Contract notice
Section I: Contracting
authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Zero Waste Scotland Ltd
Ground Floor, Moray House, Forthside Way
Stirling
FK8 1QZ
UK
Telephone: +44 1786433930
E-mail: procurement@zerowastescotland.org.uk
NUTS: UKM
Internet address(es)
Main address: http://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/
Address of the buyer profile: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA20802
I.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge at:
https://www.publictendersscotland.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk
Additional information can be obtained from the abovementioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be sent electronically to:
https://www.publictendersscotland.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
I.5) Main activity
Environment
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
Research Consultancy Services
Reference number: 24-FW-001-MM-28
II.1.2) Main CPV code
73110000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
A regulated ("Open") tender to establish a multi-lot, multi-supplier framework agreement for the provision of research consultancy services.
II.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT:
5 000 000.00
GBP
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
Yes
Tenders may be submitted for all lots
II.2) Description
Lot No: 1
II.2.1) Title
Quantitative Research Services
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
79300000
79310000
79311400
79315000
73300000
90713000
73110000
73210000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKM
Main site or place of performance:
Performance of the framework may be from a location identified by the contractor that is suitable and appropriate to the requirements.
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Lot 1 – Quantitative Research Services of this framework agreement will be used for the collection, study and / or analysis of the relationship between variables, making it possible for the Client to draw generalisations and make predictions based on the data.
Services will be requested under this Lot on a Call Off basis in accordance with the information provided the Lot Specification only.
We anticipate the appointment of between three (3) and five (5) suppliers to Lot 1 of this framework agreement.
This number is intended to provide sufficient capacity and capability for delivery of services under this Lot during the period of this framework agreement.
We reserve the right to appoint more / fewer suppliers to this Lot dependent upon the number of tender responses received that meet the minimum threshold for qualification.
Zero Waste Scotland is unwilling and unable to guarantee that any services will be requested under this Lot or that any Call Offs will be awarded to any supplier at any time during the period of this framework agreement.
Further details on the requirements and expectations for this Lot are available from the procurement documents provided on the Public Contracts Scotland Tender (PCS-T) web portal.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Criteria below:
Quality criterion: Quality
/ Weighting: 85
Price
/ Weighting:
15
II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Start:
22/04/2024
End:
21/04/2026
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals:
Two (2) extension options of twelve (12) months are provided for this framework agreement, with the maximum possible end date being Friday 21 April 2028.
II.2.9) Information about the limits on the number of candidates to be invited
II.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted:
No
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
Yes
Description of options:
The potential for additional / optional services to be requested under this Lot is identified in the Lot Specification.
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
II.2.14) Additional information
Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
Lot No: 2
II.2.1) Title
Qualitative Research Services
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
73110000
73210000
73300000
79300000
79310000
79311400
79315000
90713000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKM77
Main site or place of performance:
Performance of the framework may be from a location identified by the contractor that is suitable and appropriate to the requirements.
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Lot 2 – Qualitative Research Services of this framework agreement will be used for the collection and / or analysis of non-numerical data (e.g., text, video, or audio) to explore and understand concepts, opinions, attitudes, behaviours, or experiences, and to gather in-depth insights into a problem or generate new ideas for research.
Services will be requested under this Lot on a Call Off basis in accordance with the information provided the Lot Specification only.
We anticipate the appointment of between three (3) and five (5) suppliers to Lot 1 of this framework agreement.
This number is intended to provide sufficient capacity and capability for delivery of services under this Lot during the period of this framework agreement.
We reserve the right to appoint more / fewer suppliers to this Lot dependent upon the number of tender responses received that meet the minimum threshold for qualification.
Zero Waste Scotland is unwilling and unable to guarantee that any services will be requested under this Lot or that any Call Offs will be awarded to any supplier at any time during the period of this framework agreement.
Further details on the requirements and expectations for this Lot are available from the procurement documents provided on the Public Contracts Scotland Tender (PCS-T) web portal.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Criteria below:
Quality criterion: Quality
/ Weighting: 85
Price
/ Weighting:
15
II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Start:
22/04/2024
End:
21/04/2026
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals:
Two (2) extension options of twelve (12) months are provided for this framework agreement, with the maximum possible end date being Friday 21 April 2028.
