Noticias
CONVOCATORIA A LICITACION INTERNACIONAL PARA TRABAJAR COMO CONTRAPARTE CON IBNORCA
Desde el año 2109, el Instituto Boliviano de Normalización y Calidad (IBNORCA) ha formado parte de la implementación de un proyecto financiado por la Agencia Sueca de Desarrollo Internacional (ASDI): “Apoyo a una mayor capacidad en la estandarización e implementación de estándares en Bolivia con enfoque en el sector del agua” ente los años 2017-2020.
El objetivo de la segunda fase del proyecto es continuar fortaleciendo la capacidad de Bolivia para desarrollar e implementar normas y estándares nacionales y regionales, influir y hace uso del sistema ISO. El enfoque temático del proyecto será sobre desarrollo sostenible y mejoramiento del medio ambiente (agua, residuos sólidos, economía circular y acción sobre el clima). Áreas claves y prioritarias para Bolivia.
Sigue el siguiente enlace para conocer más detalles: Kommers Annons eLite.
Para consultas envía un correo a frida.rodhe@gov.se o fabiola.pabon@gov.se hasta el 10/06/2021.
Fecha final para recibir propuestas: 25/06/2021
PREGUNTAS FRECUENTES
1) An evaluation of the first phase of the program was conducted recently-kindly provide us with a copy of the report.
A: The report is now published on this website, see link here
2) Tender deadline is 25 June 2021, 23.59h-kindly confirm if this is Swedish or Bolivian time.
A: The tender deadline is 25 June 2021, 23.59h Bolivian time
3) The procurement notice “4.3 Method for implementing the assignment” states that the description shall be only 7 pages however 1.6 Description of the services to be procured states that “Sida expects a proposal for a project of initially 24 months with a possibility for extension with a budget of approximately 6-10 MSEK/year. The proposal should include clear objectives, expected results and a draft workplan also including a proposal of collaboration partners (international and national). The proposal should describe how it builds on previous experiences mentioned and how the organisation proposes to advance the work and add value to the results achieved. A draft budget divided per year, activities and cost types is expected in the proposal”
a. Given that a programme document itself in most cases is substantially longer than 7 pages it will be very difficult for a bidder to not only present a project proposal but also present its method for implementing the assignment in only 7 pages. Is it correct that the description shall be only 7 pages to match 50% of the technical score?
A: The chapter on method for implementing should be no longer than 7 pages, the whole proposal can be longer (since it also includes other parts).
b. The LOU § 6.7 states “The information given in the procurement documents should be sufficient for a supplier to assess the nature and extent of the procurement and thus determine if it should apply to participate in the procedure “. In the invitation and the ToR it clearly states that the work shall be built on previous results and experiences achieved by the previous phase of the project. How will the Embassy ensure that lessons learnt, and experiences gained in the previous phase are shared with all potential bidder to avoid an unfair competition?
A: The project is expected to build on previous results and lessons learnt as an important investment has been made by the Embassy and important advancements has been made on the topic.
The information needed from previous phase is in included in the Terms of Reference as well as the published evaluation report. The Embassy highly values a flexible approach where the bidder shows an understanding of what has been done (according to what is presented in the mentioned reports) and takes this into account in their proposal but also shows a flexibility of working with stakeholders in Bolivia and the Embassy to ensure a continuity of the work done as well as considering important lessons learnt communicated in the evaluation reports and by the local stakeholders and the Embassy during the actual implementation.
4) Has there been a phase two Program Document developed or drafted by the organisation that supported the implementation of the first phase of the programme? If there is, is it possible for the Embassy to present this information to potential bidders to avoid an unfair competition
A: There has been a concept note prepared by the previous contract holder in 2020. This is not considered to add any new information that is not presented in the published report. It is however a public document and could be asked for separately. IBNORCA the Bolivian organisation for norms and standards has been involved in the development and discussions prior to the procurement.
5) 4.13 Measures to limit travel-As this is not a framework contract, please define what is meant by “while implementing future call offs”
A: Measures to limit travel should be presented, not when implementing call offs but when implementing the assignment/project.
6) 5.4 Merits: The evaluation criteria states that it is preferable that the team members shall be full member of ISO or a member of CEN. As only national standardisation bodies can be a member of CEN and that individuals or companies cannot become ISO members and only ONE organisation per country can be a member of ISO. How will Sida evaluate these criteria without giving unfair advantage to SIS (Swedish Standards Institute)?
