- 1. Norfolk County Council (As Administering Authority for Norfolk Pension Fund
- 2. Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council (as Administering Authority of the Greater Manchester Pension Fund)
- 3. Wolverhampton City Council (as Administering Authority of the West Midlands Pension Fund)
- 4. East Sussex County Council (as Administering Authority of the East Sussex Pension Fund)
- 5. Wirral Council (as Administering Authority of the Merseyside Pension Fund)
- 6. South Yorkshire Pension Authority
- 7. West Sussex County Council(as Administering Authority for West Sussex Pension Fund)
- 8. City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (as Administering Authority of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund)
Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Norfolk County Council (As Administering Authority for Norfolk Pension Fund
Martineau Lane
NORWICH
NR1 2DH
Contact
Julie Ward
Telephone
+44 1603224320
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKH15 - Norwich and East Norfolk
Internet address(es)
Main address
Buyer's address
https://in-tendhost.co.uk/norfolkcc/aspx/Home
one.1) Name and addresses
Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council (as Administering Authority of the Greater Manchester Pension Fund)
Droylsden
M43 6SF
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKD3 - Greater Manchester
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.1) Name and addresses
Wolverhampton City Council (as Administering Authority of the West Midlands Pension Fund)
Wolverhampton
WFV1 1SH
pensionfundenquiries@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKG39 - Wolverhampton
Internet address(es)
Main address
www.wmpfonline.com/pensionsportal
one.1) Name and addresses
East Sussex County Council (as Administering Authority of the East Sussex Pension Fund)
Lewes
BN7 1UE
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKJ22 - East Sussex CC
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.1) Name and addresses
Wirral Council (as Administering Authority of the Merseyside Pension Fund)
Liverpool
LS2 9SH
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKD72 - Liverpool
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.1) Name and addresses
South Yorkshire Pension Authority
Barnsley
S70 2RD
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKE3 - South Yorkshire
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.1) Name and addresses
West Sussex County Council(as Administering Authority for West Sussex Pension Fund)
Chichester
PO19 1RG
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKJ2 - Surrey, East and West Sussex
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.1) Name and addresses
City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (as Administering Authority of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund)
Bradford
PO19 1RG
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKE - Yorkshire and the Humber
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.2) Information about joint procurement
The contract involves joint procurement
one.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at
https://in-tendhost.co.uk/norfolkcc/aspx/Home
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted electronically via
https://in-tendhost.co.uk/norfolkcc/aspx/Home
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Regional or local authority
one.5) Main activity
General public services
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Provision of Stewardship Advisory Services Primarily in Support of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
Reference number
NCCT42176
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 66520000 - Pension services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
Norfolk County Council (as Administering Authority for Norfolk Pension Fund), on its own behalf and on behalf of City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (as Administering Authority of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund), East Sussex County Council (as Administering Authority of East Sussex Pension Fund), South Yorkshire Pensions Authority, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council (as Administering Authority of the Greater Manchester Pension Fund), Wirral Council (as Administering Authority of the Merseyside Pension Fund), West Sussex County Council (as Administering Authority of West Sussex Pension Fund) and Wolverhampton City Council (as Administering Authority of the West Midlands Pension Fund) wish to let a multi-provider framework agreement for the provision of Stewardship Advisory Services primarily in support of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: Yes
Tenders may be submitted for all lots
Maximum number of lots that may be awarded to one tenderer: 4
two.2) Description
two.2.1) Title
Voting Services
Lot No
1
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 66520000 - Pension services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Voting services including but not limited to:
Coverage and Policy
• Ability to provide global voting coverage
• Formalisation of a voting policy informed by client beliefs leading to an agreed voting template. Assisting in the formulation of agreed voting templates in line with client requirements
• Providing support on voting and voting related engagement issues
• Benchmarking fund manager voting intentions relative to the client's voting policy
• Supporting clients with stewardship-related compliance e.g. UNPRI, UK Stewardship Code etc.
Execution
• Delivery of voting execution and voting related engagement in line with client policies
• Advising on best practice in voting policy and execution
• Ability to align voting with engagement activities
• Ability to allow individual funds to vote differently to Pool
Reporting
• Identifying evolving voting themes which may impact upon client policies and reputation
• Key analysis and reporting of trends in voting behaviour and activity and post-vote reporting
• Supporting clients with internal and external communication with regards to stewardship policies
• Ability to meet bespoke reporting requirements
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Duration in months
48
This contract is subject to renewal
No
two.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted: No
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.14) Additional information
There is no guarantee of business. Contracts awarded under the framework may have a maximum total duration of 7 years. No contract awarded from the framework will be permitted to extend beyond 31 March 2033.
two.2) Description
two.2.1) Title
Engagement Services
Lot No
2
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 66520000 - Pension services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Engagement Services including but not limited to:
Coverage and Policy
• Assisting the client to engage with investee entities across the portfolio as defined by the client
• Identifying and prioritising fund engagement activities by issue and company
• Identifying key engagement risks within client portfolios
• Identifying the optimal engagement strategy in line with the client's investment portfolio
• Identifying opportunities for clients to collaborate to secure more cost-efficient and effective engagement outcomes
• Analysing the effectiveness of active ownership policies
• Ability to provide a service tailored to different geographies and the ability to engage with companies worldwide decided on by ESG criteria
• Identifying industry developments which may impact upon client policies and reputation
Execution
• Undertaking engagement activity on behalf of clients
• Supporting the integration of engagement best practice into investment processes and decision-making
• Supporting the client in their engagement with policymakers and regulators with regard to active ownership
• Co-ordination of Collaborative initiative and Shareholder resolutions
• Ability to align engagement activities with voting
• Supporting the Scheme with defining objectives of engagements at manager or issuer level, and what plans there are for escalation should these fail
Reporting
• Provision of regular monitoring reports and analysis of engagement activities undertaken
• Analysing the effectiveness of engagement activity
• Supporting clients with stewardship-related compliance e.g. UNPRI, UK Stewardship Code etc.
