Market Research Services Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation

Your voice public research and consultation framework – 992N/12.

UK-Leicester: market research services

2012/S 75-123850

Contract notice

Services

Directive 2004/18/EC

Section I: Contracting authority

I.1)Name, addresses and contact point(s)

Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (see www.espo.org) for itself and on behalf of Norfolk County Council
Barnsdale Way, Grove Park
Contact point(s): Hollie Ruston
LE19 1ES Leicester
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: +44 1162657928
E-mail: h.ruston@espo.org
Fax: +44 1162944399

Internet address(es):

General address of the contracting authority: www.espo.org

Further information can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)

Specifications and additional documents (including documents for competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained from: The above mentioned contact point(s)

Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: The above mentioned contact point(s)

I.2)Type of the contracting authority

Regional or local authority

I.3)Main activity

Other: Local Authority Services

I.4)Contract award on behalf of other contracting authorities

The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities: yes

The Pro5 Group of Professional Buying Organisations and other public bodies
Eligible bodies may be located throughout the UK, Organisations stated in Contract Notice – Section II.1.5
Throughout the UK
UNITED KINGDOM

Section II: Object of the contract

II.1)Description

II.1.1)Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority:

Your voice public research and consultation framework – 992N/12.

II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance

Services
Service category No 10: Market research and public opinion polling services
NUTS code UK

II.1.3)Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)

The notice involves the establishment of a framework agreement

II.1.4)Information on framework agreement

Framework agreement with several operators
Duration of the framework agreement

Duration in years: 2
Estimated total value of purchases for the entire duration of the framework agreement

Estimated value excluding VAT: 750 000 GBP

II.1.5)Short description of the contract or purchase(s)

Market research services. Public-opinion polling services. Social research services. There are three elements to the procurement, each of which will be let on a framework agreement basis. The three elements are as follows:
1) Is a contract to provide public research and consultation services to the ‘Your Voice’ public consultation initiative. ‘Your Voice’ is a joint initiative led by Norfolk County Council but involving five other public bodies in Norfolk, whose aim is to consult citizens, residents and service users on matters relating to the provision of public services. The membership of your voice is not fixed, and member bodies may join or leave. The firm appointed as the contractor will be used when your voice member bodies need to engage an external service provider to carry out or assist with a particular piece of research or consultation work, and will be known as the Principal Research and Consulation Partner. Just a single firm will be appointed to this contract.
2) Is a supplementary list of companies who between them will offer the Your Voice partnership access to specialist research and consultation services (for instance, firms who specialise in specific consultation methods, or have experience of dealing with particular client groups (e.g. young people, migrant workers, travellers, etc) or with particular service areas (e.g. social care, libraries, etc). There will be no particular limit to the number of firms appointed to this contract, subject to keeping the framework agreement manageable to use. 3) will be a framework agreement available for use by public bodies elsewhere in the UK who wish to procure public research and consultation services. Whilst initially for use by local authorities served by the Pro5 Group (see http://www.espo.org/index.asp?CMD=PRO), being Central Purchasing Bodies as defined by the EU Combined Procurement Directive 2004/18/EC, the framework agreement may also be open for use by the following classifications of user throughout all administrative regions of the UK: Local Authority Councils; Educational Establishments (including Academies); Police, Fire & Rescue and Coastguard Emergency Services; NHS and HSC Bodies, including Ambulance Services; Registered Charities; Registered Social Landlords. Full details of the classification of end user establishments and geographical areas is available on: http://www.espo.org/ojeu-framework-permissible-users.

For all three framework contracts, an initial two-year term is envisaged, extendible for up to two further years.

II.1.6)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)

79310000, 79320000, 79315000

II.1.7)Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): yes

II.1.8)Lots

II.1.9)Information about variants

Variants will be accepted: no

II.2)Quantity or scope of the contract

II.2.1)Total quantity or scope:

Three framework agreements will be established as a result of the tender process, as described in II.1.5 above. Frameworks 1 and 2 will meet the specific requirements of the Norfolk ‘Your Voice’ partnership. Framework 3 will be available to public bodies throughout the UK. The value of business likely to be procured under these three frameworks cannot be reliably estimated. The frameworks for ‘Your Voice’ will be used as and when any of the your voice member bodies need to procure services. The UK-wide framework will be used to the extent that individual public bodies elect to make use of it. None of this usage can be predicted in advance. The figure of 750 000 GBP given in II.1.4 and again below represents neither a guarantee of any business, nor a maximum limit of business, but is intended to reflect the expectation that the amount of business over the potential four-year framework may be substantial.
Estimated value excluding VAT: 750 000 GBP

II.2.2)Information about options

Options: yes
Description of these options: An option will exist to extend any or all of the three framework agreements for up to two further years, to make a four-year term in total.

