Created in Lyon in 1982, Handicap International is an independent and impartial aid and development organisation working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict, and natural disaster. Our action and campaigning are focused on addressing the essential needs of persons with disabilities and vulnerable groups, improving their living conditions and promoting respect for their dignity and their fundamental rights.
The use of explosive weapons in populated areas in contemporary armed conflicts results in devastating and widespread civilian harm and humanitarian consequences. In November 2022, 83 States endorsed the Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences Arising from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (EWIPA).
Since 2016, HI has documented the harm caused by the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA), focusing on the immediate and reverberating effects, namely casualties, displacement, psychological harm, destruction of civilian infrastructures, including health services. In 2023, along with two partners, HI has been granted by ECHO a two-year project aiming at promoting actions to strengthen the protection of civilians and prevent humanitarian consequences from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. HI is specifically facilitating a multi-stakeholder process for producing guidance and recommendations for the implementation of the commitments related to humanitarian access and victim assistance set out in the Political Declaration. The publication of a series of reports on specific humanitarian topics in EWIPA settings supports our advocacy work in informing this multi-stakeholder process.
- Contract description
The objective of this call for tenders is to establish a contract for the production of an advocacy report on “Healthcare access for populations affected by explosive weapons: challenges, gaps and good practices” and the contribution to an in-person workshop on the same topic.
- Economic conditions of the framework agreement:
The contract shall be signed for an initial period of 06 months. At the end of this period, the contract shall terminate without HI having to take steps to revoke it.
The full service shall be fully operational on 31 December 2024 maximum.
Invoicing shall be final, after validation of the final report, with a 30% intermediate payment at the signature of the contract.
The prices shall be firm and non-revisable for the duration of the contract.
Transportation and accommodation costs during the travel to the workshop (or potential other ad-hoc travel) will be organized or reimbursed by HI.
Contract execution addresses:
Consultant’s usual workplace location. In person participation to the workshop (location to be defined) in November 2024. A working face-to-face session between HI and the Consultant could be considered in Brussels or other location.
- General conditions
By submitting a bid, tenderers accept without restriction all the general and specific conditions outlined in these specifications as being the only basis for this supply contract procedure, irrespective of their own conditions, which they hereby waive.
Tenderers shall carefully examine and comply with all the instructions, forms, clauses, and specifications mentioned in this participation file.
Failure to submit a bid containing all the information and documents requested by the specified closing date may result in the bid’s rejection.
- Cancellation of a call for tenders’ procedure
In the event of the cancellation of a call for tenders’ procedure, tenderers shall be informed by Handicap International.
If the call for tenders’ procedure is cancelled before any of the external envelopes have been opened, the sealed envelopes shall be returned to tenderers unopened.
A cancellation may occur when:
1. The tendering procedure has been unsuccessful, i.e. Handicap International has received no valid or financially viable bids, or no bids at all;
2. The project’s economic or technical parameters have been fundamentally modified;
3. Exceptional circumstances or force majeure makes the normal execution of the project impossible;
4. All technically compliant bids exceed the available budget;
5. Irregularities have occurred in the procedure, especially if these have prevented fair competition.
In no circumstances shall Handicap International be liable for damages of any kind (in particular damages for loss of profits) in the event of the cancellation of a call for tenders, even if Handicap International has been warned of the possibility of damages.
The publication of a purchase notice does not commit Handicap International to implementing the announced programme or project.
How to apply
- Tendering schedule (This schedule may be modified by Handicap International, if it needs to do so.)
Publication date: 24 May 2024
Deadline for receipt of clarification requests: 5 June 2024
Deadline for HI to answer the clarification requests: 8 June 2024
Deadline for receiving technical and financial offers: 14 June 2024, 17:00 CET
Interviews of potential service providers: 15-25 June 2024, online
Deadline for the awarding of contracts: Last week of June 2024
The application should be sent by email to a dedicated email address [email protected], with the reference “CT_2024_EWIPA_1” of the tender in the title of the email.
The application email shall include:
- Terms of Reference, initialled and signed
- Participation file, initialled and signed
- Application form, signed
- Annex 1: Acceptance and contracting rules, signed
- Annex 2 : Declaration of non-conflict of interests, signed
- Eligibility and Obligations
All natural or legal persons of whatever nationality are eligible to apply. However, certain criteria will be grounds for excluding applications.
Exclusion criteria:
Applicants or tenderers shall be excluded from the selection and award procedure in the following conditions:
- If they are bankrupt or their affairs are being wound up; their affairs are being administered by the courts; they have entered into an arrangement with creditors; they have suspended business activities; they are the subject of proceedings concerning these matters or are in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations;
- If they have been convicted of an offence concerning professional misconduct by a judgement which has the force of res judicata.
