TENDER FILE / TERMS OF REFERENCE

(Competitive bidding procedure / Framework Contract)

Purchase of production, printing and publishing services

Ref. BH8808/2022/N11

The Council of Europe is currently implementing a number of projects, including the Project “Supporting the implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the Republic of Moldova”. The duration of the project is until 31 December 2023. In that context, it is looking for Provider(s) for the provision of production, printing and publishing services to be requested by the Council of Europe on an as needed basis.

The Provider may be invited to supply the same type of services in the framework of similar projects implemented in the Republic of Moldova under the terms of this contract.

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 €5,000 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 120 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 a legal person or consortia of legal and/or natural persons.

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 - Production, printing and publishing services. 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 - Production, printing and publishing services

Type of contract ►	Framework contract
Duration ►	Until 31 December 2023
Deadline for submission of tenders/offers ►	29 July 2022
Email for submission of tenders/offers ►	[email protected]
Email for questions ►	[email protected]
Expected starting date of execution ►	01 September 2022

B.    EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

Background of the Project

The Council of Europe is currently implementing the project “Supporting the implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the Republic of Moldova”. The project is running from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2023. It aims to support the Moldovan authorities in their implementation of the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known as the Istanbul Convention. The project also seeks to strengthen the capacity of key stakeholders involved in preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, protecting the victims and prosecuting the perpetrators of violence, and advancing towards an effective co-ordination among the relevant stakeholders in line with the Istanbul Convention.

To achieve that, the project co-operates with the Moldovan authorities through three main fields of action: awareness-raising activities of violence against women and the main existing standards; capacity-building of relevant professionals; and strengthening multi-agency co-operation.

In this context, the Council of Europe is looking for a maximum of 3 Provider(s) (provided enough tenders meet the criteria indicated below) across three lots in order to support the implementation of the project with a particular expertise on production, printing and publishing services.

This Contract is currently estimated to cover up to 15 activities, to be held by 31/12/2023. 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 500 000 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 Provider(s) to support the implementation of the project and is divided into the following lots:

Lots	Maximum number of Providers to be selected
Lot 1: Layout and publishing	3
Lot 2: Printing of documents/materials	3
Lot 3: Design and production of visibility materials	3

Lot 1: Layout and publishing

Lot 1 concerns layout and publishing of a variety of different awareness raising materials, publications and relevant project documents.

Layout services include creating new content or arranging predetermined content, graphics and other information in accordance with the Council of Europe Visual Identity Graphic Charter and development of Romanian/Russian/English layouts based on original InDesign files provided by the Council of Europe.

Lot 2: Printing of documents/materials

Lot 2 concerns colour and black & white printing of documents/materials for project events and activities.

 Lot 3: Design and production of visibility materials

Lot 3 concerns the production of visibility materials, such as notebooks, pens, roll-ups, bags, etc. and printing of the Council of Europe logos in accordance with the Council of Europe Visual Identity Graphic Charter.

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 provide the deliverables listed in the Act of Engagement (See Section A – Terms of reference). This list is considered exhaustive.

In terms of the scope of this Framework Contract, it covers production/publication /printing/visibility materials, which are to be produced on the territory of the Republic of Moldova by the Council of Europe projects.

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 number of units ordered, calculated on the basis of the unit fees, as agreed by this Contract.

D.    HOW WILL THIS 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 2 (two) 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.

Lot 1: Layout and publishing

Eligibility criteria

• Being registered as a company for at least 2 years;
• Proven track record of relevant/similar experience with public authorities and/or international organisations in the last 2 years;

·         Have their own printing and publishing department/section.

Award criteria

• Quality of the offer (70%), including:

-          Technical capacity to meet the requirements of the tender file of the Lot 1;

-          Relevant samples of the publications produced by the Provider, as evidence.

• Financial offer (30%).

Lot 2: Printing of documents/materials

Eligibility criteria

• Being registered as a company for at least 2 years;

·         Have their own printing department/section.

Award criteria

• Quality of the offer (70%), including:

-          Number of days required for execution of the tasks listed under the Lot 2.

• Financial offer (30%).

Lot 3: Design and production of visibility materials

Eligibility criteria

• Being registered as a company for at least 2 years;
• Proven track record of relevant/ similar experience with public authorities and/or international organisations in the last 2 years.

Award criteria

• Quality of the offer (70%), including:

-          Technical capacity to meet the requirements of the tender file of the Lot 3;

-          Relevant samples of the visibility materials produced by the Provider based on the requirements stipulated in the Act of Engagement.

• Financial offer (30%).

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

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

         2.   For tenderers subject to VAT only: a quote, describing their financial offer, in line with the requirements of section C of the Tender File (see above);

         3.   A document certifying the registration of the company (accepted in Romanian);

         4.   A document describing the tenderer’s experience for similar services in the last 2 years with public authorities and international organisations (Lot 1 and Lot 3);

         5.   At least two (2) electronic samples of similar publications produced by the Provider in the last 2 years (Lot 1) (also accepted in Romanian);

         6.   Proof of the presence of a specific printing and publishing department/section (e.g. pictures of the department) (Lot 1).

     7.        Proof of the presence of a specific printing department/section (e.g. pictures of the department) (Lot 2).

         8.   Photos of similar visibility materials produced by the Provider (Lot 3).

All documents shall be submitted in English (unless otherwise specified under section G), 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.

* * *