A: The Embassy is looking for a sort of twinning project with IBNORCA and another actor. The importance of the criteria is the knowledge of the international standardisation bodies, their nature of work and the support in the actual participation in these forums.
We welcome bidders and ISO/CEN members from other countries as well as tenders where a member of ISO or CEN is included as a collaborator to the project.
7) As only national standardisation bodies can be a member of CEN and ISO and given that the invitation and the ToR indicate that there should be a strong Swedish involvement including study tours to Sweden and linking Swedish ISO stakeholders with Bolivian ISO stakeholders, suggests that the only organisation that is suitable to qualify for this assignment is SIS. How will the Embassy guarantee that this procurement does not entail an unfair competition?
A: The Embassy is open to international bidders (national standardisation bodies from other countries or tenders that includes the relevant involvement of ISO members). The following paragraphs in the ToRs:
“The second component refers more to the actual development of standards where Bolivia would like to become more actively involved in national, regional, and international standardization, as well as further strengthen the collaboration between national stakeholders, and national and Swedish/international stakeholders.”
And
“One way to create and maintain interest and understanding among all stakeholders in the relevant committees could be to arrange study visits to Swedish government agencies, treatment plants, companies, and other stakeholders in Sweden. This would also create long lasting relationships between Bolivian and Swedish stakeholders.”
Is therefore changed to:
“The second component refers more to the actual development of standards where Bolivia would like to become more actively involved in national, regional, and international standardization, as well as further strengthen the collaboration between national stakeholders, and national and relevant international stakeholders.”
And
“One way to create and maintain interest and understanding among all stakeholders in the relevant committees could be to arrange study visits to other countries government agencies, treatment plants, companies, and other international stakeholders. This would also create long lasting relationships between Bolivian and international stakeholders.”
8) 5.4 Merits: The organisation has knowledge of conformity assessment or be able to provide this knowledge in partnership with a third party: How is a team member (individual) going to be evaluated based on this criterion?
A: This should be included in references and will be evaluated according to its relevance to the assignment.
9) 6.1 Fees and Costs: States the following “For evaluation purposes, the quoted hourly rate is to be multiplied by the number of hours for each consultant level to determine a total price/offer price”
a) Does this mean that only fees are evaluated and not reimbursable costs?
A: No, it does not. It means that it is the total cost of the assignment that is evaluated according to the model explained.
b) Is it then correct to understand that costs for participating organisations and individuals are reimbursable costs?
A: No this is not correct. These costs should be expressed as fees.
10) Understanding that several reports on the implementation of the first phase must have been produced can the Embassy make these documents available to potential bidders to avoid an unfair advantage to SIS that supported implementation of the first phase. See also question 3 b above.
A: There have been annual and semi-annual reports produced during the first phase. The Embassy does not regard these reports as adding significant value to the tender as the information needed is provided in the ToRs, procurement document and in the evaluation report published. The reports are however public document and we will be happy to share them if you please send us a specific request.
11) In the CV format it is recommended that a description of the main achievements shall not exceed 300 characters excluding spaces. Is this correct?
A: This is correct
12) 3.4 Procurement document states “A consultant who has been engaged for the formulation of this procurement document or other preparatory work may therefore be excluded from submitting a tender in this part of the procurement. It is irrelevant if the consultant was hired by the Embassy or if the consultant participated as a subconsultant.” Can the Embassy in La Paz guarantee that SIS has not been engaged in any preparatory work that can result in consultant conflict of interest?
A: IBNORCA has been consulted for the preparation of this project as IBNORCA is regarded as a key stakeholder for future work on norms and standards in Bolivia. SIS has not been consulted and has not been involved in the procurement process this has been carefully avoided by the Embassy. SIS is however aware of the procurement as they have been informed that this is the way the second phase will be handled. Finally, the embassy guarantees that the procurement will be a transparent process.
13) We understand that SIDA operates transparently and bidders can access the Final Report of the previous SIDA-funded projects (e.g. the previous one supporting IBNORCA). Would it be possible to make this available to ensure fair competition?
A: The final report has not yet been submitted. There are annual and semi-annual reports available that could be asked for separately in an email. The final external evaluation has been published on the webpage.
14) As we have not had sight of some of the key documents (e.g. previous Final Report; Evaluation Report) at the start of this tendering process, we kindly ask you to consider extending the deadline for submission by at least two weeks to ensure fair competition for the preparation of a response to this tender. More time would also ensure that the formulation of a proposal would best answer the requirements of SIDA and the beneficiary.
