Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Invest NI
Bedford Square, 1 Bedford Street
BELFAST
BT2 7ES
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 electronically via
https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
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
DfE - Invest NI - Design, Management and Delivery of the Accelerator Programme
Reference number
4908603
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 73200000 - Research and development consultancy services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
Invest NI wishes to appoint a Contractor to design, develop, manage and deliver an Accelerator programme to support high growth Innovation Driven Enterprises (IDEs) to establish in Northern Ireland. This programme will represent a key component of the start-up ecosystem for IDEs in Northern Ireland.
two.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: £2,540,000
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 73220000 - Development consultancy services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKN - Northern Ireland
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Invest NI wishes to appoint a Contractor to design, develop, manage and deliver an Accelerator programme to support high growth Innovation Driven Enterprises (IDEs) to establish in Northern Ireland. This programme will represent a key component of the start-up ecosystem for IDEs in Northern Ireland.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents
two.2.6) Estimated value
Value excluding VAT: £2,540,000
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Duration in months
24
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: Yes
Description of options
The initial contract period is for 2 years with the option to extend for a further 3 periods of up to 12 months each.
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.1.3) 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.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date
9 January 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: 8 April 2024
four.2.7) Conditions for opening of tenders
Date
9 January 2024
Local time
3:30pm
Section six. Complementary information
six.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement: No
six.2) Information about electronic workflows
Electronic invoicing will be accepted
Electronic payment will be used
six.3) Additional information
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 CPD for further action. If this occurs and their. performance still does not improve to satisfactory levels within the specified period, it may be regarded as an act of grave professional misconduct and they may be issued with a Notice of Unsatisfactory Performance and their place on the contract may be terminated. The issue of a Notice of Unsatisfactory Performance will result in the contractor being excluded from all procurement competitions being undertaken by Centres of Procurement. Expertise on behalf of bodies covered by the Northern Ireland Procurement Policy for a period of twelve months from the date of issue of the Notice
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.