TENDER FILE / TERMS OF REFERENCE

(Competitive bidding procedure / Framework Contract)

Purchase of local consultancy services under project “Attorney General and State Advocate in Malta – Implementation of action plan of offices re-organization” in Malta

5203/2024/03

The Council of Europe is currently implementing the EU-CoE Joint Project: “Attorney General and State Advocate in Malta – Implementation of action plan of offices re-organization”. In that context, it is looking for Providers for local consultancy services to be requested by the Council on an as needed basis.

A.    TENDER RULES

This tender procedure is a competitive bidding procedure. In accordance with Rule 1395 of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on the procurement procedures of the Council of Europe[1], the Organisation shall invite to tender at least three potential providers for any purchase between €2,000 (or €6,000 for intellectual services) and €55,000 tax exclusive.

This specific tender procedure aims at concluding a framework contract for the provision of deliverables described in the Act of Engagement (See attached). A tender is considered valid for 180 calendar days as from the closing date for submission. The selection of tenderers will be made in the light of the criteria indicated below. All tenderers will be informed in writing of the outcome of the procedure.

The tenderer must be either a natural person, a legal person or consortium of natural and/or legal person.

Tenders shall be submitted by email only (with attachments) to the email address indicated in the table below, with the following reference in subject: Tender – 3535 consultancy in Malta. Tenders addressed to another email address will be rejected.

The general information and contact details for this procedure are indicated on this page. You are invited to use the CoE Contact details indicated below for any question you may have. All questions shall be submitted at least 5 (five) working days before the deadline for submission of the tenders and shall be exclusively addressed to the email address indicated below with the following reference in subject: Questions - 3535 consultancy in Malta.

Type of contract ►	Framework contract
Duration ►	Until 31 October 2025
Deadline for submission of tenders/offers ►	04 November 2024 23h59 CET
Email for submission of tenders/offers ►	[email protected]
Email for questions ►	[email protected]
Expected starting date of execution ►	11 November 2024

B.    EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

Background of the Project

The Council of Europe is currently implementing the EU-CoE Joint Project: “Attorney General and State Advocate in Malta – Implementation of action plan of offices re-organization” which aims at supporting Malta to ensure the full operational independency of the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of State Advocate and the strengthening of institutional performance and capacities for their effective functioning. The Project aims to establish operational processes, measurements, and ensure continuous training and ICT integration. The Project will also contribute to the improved public trust, accountability and transparency of the institutions through supporting respective communication strategies.

The Council of Europe is looking for 5 (five) Providers (provided enough tenders meet the criteria indicated below) in order to support the implementation of the project with a particular expertise on justice reforms.

This Contract is currently estimated to cover up to 15 (fifteen) activities, to be held by 31 October 2025. This estimate is for information only and shall not constitute any sort of contractual commitment on the part of the Council of Europe. The Contract may potentially represent a higher or lower number of activities, depending on the evolving needs of the Organisation.

For information purposes only, the total budget of the project amounts to 1.000.000 Euros and the total amount of the object of present tender shall not exceed 55.000 Euros tax exclusive for the whole duration of the Framework Contract. This information does not constitute any sort of contractual commitment or obligation on the part of the Council of Europe.

Lots

The present tendering procedure aims to select Providers to support the implementation of the project and is divided into the following lots:

Lots	Maximum number of Providers to be selected
Lot 1: Provision of expert advice and support in the development and implementation of internal policies, strategies, Action Plans and processes related to the reorganisation of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and the Office of the State Advocate of Malta (OSA)	5
Lot 2: Consultation, coaching and training sessions for the staff of the Office of the State Advocate and the Office of the Attorney General related to the reorganisation of the Offices	5

Lot 1 concerns the provision of expert advice and support in the development and implementation of internal policies, strategies, Action Plans and processes related to the reorganisation of the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the State Advocate of Malta.

Lot 2 concerns consultation, coaching and training sessions for the staff and officials of the Office of the State Advocate and the Office of the Attorney General related to the reorganisation of the Offices in order to strengthen their capacities and accompany them in the improvement of the functioning and their coordination with stakeholders.