A: The deadline will remain as stated in the procurement document. The evaluation report has been published on the webpage and the most relevant information for the procurement is in the ToRs and the Procurement document. Please also see answer to Q2 if you would like to access other reporting. We hope you will still be able to formulate a proposal within the timeframe given.
15) In the event of a time-extension, we understand that the following instructions found in section 2.3 remain valid: “Requests for clarification or additions to the procurement document shall be submitted in writing to fabiola.pabon@gov.se at least ten (10) days before tender deadline and marked with 13791”.
A: See answer above.
16) On page 2 of the Procurement Document, it is written “Sida through the Swedish Embassy in La Paz is looking for an organisation that can carry out the continued work for developing and strengthening the implementation of norms and standards in Bolivia”. Could you please clarify the differences identified between norms and standards?
A: In practice we understand norms and standards basically as the same thing it is more a matter of translation. A standard is basically and agreed way of doing something, this can also be called a norm.
17) On page 2 of the procurement document, it is written: “… strengthen the work of developing relevant norms and their appropriation and implementation”. What do you mean by appropriation? Adoption?
A: Appropriation should be understood as “ownership” or adoption
18) On page 2 of the Procurement Document, it is written “the project is also expected to propose how to strengthen the implementation of transversal norms”. Could you please clarify what is meant by “transversal norms”?
A: These should be understood as norms that can be applied in a range of areas (for example within the work of water quality, or public procurement etc). Norms relevant for several technical fields for example norms for transparency, environment (climate change or others) and gender.
19) In the Terms of Reference page 4 it is stated that “A list of 21 standards that Bolivia wants to develop or adopt and increase implementation of has been compiled” and on page 8, it is mentioned that “…21 standards listed above…”. Could you please share this list of 21 standards?
A: Please see list here.
20) On page 4 of the Procurement Document, it is written: “Sida expects a proposal for a project of initially 24 months with a possibility for extension with a budget of approximately 6-10 MSEK/year.” We understand that this budget covers the activities implemented by the bidding Consultant (organisation or consortium) only and that it doesn’t include funding for the beneficiaries (e.g. IBNORCA). However, on page 2 it mentions that “The funds might be forwarded to Bolivian co- implementing partners as seen appropriate by the contractor”. Could you please confirm that this annual budget will not be divided between the Consultant and IBNORCA? And if it is divided, can you please clarify what the contractual and financial arrangements would be, as well as how the funds would be apportioned between the Consultant and the Bolivia co-implementing partner?
A: The funds provided by Sida through this procurement and the project budget presented in the tender proposal should include the whole project including possible sub-contracting of and collaboration with local partners such as IBNORCA.
21) On page 4 of the Procurement Document, section 2.2.2., it is written: “In order to facilitate examination and evaluation of the tender, it is the Embassy’s strong desire that the submitted tender be formatted in accordance with the procurement document’s headings/disposition, that any templates belonging to the procurement document be used and filled in, and that references to any attachments be presented in a clear manner.”
The templates provided in the tender dossier were the following:
- Annex 2 - Template for contract
- Annex 7 - Personal data processing form
- Appendix 4 – Self declaration by tenderer
- Appendix 8 - CV template
Could you please confirm that there is no set template for the following required documents?
- Description of the methodology that the tenderer intends to use in implementing the assignment
- Project organization
- Workplan and timeline
- Personal references
- Financial proposal
A: The headings above are the headings that should be included in the proposal.
22) On page 4 of the procurement document, it is written: “This work should include but is not limited to the thematic areas: Climate change, Circular economy, water and sanitation and waste management.” We understand from the above that we can propose thematic areas beyond the scope of the thematic areas listed above. Could you please provide an indication as to which additional areas SIDA would like to be explored?
A: We expect the bidders to propose areas that could be further explored based on an analysis of Bolivias needs and potential as well as the competences of the bidding organisation and the proposed local partners. This should be further discussed during project start up and implementation with Sida and with the local partners. As stated in the procurement document, it is important that the proposal and the proposed areas of intervention are in line with the Swedish bilateral development strategy with Bolivia.
23) On page 6 of the Procurement Document, it is written in the section 2.2.5.: “The tender shall be valid until 20-01-2022.” On page 5, section 1.7 states that “the contract start date is estimated at: September 1st, 2021”. Our understanding is that whilst the validity of the Consultant’s offer is until 20-01-2022, the availability and commitment of the proposed team is valid until September 1st, 2021. Could you please confirm?