- If they have been found guilty of gross professional misconduct proven by any means which the contracting authorities can justify.
- If they have not fulfilled their obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which they are established or with those of the country of the contracting authority or those of the country in which the contract is to be executed.
- If they have been the subject of a judgement which has force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any other illegal activity detrimental to the Communities’ financial interests.
- If, following another procurement procedure or grant award procedure financed by the community budget, they have been found to be in serious breach of contract for failure to comply with their contractual obligations.
In addition, contracts shall not be awarded to applicants or tenderers who, during the procurement procedure:
- are in a position of conflict of interest;
- are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the contracting authority as a condition of participation in the award procedure or fail to supply this information.
By returning this participation file duly initialled and signed, the tenderers confirm that they are not in one or more of the situations described above and undertake to send to Handicap International within seven (7) calendar days following receipt of a request from Handicap International any additional documents that Handicap International considers necessary to perform its checks.
- Sub-contracting
If applicants or tenderers plan to work with subcontractors, they undertake to:
- Provide Handicap International with the list of those services that it plans to subcontract.
- Obtain Handicap International’s formal agreement on the choice of prospective subcontractors.
- Obtain Handicap International’s agreement on the terms of payment of these sub-contractors.
- Send Handicap International its contracts with subcontractors upon request.
Application should include :
*Administrative documentation of the tenderer:
For individuals:
- Curriculum Vitae (training, experience in the areas mentioned above, lists of key publications)
- ID card or passport of the legal representative of the consultant company and/or of the principal consultant if different from the legal representative
- 3 references
- A letter of motivation
For companies:
- Registration of company as consultant
- Declaration of integrity filled out and signed
- Up-to-date tax certificate according to nationality
if French:
- Proof of legal registration (KBIS < 6 months)
- URSSAF certificate of vigilance
Otherwise:
- consultant registration certificate (KBIS equivalent).
- proof that the service provider/consultant is up to date with its tax obligations.
- A technical proposal including, a minima: a concept note including the proposed methods and a detailed calendar.
*A financial proposal including, a minima: detailed consultancy fees including all taxes as well as the communication and reproduction costs, any interpreting needs and other actual expenses. Transportation and accommodation costs during the travel to the workshop (or potential other meeting) will be organized or reimbursed by HI.
The companies concerned shall be asked to submit their best technical and commercial proposal that must comply with the conditions and presentation defined below. Any bids not meeting the below requirements shall be rejected.
Language: All written documents shall be in English.
Currency unit: All prices shall be expressed in Euros, exclusive of tax. Vat and the total amount inclusive of tax must be specified.
Bid validity period: Bids shall remain valid for a period of three (3) calendar months as from the deadline for the receipt of bids.
Amendment or withdrawal of bids: Tenderers may amend or withdraw their bids by written notification before the closing date for submission of bids (14 June 2024). No amendments may be made to bids after this date. Withdrawals shall be firm and final and will terminate any participation in the tendering process.
Costs of preparing bids: None of the costs incurred by tenderers in preparing and submitting their bids shall be reimbursable. All these costs shall be borne solely by the tenderers.
- Bid selection criteria.
The proposals will be selected based on the information contained in the application form and the required accompanying documents. Each bidder may also include any additional documents they deem appropriate.
The selection criteria will be based on:
- Administrative compliance at bid (eliminatory);
- Quality and relevance of the technical proposal;
- Financial proposal;
- Adequacy of the profile and experience of the tenderer;
These criteria are not exhaustive, and their weighting in the final selection of the candidate remains at HI’s discretion.
Handicap International reserves the right to negotiate, accept, or reject any proposal or quotation at its sole discretion, and to continue competitive dialogue for any response it deems advantageous. Handicap International is not required to accept the lowest prices. No proposal can be altered after the closing date of the call for tenders.
Handicap International reserves the right to establish a shortlist of pre-selected suppliers. Further discussions and competitive dialogue may then be conducted with the pre-selected suppliers, via video conference, during a one-and-a-half-hour slot during the week of 17-25 June 2024.
The evaluation of proposals will be conducted in June 2024 by an evaluation committee composed of representatives from Handicap International.
Handicap International will evaluate the proposals based on the total cost of acquisition.
- Awarding of contract
The contract shall be awarded to the bid offering the best quality/price/ delivery ratio according to the needs defined in the call for tenders.
Handicap International will give preference to proposals from suppliers who commit to a fixed rate for the entire duration of the contract.
Any bidder attempting to influence the evaluation committee in the process of review, clarification, evaluation, and comparison of proposals, obtaining information on the advancement of the process, or influencing Handicap International in its decision regarding contract award will see their proposal immediately rejected.
By virtue of this document, Handicap International holds ownership of all bids received as part of this tender procedure. Consequently, bids shall not be returned to tenderers.