decreases in the scope and/or scale of the Services required from the Supplier, or changes to the Contract to accommodate organisational/functional changes affecting the Buyer, and accordingly this contract shall be subject to modification without a new procurement procedure in accordance with Regulation 72 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The Supplier shall provide a suitable mechanism for accommodating these changes assuming the nature of the services provided remain consistent with the overall nature of the Buyer’s operational requirements for this contract as defined in this Specification and associated documentation. Such changes may involve changes which cannot be identified at the time of this procurement, but which may be identified and required during the Term of the contract (“Additional Services”). The Supplier should note that there may also be other changes in the scope and/or scale of the Services required during the Term of the Contract that could not be identified or foreseen at the time of this procurement but which are consistent with the overall nature of the Buyer’s current and future operational requirements as defined in this Specification and associated documentation. In such circumstances the Buyer may seek to agree a modification to this Contract to facilitate the provision of such services by the Supplier, with the charges for such services set by reference to the mechanisms and protections provided in the Conditions of Contract. It is envisaged that such modifications would be made without requiring a new procurement procedure in accordance with Regulation 72 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
The UK does not have any such bodies with responsibility for appeal/mediation procedures. Instead; any challenges are dealt with by the High Court, Commercial Division, to which proceedings may be issued regarding alleged breaches of the PCR 2015 as amended.
Belfast
Country
United Kingdom
six.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures
CPD will comply with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) and, where appropriate, will incorporate a standstill period (i.e. a minimum of 10 calendar days) at the point information on the award of contract is communicated to tenderers. That notification will provide full information on the award decision. This provides time for the unsuccessful tenderers to challenge the award decision before the contract is entered into.