A: The proposal and the availability of the proposed team shall be valid until 20-01-22.
24) Section 4.6. “Qualifications and competence” on page 13 of the Procurement Document defines that “the team (including the project leader) shall possess “very good skills in Spanish equivalent to at least level 3 (according to The Embassy’s language level definition; see appendix 6)”. While section 5.4., “Merits” on page 18 of the Procurement Document describes that “it is preferable if the project leader has the following: “Knowledge of Spanish that exceeds level 4 (according to The Embassy’s language level definition; see appendix 6)”. Level 4 being less than the minimum level 3 requested according to the Embassy’s language level definition, should we still read level 4 in section 5.4.?
A: Section 5.4 in the procurement document is by this changed to ., “it is preferable if the project leader has the following: “Knowledge of Spanish that exceeds level 3 (according to The Embassy’s language level definition; see appendix 6)”
25) In addition, we understand that the team needs to demonstrate level 3 as a whole. Is this calculated as an average level between all proposed team members should they have differing language level?
A: The team, meaning one or more team members (including the project leader) shall possess very good skills in Spanish equivalent to at least level 3 (according to The Embassy’s language level definition; see appendix 6)
26) Section 4.6. “Qualifications and competence” on page 13 of the Procurement Document states that “the team shall not include more than five (5) members including the project leader”. Our understanding from the Terms of Reference is that the project will require work and training on a large variety of standards, especially if the scope of the project is expanded beyond water standards. A standard expert being often highly specialized, it is unlikely that five team members only can cover the whole range of the required standards expertise. We also read in section 4.3. “Method for implementing the assignment” that the description of the methodology “must include the following: Type of experts to be involved in the project”. Therefore, we understand that the main team of experts shall not exceed five (5) members, but that the overall team can have more, to include specialized expertise (e.g. in standards, in cross-cutting expertise such as Gender and Inclusion, etc...). Could you please confirm?
A: This is correct.
27) It is written on page 13 of the Procurement Document, section 4.6. Qualifications and competence that “the team (including the project leader) shall possess “Experience of implementing projects in Bolivia and/or Latin America”. It is also written on page on page 14 section 4.7. “Personal references” that “The tenderer shall submit in its tender at least 2 reference assignments within the relevant area and preferably region for the project leader”. We are basing our understanding of the word “region” and overall geographical scope of Latin America on the UN region definitions, which is the Latin American and Caribbean States Group (GRULAC). Can you please confirm that it is correct?
A: With region we refer to the LAC region (Latin American and Caribbean States)
28) Section 5.4, “Merits” on page 18 of the Procurement Document describes that “it is preferable if the team member (including the project leader) have the following”:
- More than 4 years of professional experience within Norms and standards and environment
- Full member of ISO (International Organization for Standardization)
- Member of CEN (European Committee for Standardization)
- Experience in international committees. (International secretariats)
- Work experience on climate change, sustainable development, water, solid waste, or climate change.
- Experience of work with developing countries on standardization work.
- The organization have knowledge of conformity assessment or be able to provide this knowledge in partnership with a third party”
Some of the above stated preferred characteristics only apply to organisations rather than individuals (e.g. membership of ISO or CEN). As such, we understand that when bidding as an organisation or in a consortium, the organisation or one of the members of the consortium bidding for this project need to demonstrate those characteristics. Or is the intention to have a team member working as staff of a member of ISO or CEN? Could you please confirm which of these points apply to the team members and which apply to the organisation?
A: This is referring to the proposal as a whole and could be applied to a whole team/organisation or team member. This also includes subcontractors/other consultants that the bidder plans to involve in the project.
29) In Annex 3 – Sida’s General Conditions on page 5 section 7.4, is the amount for the liability insurance based on the annual budget or the overall budget of the 24 months’ contract?
A: This is based on the overall budget.
30) In Appendix 4 – Self declaration by the Tenderer on page 11 section 3.1, it refers to reference assignments, but it does not indicate what the requirements are for this tender. Can you please clarify what the requirements are or how the tenderer can demonstrate whether they fulfil the requirement or In Appendix 4 – Self declaration by the Tenderer on page 11 section 3.1, it refers to reference assignments, but it does not indicate what the requirements are for this tender. Can you please clarify what the requirements are or how the tenderer can demonstrate whether they fulfil the requirement or not?
A: This refer to assignments within the same area of work. It is up to the bidder to demonstrate the relevance of the reference assignment for the proposal.