The Council will select the abovementioned number of Provider(s) per lot, provided enough tenders meet the criteria indicated below. Tenderers are invited to indicate which lot(s) they are tendering for (see Section A of the Act of Engagement).

Scope of the Framework Contract

Throughout the duration of the Framework Contract, pre-selected Providers may be asked to:

Under Lot 1:

•      Conduct qualitative and quantitative research to provide pertinent advice and relevant support in the development and implementation of internal policies, strategies, Action Plans and processes related to the reorganisation of the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the State Advocate of Malta. Present viable recommendations for improving the reorganisation of the Offices.

Under Lot 2:

Provide consultation, coaching and training sessions for the staff of the Office of the State Advocate and the Office of the Attorney General related to the reorganisation of the Offices. Attend meetings, discussions with the staff of the Offices in charge of the specific topics, visit the Offices for consultation, coaching and training sessions, organise them, prepare agendas, materials, reports.

The above list is not considered exhaustive. The Council reserves the right to request deliverables not explicitly mentioned in the above list of expected services, but related to the field of expertise object of the present Framework Contract for the lot concerned.

In terms of quality requirements, the pre-selected Service Providers must ensure, inter alia, that:

·         The services are provided to the highest professional/academic standard;

·         Any specific instructions given by the Council – whenever this is the case – are followed.

If contracted by the Council of Europe, the deliverables shall be provided personally by the persons identified in the offer of the Provider whose CVs have been presented to the Council of Europe (See section E. below), in accordance with the terms as provided in the present Tender File and Act of Engagement.

In addition to the orders requested on an as needed basis, the Provider shall keep regular communication with the Council to ensure continuing exchange of information relevant to the tasks. This involves, among others, to inform the Council as soon as it becomes aware, during the execution of the Contract, of any initiatives and/or adopted laws and regulations, policies, strategies or action plans or any other development related to the object of the Contract (see more on general obligations of the Provider in Article 3.1.2 of the Legal Conditions in the Act of Engagement).

Unless otherwise agreed with the Council, written documents produced by the Provider shall be in English (see more on requirements for written documents in Articles 3.2.2 and 3.2.3 of the Legal Conditions in the Act of Engagement).

C.    FEES

Tenderers are invited to indicate their fees, by completing and sending the table of fees, as attached in Section A to the Act of Engagement. These fees are final and not subject to review.

The Council will indicate on each Order Form (see Section D below) the global fee corresponding to each deliverable, calculated on the basis of the unit fees, as agreed by the Contract.

D.    HOW WILL THE FRAMEWORK CONTRACT WORK? (Ordering PROCEDURE)

Once the selection procedure is completed, you will be informed accordingly. Deliverables will then be delivered on the basis of Order Forms submitted by the Council to the selected Provider(s), by post or electronically, on an as needed basis (there is therefore no obligation to order on the part of the Council).

Pooling

For each Order, the Council will choose from the pool of pre-selected tenderers for the relevant lot the Provider who demonstrably offers best value for money for its requirement when assessed – for the Order concerned – against the criteria of: 

-          quality (including as appropriate: capability, expertise, past performance, availability of resources and proposed methods of undertaking the work);

-          availability (including, without limitation, capacity to meet required deadlines and, where relevant, geographical location); and

-          price.

Each time an Order Form is sent, the selected Provider undertakes to take all the necessary measures to send it signed to the Council within 3 (three) working days after its reception. If a Provider is unable to take an Order or if no reply is given on his behalf within that deadline, the Council may call on another Provider using the same criteria, and so on until a suitable Provider is contracted.

Providers subject to VAT

The Provider, if subject to VAT, shall also send, together with each signed Form, a quote[2] (Pro Forma invoice) in line with the indications specified on each Order Form, and including:

-     the Service Provider’s name and address.

-     its VAT number;

-     the full list of services;

-     the fee per type of deliverables (in the currency indicated on the Act of Engagement, tax exclusive);

-     the total amount per type of deliverables (in the currency indicated on the Act of Engagement, tax exclusive);

-     the total amount (in the currency indicated on the Act of Engagement), tax exclusive, the applicable VAT rate, the amount of VAT and the amount VAT inclusive.