II.2.3)Information about renewals

II.3)Duration of the contract or time limit for completion

Starting 1.7.2012. Completion 30.6.2014

Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information

III.1)Conditions relating to the contract

III.1.1)Deposits and guarantees required:

As detailed in the invitation to tender.

III.1.2)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:

As detailed in the invitation to tender.

III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:

Joint and several liability.

III.1.4)Other particular conditions

The performance of the contract is subject to particular conditions: yes
Description of particular conditions: The Supplier agrees that there shall be no discrimination by it against any person with respect to opportunity for employment or conditions of employment, because of age, culture, disability, gender, marital status, race, religion or sexual orientation. The Supplier shall in all matters arising in the performance of the Agreement comply with the provisions of the Sex Discrimination act 1975 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and any regulations made there under. The Supplier shall in all matters arising in the performance of the Agreement comply with the provisions of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006. The Supplier must comply with the provisions of the Race Relations Act 1976, the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2002 and the Equality Act 2010 and shall ensure that they perform their responsibilities under this Agreement with due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, and to promote equality of opportunity and good relationships between different groups.

III.2)Conditions for participation

III.2.1)Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: As detailed in the invitation to tender.

III.2.2)Economic and financial ability

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: As detailed in the invitation to tender.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: As detailed in the invitation to tender.

III.2.3)Technical capacity

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met:
As detailed in the invitation to tender.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required:
As detailed in the invitation to tender.

III.2.4)Information about reserved contracts

III.3)Conditions specific to services contracts

III.3.1)Information about a particular profession

III.3.2)Staff responsible for the execution of the service

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1)Type of procedure

IV.1.1)Type of procedure

Open

IV.1.2)Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate

IV.1.3)Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue

IV.2)Award criteria

IV.2.1)Award criteria

The most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated in the specifications, in the invitation to tender or to negotiate or in the descriptive document

IV.2.2)Information about electronic auction

An electronic auction will be used: no

IV.3)Administrative information

IV.3.1)File reference number attributed by the contracting authority:

992N/12

IV.3.2)Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract

IV.3.3)Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document

Time limit for receipt of requests for documents or for accessing documents: 21.5.2012
Payable documents: no

IV.3.4)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

28.5.2012 – 17:00

IV.3.5)Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates

IV.3.6)Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up

Any EU official language

IV.3.7)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender

in days: 90 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)

IV.3.8)Conditions for opening tenders

Section VI: Complementary information

VI.1)Information about recurrence

VI.2)Information about European Union funds

VI.3)Additional information

The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement, and the contract will be awarded on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender. The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement, and the contract will be awarded on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender. The date indicated for the commencement of the three framework agreements is subject to variation in the event that the award procedures are not completed sufficiently quickly. The duration of the agreements will however be two years (plus up to two years optional extension) and the right is reserved to commence framework agreement 3 (the UK wide agreement) at a later date than the two frameworks which relate specifically to Noroflk ‘Your Voice’. GO Reference: GO-2012413-PRO-3855073.

VI.4)Procedures for appeal

VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures

VI.4.2)Lodging of appeals

Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals: ESPO, for itself and on behalf of the ‘Pro 5’ Group of Professional Buying Organisations (see http://www.espo.org/index.asp?CMD=PRO) will incorporate a minimum 10 calendar days standstill period at the point information on the decision to award the contract is communicated to tenderers. This decision notice will incorporate the award criteria, the reasons for the decision, the reasons (if any) why a tenderer did not meet any technical specification, the identity of the successful tenderer(s) and a precise statement of when the standstill period is expected to end. Any appeal or challenge against the award decision must be communicated to the address stated in Section I.1 within the standstill period. If an appeal or challenge regarding the decision to award the contract has not been successfully resolved the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (as amended) provide for aggrieved parties who have suffered harm or are at risk of harm by a breach of the procurement rules to take action in the High Court (England Wales and Northern Ireland). Any such action must be brought promptly (generally within 3 months) (NB this time limit may be reduced to 30 days in circumstances where the contract award has been publicised to all participants in accordance with the Regulations). Where a legal challenge is launched against the award decision ESPO is obliged to suspend the making of the contract. Where a challenge is made after the contract has been entered into then that contract could be declared ineffective and/or shortened and/or a fine imposed by the court, but only where the court are satisfied that there has been a serious breach of the procurement rules.

VI.4.3)Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained

VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice:13.4.2012