Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH
Telephone
+44 8434779
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UK - United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth.
one.2) Information about joint procurement
The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body
one.3) Communication
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority
one.5) Main activity
General public services
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Empowering Palestinian Institutions and Civil Society (EPICS) Technical Assistance component
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 75211200 - Foreign economic-aid-related services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
The Empowering Palestinian Institutions and Civil Society (EPICS) programme aims to improve the viability, legitimacy and inclusion of governance and service delivery, to protect and support civic space, and to empower women, in the OPTs. It will provide technical assistance to PA institutions across governance sectors, with a particular focus on financial viability and provision of essential services, in order to protect the fiscal viability and legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
two.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: £17,000,000
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 79212110 - Corporate governance rating services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
Main site or place of performance
a capacity to support service delivery in Occupied Palestinian Territories will be required
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
FCDO intends to engage a supplier of Technical Assistance to deliver the following outputs; Output 1: Strengthened systems and capacities for centre of government processes, public financial management (PFM) and tax. The TA supplier may also be requested to support Output 2: Strengthened systems, processes and capacities for transparency, accountability and inclusion. TA for PFM will include building individual capacities, systems and processes within the PA (mostly the Ministry of Finance, but also the Prime Minister’s Office) to improve the PA’s ability to set budgets that are based on a medium-term fiscal framework, itself based on accurate macroeconomic forecasts, which reflects the PA’s agreed plans and policy priorities and which enable, to the extent possible, the equitable delivery of quality services. TA for tax will include building individual capacities, systems and processes within the Ministry of Finance to strengthen its ability to collect domestic taxes and broaden the tax base.
The TA supplier may also be required to support Centre of Government functions; those that enable the PA as a whole to function across its ministries and agencies. These may include policy and legislative development and implementation, strategic planning, aid management, the PA reform agenda and coordination of cross-cutting issues such as gender, inclusion and climate change. This may include supporting the passage of legislation and policies that improve inclusion and protection for women and other marginalised groups.
Other activities that the TA supplier may be required to support include: transparency and accountability, including working with the Palestinian Legislative Council if elections take place; women’s empowerment and inclusion; anti-corruption; and strengthening the rule of law.
Technical assistance will be provided by a mix of Palestinian and expatriate experts, engaged on long-term and short-term bases, as appropriate. They will provide training and mentoring to their PA counterparts. We are seeking a supplier able to employ a problem-driven iterative adaptation approach (PDIA), especially given the longer the normal programme duration and the security and political dynamics.
two.2.14) Additional information
FCDO will be holding an on-line EME event on 7th Sept - to attend you will need to register at the following link.
https://forms.office.com/e/BwDNXSQSLR
two.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice
1 November 2023
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No