Signature of orders

An Order Form is considered to be legally binding when the Order, signed by the Provider, is approved by the Council, by displaying a Council’s Purchase Order number on the Order, as well as by signing and stamping the Order concerned. Copy of each approved Order Form shall be sent to the Provider, to the extent possible on the day of its signature.

E.     ASSESSMENT

Exclusion criteria and absence of conflict of interests

(by signing the Act of Engagement, you declare on your honour not being in any of the below situations)^[3]

Tenderers shall be excluded from participating in the tender procedure if they:

• have been sentenced by final judgment on one or more of the following charges: participation in a criminal organisation, corruption, fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, terrorist offences or offences linked to terrorist activities, child labour or trafficking in human beings;
• are in a situation of bankruptcy, liquidation, termination of activity, insolvency or arrangement with creditors or any like situation arising from a procedure of the same kind, or are subject to a procedure of the same kind;
• have received a judgment with res judicata force, finding an offence that affects their professional integrity or serious professional misconduct;
• do not comply with their obligations as regards payment of social security contributions, taxes and dues, according to the statutory provisions of their country of incorporation, establishment or residence;

·         are an entity created to circumvent tax, social or other legal obligations (empty shell company), have ever created or are in the process of creation of such an entity;

·         have been involved in mismanagement of the Council of Europe funds or public funds;

·         are or appear to be in a situation of conflict of interest;

·         are retired Council of Europe staff members or are staff members having benefitted from an early departure scheme;

·         are currently employed by the Council of Europe or were employed by the Council of Europe on the date of the launch of the procurement procedure;

·         have not fulfilled, in the previous three years, their contractual obligations in the performance of a contract concluded with the Council of Europe leading to a total or partial refusal of payment and/or termination of the contract by the Council of Europe;

·         are or if their owner(s) or executive officer(s), in the case of legal persons, are included in the lists of persons or entities subject to restrictive measures applied by the European Union (available at www.sanctionsmap.eu).

Eligibility criteria

Tenderers shall demonstrate that they fulfil the following criteria (to be assessed on the basis of all supporting documents):

·         University Degree in law, public administration, journalism, communications, management or related fields;

·         At least 3 (three) years of relevant professional experience in:

o    Lot 1: At least 3 (three) years of relevant professional experience in development and implementation of internal policies, strategies processes and action plans in justice system.

o    Lot 2: At least 2 (two) years of relevant professional experience in consultation, coaching and training in justice institutions and/or in the public or private sector.

·         Similar experience in advising justice, rule of law and public sector institutions in Malta.

·         Proficient knowledge of English (C1/C2 level CEFR).

Award criteria

• Criterion 1: Relevant qualifications and previous experience (70%)
• Criterion 2: Financial offer (30%)

The Council reserves the right to hold interviews with tenderers.

Multiple tendering is not authorised.

F.     NEGOTIATIONS

The Council reserves the right to hold negotiations with the bidders in accordance with Article 20 of Rule 1395.

G.    DOCUMENTS TO BE PROVIDED

·         A completed and signed copy of the Act of Engagement[4] (See attached);

·         A detailed CV, preferably in Europass Format, demonstrating clearly that the tenderer fulfils the eligibility criteria;

·         Description of the relevant experience (one page);

·         For legal persons only: a detailed CV, preferably in Europass Format, of each natural person allocated to the execution of the contract demonstrating clearly that they fulfil the eligibility criteria;

·         For consortia only: a detailed CV, preferably in Europass Format, of all consortium members clearly demonstrating that they satisfy the eligibility criteria;

·         A list of all owners and executive officers, for legal persons only;

Following a pre-selection, the short-listed candidates may be invited to an interview with the project team.

All documents shall be submitted in English, failure to do so will result in the exclusion of the tender.

If any of the documents listed above are missing, the Council of Europe reserves the right to reject the tender.

The Council reserves the right to reject a tender if the scanned documents are of such a quality that the documents cannot be read once printed.

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