II.2.9) Information about the limits on the number of candidates to be invited
II.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted:
No
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
Yes
Description of options:
The potential for additional / optional services to be requested under this Lot is identified in the Lot Specification.
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
II.2.14) Additional information
Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
Lot No: 3
II.2.1) Title
Mixed Methods Research Services
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
73110000
73210000
73300000
79300000
79310000
79311400
79315000
90713000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKM77
Main site or place of performance:
Performance of the framework may be from a location identified by the contractor that is suitable and appropriate to the requirements.
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Lot 3 – Mixed Methods Research Services of this framework agreement will be used to triangulate results and gain a more complete picture than a standalone quantitative or qualitative study by integrating the benefits of both methods. It may also be used to support delivery of a structured and rigorous Rapid Evidence Review where appropriate.
Services will be requested under this Lot on a Call Off basis in accordance with the information provided the Lot Specification only.
We anticipate the appointment of between three (3) and five (5) suppliers to Lot 1 of this framework agreement.
This number is intended to provide sufficient capacity and capability for delivery of services under this Lot during the period of this framework agreement.
We reserve the right to appoint more / fewer suppliers to this Lot dependent upon the number of tender responses received that meet the minimum threshold for qualification.
Zero Waste Scotland is unwilling and unable to guarantee that any services will be requested under this Lot or that any Call Offs will be awarded to any supplier at any time during the period of this framework agreement.
Further details on the requirements and expectations for this Lot are available from the procurement documents provided on the Public Contracts Scotland Tender (PCS-T) web portal.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Criteria below:
Quality criterion: Quality
/ Weighting: 15
Price
/ Weighting:
15
II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Start:
22/04/2024
End:
21/04/2026
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals:
Two (2) extension options of twelve (12) months are provided for this framework agreement, with the maximum possible end date being Friday 21 April 2028.
II.2.9) Information about the limits on the number of candidates to be invited
II.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted:
No
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
Yes
Description of options:
The potential for additional / optional services to be requested under this Lot is identified in the Lot Specification.
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
II.2.14) Additional information
Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
Lot No: 4
II.2.1) Title
Third Party Review (Managed Service)
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
73110000
73210000
72224000
79400000
79421000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKM77
Main site or place of performance:
Performance of the framework may be from a location identified by the contractor that is suitable and appropriate to the requirements.
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Lot 4 – Third Party Review (Managed Service) of this framework agreement may be used by the Client for the purposes of arranging independent third party review of outputs arising from any project that the Client is involved with, whether directly as a result of a Call Off Contract under this framework agreement or indirectly from any other project activity.
Services will be requested under this Lot on a Call Off basis in accordance with the information provided the Lot Specification only.
We anticipate the appointment of a single supplier to Lot 4 of this framework agreement. However, we reserve the right to appoint more / fewer suppliers to this Lot dependent upon the number of tender responses received that meet the minimum threshold for qualification.
Zero Waste Scotland is unwilling and unable to guarantee that any services will be requested under this Lot or that any Call Offs will be awarded to any supplier at any time during the period of this framework agreement.
Further details on the requirements and expectations for this Lot are available from the procurement documents provided on the Public Contracts Scotland Tender (PCS-T) web portal.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Criteria below:
Quality criterion: Quality
/ Weighting: 90
Price
/ Weighting:
10
II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Start:
22/04/2024
End:
21/04/2026
This contract is subject to renewal: Yes
Description of renewals:
Two (2) extension options of twelve (12) months are provided for this framework agreement, with the maximum possible end date being Friday 21 April 2028.
II.2.9) Information about the limits on the number of candidates to be invited
II.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted:
No
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
No
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
II.2.14) Additional information
Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information
III.1) Conditions for participation
III.1.1) Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers
List and brief description of conditions:
III.1.1 of this Contract Notice is not applicable to this procurement procedure.
Section A of Part IV of the SPD (Scotland) is not being used for this contract opportunity.
III.1.2) Economic and financial standing
List and brief description of selection criteria:
The relevant selection criteria for Section B of Part IV of the SPD (Scotland) are included in the SPD (Scotland) module provided for this procurement procedure.