• Supporting clients with internal and external communication with regards to engagement policies
• Ability to meet bespoke reporting requirements
Training
• Provision of ongoing training for clients in relation to engagement
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Duration in months
48
This contract is subject to renewal
No
two.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted: No
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.14) Additional information
There is no guarantee of business. Contracts awarded under the framework may have a maximum total duration of 7 years. No contract awarded from the framework will be permitted to extend beyond 31 March 2033.
two.2) Description
two.2.1) Title
Voting and Engagement Services
Lot No
3
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 66520000 - Pension services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Voting and Engagement services including, but not limited to:
• Ability to provide full global voting coverage
• Formalisation of a voting policy informed by client beliefs leading to an agreed voting template. Assisting in the formulation of agreed voting templates in line with client requirements
• Delivery of voting execution and voting related engagement in line with client policies
• Providing support on voting and voting related engagement issues
• Identifying evolving voting themes which may impact upon client policies and reputation
• Advising on best practice in voting policy and execution
• Key analysis and reporting of trends in voting behaviour and activity and post-vote reporting
• Benchmarking fund manager voting intentions relative to the client's voting policy
• Supporting clients with stewardship-related compliance e.g. UNPRI, UK Stewardship Code etc.
• Supporting clients with internal and external communication with regards to stewardship policies
• Ability to meet bespoke reporting requirements
• Ability to align voting and engagement activities
• Ability to allow individual funds to vote differently to Pool
• Assisting the client to engage with investee entities across the portfolio as defined by the client
• Identifying and prioritising fund engagement activities by issue and company
• Identifying key engagement risks within client portfolios
• Identifying the optimal engagement strategy in line with the client's investment portfolio
• Identifying opportunities for clients to collaborate to secure more cost-efficient and effective engagement outcomes
• Undertaking engagement activity on behalf of clients.
• Supporting the integration of engagement best practice into investment processes and decision-making
• Supporting the client in their engagement with policymakers and regulators with regard to active ownership
• Provision of ongoing training for clients in relation to engagement
• Provision of regular monitoring reports and analysis of engagement activities undertaken
• Analysing the effectiveness of engagement activity
• Identifying key stewardship risks within client portfolios
• Analysing the effectiveness of active ownership policies
• Co-ordination of Collaborative initiative and Shareholder resolutions
• Ability to provide a service tailored to different geographies and the ability to engage with companies worldwide decided on by ESG criteria
• Identifying industry developments which may impact upon client policies and reputation
• Supporting the Scheme with defining objectives of engagements at manager or at issuer level, and what plans there are for escalation should these fail.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Duration in months
48
This contract is subject to renewal
No
two.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted: No
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.14) Additional information
There is no guarantee of business. Contracts awarded under the framework may have a maximum total duration of 7 years. No contract awarded from the framework will be permitted to extend beyond 31 March 2033.
two.2) Description
two.2.1) Title
Stewardship Reporting and Projects
Lot No
4
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 66520000 - Pension services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Discrete pieces of specialist, stewardship-related project work including, but not limited to:
• Advice on preparing stewardship due diligence tools for specific asset classes e.g. real estate, forestry etc.
• Advice on contentious issues related to Responsible Investment
• Reviewing and helping develop stewardship policies and partnerships
• Integrating responsible investment policies into investment decision-making
• Supporting clients in their stewardship-related interactions with stakeholders
• Supporting the analysis and reporting of stewardship-related data
• Provision of research at sectoral, regional, asset class and/or investment level of environmental, social, governance and other stewardship matters in relation to current or prospective client investments
• Advice and reporting including gap-analysis in line with relevant regulatory standards and recognised external frameworks e.g. UNPRI, TCFD, UK Stewardship code, Paris Alignment, SDG alignment
• Analysing the effectiveness of active ownership policies and engagement activity
• Identifying industry developments which may impact upon client policies and reputation
• Supporting the Scheme with defining engagement beliefs and priorities
• Supporting the integration of stewardship best practice into investment processes and decision-making (in respect of both internal and external management)
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Duration in months
48
This contract is subject to renewal
No
two.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted: No
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.14) Additional information
There is no guarantee of business. Contracts awarded under the framework may have a maximum total duration of 7 years. No contract awarded from the framework will be permitted to extend beyond 31 March 2033.
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
three.1.3) Technical and professional ability
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.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number: 2021/S 000-014803
four.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date
31 January 2022
Local time
2:00pm
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
Duration in months: 3 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)
four.2.7) Conditions for opening of tenders
Date
31 January 2022
Local time
2:05pm
Section six. Complementary information
six.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement: No
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Norfolk County Council
Norwich
Country
United Kingdom
six.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures
The Council has decided to incorporate a standstill period at the point when information on the proposed award of the contract is communicated to tenderers. The standstill period, which will be for a minimum of ten calendar days, provides time for unsuccessful tenders to challenge the award decision before the Contract is entered into. Aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by any breach of the Council's obligations may take action in the High Court (England, Wales and Northern Ireland). Proceedings must be brought within 30 days from the date of knowledge (the date on which the economic operator first knew or ought to have known that grounds for starting the proceedings had arisen) unless the Court considers that there is good reason for extending the period within which proceedings may be brought, in which case the Court may extend that period up to a maximum of 3 months from the date of knowledge.