Tender specifications

6.Indicative volume of work

The figures below are provisional and do not represent a commitment on the part of the Commission, the agencies or the other institutions.

By way of an indication, in the 30-month period between April 2008 and December 2010 the following work was performed under the framework contract currently in force in the European institutions:

1. Commission and executive agencies:

- 2 849 days of training

- 657 days of documentation updates

- 1 082 days of preparation / design

2. Community Agencies:

- 594 days of training

- 11 days of documentation updates

- 94 days of preparation / design

3. Other institutions:

- 165 days of training

- 7 days of documentation updates

- 32 days of preparation / design

This represents a total of 3 608 days of training, 1208 days of design and 675 days of updating, i.e. a total of 5 491 days.

For the (maximum) period covered by the future framework contract for 2012 to 2016, it is estimated that the number of days' work per year to be ordered by the Commission, the agencies and the other institutions will be higher than for the current period. Taking into account the current estimations and forecasts, this means that the maximum volume under this contract cannot exceed 11 000 days. The distribution of this volume of days among training, design and updating work, or among the contracting authorities, has not yet been determined, but it is expected that the proportion of this volume to be ordered by the agencies and the other institutions will be greater than in the past. The figures for the preceding period are given merely as a guideline. The only definitive figure established for this contract is the maximum volume of 11 000 days. In addition, it should be pointed out that the percentage of ABAC, SAM and SAP courses is not fixed either.

Updates of the courses and user documentation will not be constant over time but will be required on occasion to take account of changes in systems, new rules, etc. With regard solely to course materials, tenderers can assume that over a period of one year or more, around 20 days of updating will be required for every 100 days of training proper (this does not represent a commitment on the part of the contracting authorities). At this stage it is difficult to predict the volume of work with regard to user documentation (a specific order will be made for each task of this kind).

It is also difficult at this stage to predict the volume of work with regard to design of new courses or development of new training techniques (a specific order will be made for each task of this kind).

Please note that until now the vast majority of the courses delivered have related to ABAC, except for the modules on ABAC Assets. The courses on ABAC Assets and SAM are a series of specific courses for specific target audiences with a relatively small volume (some of the courses on ABAC Assets are given by external and others by internal trainers). The SAP courses are relatively few in number, although they may develop both technically and in volume.

7.General provisions and provisions concerning orders, follow-up to activities, and arrangements concerning payment and penalities

7.1.General procedures

For each type of work to be performed, the main phases of the general procedure are as follows:

• 
  request for work to the contractor from the contracting authorities;
  
• 
  reply from the contractor accompanied by a technical and financial tender for the specific services;
  
• 
  validation (after any necessary adjustments) of the tender, then a specific order by the contracting authorities for the work in question;
  
• 
  submission of the deliverables and/or performance of the work by the contractor;
  
• 
  validation of the work (after any necessary adjustments) by the contracting authorities.
  

To facilitate management and communication, the contractor will appoint a project leader at the outset and for the duration of all phases of the work. This project leader will be the primary point of contact for the contracting authorities and will meet on a regular basis with the staff responsible throughout the duration of the project. The contracting authorities will establish the timetable for these meetings, which in principle will be held monthly and will last on average for half a day. The contractor will not invoice or be reimbursed for any of the expenses relating to these meetings, which will be held in the premises of the contracting authorities.

Tenderers should take particular note of the provisions of the framework contract in Annex I applicable to this contract, especially those on prices (Article I.3), payments (Article I.4), conflict of interests (Article II.3) and confidentiality (Article II.9).

In particular, the contractor must perform this contract to the highest professional standards.

The contractor will have sole responsibility for complying with all legal obligations incumbent on him, notably those arising from employment law, tax law and social legislation.

The Contractor may neither represent the contracting authorities nor behave in any way that would give such an impression. The contractor must inform third parties that he does not belong to the European public service, but is exercising the tasks on behalf of the contracting authorities.

The contractor will be solely responsible for the staff providing the services, who may not be placed in a position of subordination to the contracting authorities.

7.2.Orders

A specific order must be made for each type of work (delivery of courses, design of new courses, in-depth updates of training materials, updates of user documentation, development of new training techniques, etc.) indicating in detail the services required and the deadline for delivery.

Under the proposed contract, the contracting authorities concerned will be able to issue such orders based on their own needs. Please note that with regard to the standard courses in the Commission's central training catalogue, orders for delivery of courses are, in principle, issued by the Commission's Directorate-General for Human Resources, whereas orders for design and updating work are issued by the Commission's Directorate-General for the Budget. This procedure will almost certainly be retained under the new contract.

The contractor must reply with an offer indicating the number of staff days needed and the cost of the services. This offer must be submitted for approval of the entities ordering the services concerned.

For further details see also Annex 1 to the specific provisions in the framework contract (Article I.4) and the model order form (Annex I.b. to the framework contract).