CONTRACT NOTICE – OFFICIAL JOURNAL

Section I: Contracting Authority

I.1)

Name, Address and Contact Point(s)

I.2)

Type of contracting Authority and Main Activity or Activities

Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions National or federal agency/Office Regional or local Authority Regional or local Agency/Office Body governed by public law European Institution/Agency or International Organisation

General public services Defence Public order and safety Environment Economic and financial affairs Health Housing and community amenities Social protection Recreation, culture and religion Education

Section II: Object of the Contract

II.1)

Description

II.1.1)

Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority

II.1.2(a))

Type of works contract

II.1.2(b))

Type of supplies contract

II.1.2(c))

Type of service contract

II.1.2)

Main site or location of works, place of delivery or performance

Wales

II.1.3)

This notice involves

A public contract
The setting up of a Dynamic Purchasing System
The establishment of a framework agreement

II.1.4)

Information on framework agreement (if applicable)

Framework agreement with a single operators
Framework agreement with several operators

Number of participants to the framework agreement envisaged

Duration of the framework agreement

Justification for a framework agreement the duration of which exceeds four years

Estimated total value of purchases for the entire duration of the framework agreement

Frequency and value of the contracts to be awarded

II.1.5)

Short description of the contract or purchase(s)

Summary of Background

Natural Resources Wales has a statutory duty (formerly held by the Countryside Council for Wales) to produce advice under Regulation 35 (formerly Regulation 33) of the Habitats Regulations 1994 (updated 2010), which states:

“As soon as possible after a site becomes a European marine site, [NRW / NE] shall advise other relevant authorities as to –

- the conservation objectives for that site, and

- any operations which may cause deterioration of natural habitats or ... disturbance of species, for which the site has been designated.”

The Regulation 35 advice package is the foundation for feature condition monitoring, which is required in order for NRW to fulfil its function of reporting on whether features are in Favourable Conservation Status (FCS). The Habitats Directive establishes that the management of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) should aim to achieve the FCS of habitat and species features. Features can be, for example, an entire habitat, a range of plant/animal communities, an individual plant/animal community or individual species. In the case of the Habitats Directive, the features are the habitats and species listed in Annex I and Annex II for which the individual site has been selected.

To inform management and enable reporting on the FCS of intertidal habitats of SAC, Special Protection Areas (SPAs: Birds Directive) and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), NRW require implementation of an intertidal monitoring program through contracting in additional capacity. NRW staff and the Contractor, in consultation, will continue to develop and implement the monitoring programme for each statutory site. Previous and current intertidal SAC monitoring in Wales has involved modified ‘Intertidal Phase 1’ methods; fixed and random quadrats; intertidal sediment cores and photographic techniques.

The fieldwork will be conducted within Wales and spread between statutory sites that contain intertidal features. The project will focus on sub-habitats of the broad SAC features: intertidal mudflats and sandflats, reefs (including biogenic reefs), shallow inlets and bays and estuaries.

The contractors will maintain a close working relationship with NRW marine specialist staff in the design, implementation and analysis; and provide regular presentation, reporting, analysis and interpretation of the monitoring work, including identifying opportunities to publish the monitoring work in scientific and other journals. The program will harmonise the monitoring work with Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive monitoring objectives where they overlap.

This program of work requires up to 5 weeks (25 days) of intertidal fieldwork, typically using an effective team of two skilled contractors, plus an assistant. For extensive sediment surveys, it may be better value for money to increase the number of less skilled personnel. A further member of NRW staff will make up the team of 4 surveyors as standard (this can be varied, within the scope of the required survey work).

The following are essential requirements:

- Numerous years’ experience in planning and carrying out marine intertidal rocky and sediment surveys. The requirement to be able to cross difficult terrain and sediment flats is important in this contract.

- A high level of skill in the identification of marine intertidal and shallow sublittoral animals and plants.

- An appropriate quality assurance mechanism, to ensure good quality data and reports.

- A proven record of data analysis, presentation and report writing in marine ecology.

The following are desirable requirements:

- Experience in data management and archiving in line with MEDIN guidelines.

- Have an understanding of the Habitats Directive and Water Framework Directive.

- Some experience in operating from small boats.

NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Sell2Wales Web Site at http://www.sell2wales.gov.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=16894.

The buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Postbox facility. A user guide is available at http://www.sell2wales.gov.uk/sitehelp/help_guides.aspx.

Suppliers are advised to allow adequate time for uploading documents and to dispatch the electronic response well in advance of the closing time to avoid any last minute problems.

II.1.6)

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

II.1.7)

Contract covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

II.1.8)

Division into lots

II.1.9)

Will variants be accepted

II.2)

Quantity or Scope of the Contract

II.2.1)

Total quantity or scope

II.2.2)

Options

Provisional timetable for recourse to these options

Number of possible renewals

In the case of renewable supplies or service contracts, estimated time frame for subsequent contracts

II.3)

Duration of the contract or limit for completion

Section III: Legal, Economic, Financial and Technical Information

III.1)

Conditions Relating to the Contract

III.1.1)

Deposits and guarantees required

III.1.2)

Main Terms of financing and payment and/or reference to the relevant provisions

III.1.3)

Legal form to be taken by the grouping of suppliers, contractors or service providers to whom the contract is to be awarded

III.1.4)

Other particular conditions to which the performance of the contract is subject

III.2)

Conditions for Participation

III.2.1)

Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

III.2.2)

Economic and financial capacity

III.2.3)

Technical capacity

III.2.4)

Reserved contracts

The contract is restricted to sheltered workshops
The execution of the contract is restricted to the framework of sheltered employment programmes

III.3)

Conditions Specific to Service Contracts

III.3.1)

Is provision of the service reserved to a specific profession?

III.3.2)

Will legal entities be required to state the names and professional qualifications of the personnel responsible for the execution of the service?

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1)

Type of Procedure

Open		Restricted
Accelerated restricted		Negotiated
Accelerated negotiated		Competitive dialogue

Justification for the choice of accelerated procedure

IV.1.1)

Have candidates already been selected?

IV.1.2)

Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate

Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates

IV.1.3)

Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue

Recourse to staged procedure to gradually reduce the number of solutions to be discussed or tenders to be negotiated

IV.2)

Award Criteria

IV.2.2)

An electronic auction will be used

IV.3 Administrative Information

IV.3.1)

Reference number attributed to the notice by the contracting authority

WDM002

IV.3.2)

Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract

Prior Information Notice
Notice on a Buyer Profile

Other previous publications

IV.3.3)

Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents

IV.3.4)

Time-limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

IV.3.5)

Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates

IV.3.6)

Language or languages in which tenders or requests to participate can be drawn up

IV.3.7)

Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender 

IV.3.8)

Conditions for opening tenders

Section VI: Other Information

VI.1)

Indicate whether this procurement is a recurrent one and the Estimated timing for further notices to be published

VI.2)

Does the contract relate to a Project/Programme financed by Community Funds?

VI.3)

Additional Information

(WA Ref:16894)

VI.4)

Procedures for appeal

VI.4.1)

Body responsible for appeal procedures

Body responsible for mediation procedures

VI.4.2)

Lodging of appeals
Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals:

VI.4.3)

Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained

VI.5)

Dispatch date of this Notice

ANNEX A

Additional Addresses and Contact Points

I)

Address and contact points from which further information can be obtained

II)

Address and contact points from which specifications and additional documentation may be obtained

III)

Address and contact points to which Tenders/Requests to Participate must be sent