Minimum level(s) of standards required:
It is a requirement of this contract that suppliers hold, or can commit to obtain prior to the commencement of any subsequently awarded contract, the types and levels of insurance indicated below:
Employer’s (Compulsory) Liability Insurance = 5 000 000.00 GBP
Public Liability Insurance = 5 000 000.00 GBP
Professional Indemnity Insurance = as noted in the procurement documents
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hse40.pdf
III.1.3) Technical and professional ability
List and brief description of selection criteria:
The relevant selection criteria for Section C of Part IV of the SPD (Scotland) is included in the SPD (Scotland) module provided for this procurement procedure.
Section D of Part IV of the SPD (Scotland) is not being used for this contract opportunity.
Minimum level(s) of standards required:
Suppliers should refer to “ITT-4 Supplier Selection,” which is provided as an additional document for the procurement procedure on the Public Contracts Scotland Tender (PCS-T) web portal, for confirmation of the questions on technical and professional ability used in the SPD (Scotland) module and how the information provided in the supplier’s response will be evaluated.
III.2) Conditions related to the contract
III.2.3) Information about staff responsible for the performance of the contract
Obligation to indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff assigned to performing the contract
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Open procedure
IV.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system
The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement with several operators.
Envisaged maximum number of participants to the framework agreement: 16
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
IV.2) Administrative information
IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number in the OJ S:
2023/S 000-016587
IV.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date:
22/01/2024
Local time: 10:00
IV.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
EN
IV.2.6) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
Duration in months: 3 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)
IV.2.7) Conditions for opening of tenders
Date:
22/01/2024
Local time: 10:00
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement:
No
VI.3) Additional information
Please read the instructions provided in this Contract Notice and all the procurement documents, including where provided in response to the question or clarification.
Any questions or clarifications must be raised using the messaging facility provided for this procurement procedure on the PCS-T web portal only.
Direct approaches to Zero Waste Scotland or any of its management or staff regarding this procurement procedure may be considered an attempt to influence the outcome of this procurement procedure and may lead to your tender submission being disqualified.
Your tender submission may be ruled non-compliant where you fail to follow the instructions and / or use the template documents provided in the procurement documents, unless alternative instructions and / or approaches to preparing a tender response have been agreed and communicated as appropriate through the PCS-T web portal for the procurement procedure.
Responses to the SPD (Scotland) module will be evaluated using the scoring methodologies identified in the “ITT-4 Supplier Selection” document only.
Technical responses will be scored using the Scottish Government’s recommended scoring convention, reproduced below and in the procurement documents for information:
4 – Excellent: Response is completely relevant and excellent overall. The response is comprehensive, unambiguous and demonstrates a thorough understanding of the requirement and provides details of how the requirement will be met in full.
3 – Good: Response is relevant and good. The response is sufficiently detailed to demonstrate a good understanding and provides details on how the requirements will be fulfilled.
2 – Acceptable: Response is relevant and acceptable. The response addresses a broad understanding of the requirement but may lack details on how the requirement will be fulfilled in certain areas.
1 – Poor: Response is partially relevant but generally poor. The response addresses some elements of the requirement but contains insufficient / limited details or explanation to demonstrate how the requirement will be fulfilled.
0 – Unacceptable: Nil or inadequate response. Fails to demonstrate an ability to meet the requirement.
An anticipated timetable for this procurement procedure is provided in the procurement documents. Zero Waste Scotland will inform all tenderers of decisions or delays at the same time, by email to the nominated contract only as identified in your tender submission. Please do not contact Zero Waste Scotland following the deadline for tender submissions to enquire if or when a decision will be made as we are generally unable and unwilling to respond.
The buyer is using PCS-Tender to conduct this ITT exercise. The Project code is 25202. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343
The Contracting Authority does not intend to include a sub-contract clause as part of community benefits (as per Section 25 of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014) in this contract for the following reason:
The Contractor will be required to ensure that they always deploy suitably qualified, trained, experienced and, where appropriate, supervised Staff in the performance of the framework agreement and the provision of Services under a Call Off Contract. This may be through subcontract arrangements as appropriate.
Please refer to Condition 19 (Assignation and Subcontracting) for further details of requirements where subcontracting under this framework agreement.
Community benefits are included in this requirement. For more information see: https://www.gov.scot/policies/public-sector-procurement/community-benefits-in-procurement/
A summary of the expected community benefits has been provided as follows:
The expectations for community benefits through this framework agreement are identified in the Part A - The Specification document, in Section 1 (Framework Management) under "Sustainability".
(SC Ref:750470)
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Stirling Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court
Stirling
UK
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
16/11/2023