CONTRACT AWARD 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

Across Wales Intertidal Monitoring Project

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 framework agreement

II.1.4)

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.

II.1.5)

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

II.1.6)

Contract covered by the government procurement agreement (GPA)

II.2)

Total final value of the contract(s)

II.2.1)

Total final value of the contract(s)

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1)

Type of procedure

IV.1.1)

Type of procedure

IV.2)

Award criteria

IV.2.1)

Award criteria

IV.2.2)

An electronic auction has been used

IV.3)

Administrative information

IV.3.1)

File reference number attributed by the contracting authority

WDM002

IV.3.2)

Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract

Other previous publications

Section V: Award of contract

Contract No:

V.1)

Date of contract award:

V.2)

Numbers of offers received:

V.3)

Name and address of economic operator to whom the contract has been awarded

V.4)

Information on value of contract

V.5)

The contract is likely to be subcontracted

Short description of the value/proportion of the contract to be subcontracted

Section VI: Complementary Information

VI.1)

Contract related to a project and/or programme financed by community funds?

VI.2)

Additional Information

(WA Ref:24389)

VI.3)

Procedures for appeal

VI.3.1)

Body responsible for appeal procedures

Body responsible for mediation procedures

VI.3.2)

Lodging of appeals

VI.3.3)

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

VI.4)

Dispatch date of this Notice