Compliance requirements
The bidder must confirm in the ESPD that the bidder, its management or supervisory body members and authorised representatives are not subject to exclusion grounds. The checks cover, among other matters, participation in a criminal organisation, corruption, fraud, terrorism-related offences, money laundering or terrorist financing, and child labour or human trafficking. They also cover payment of taxes and social security contributions, compliance with environmental, social and labour-law obligations, bankruptcy or other insolvency, liquidation, suspended business activity, serious professional misconduct, anti-competitive agreements, conflicts of interest and involvement in preparing the procurement. Exclusion may also result from a serious breach of a previous public contract, false information, failure to provide required information or documents, obtaining confidential information, enabling unlawful employment of a foreign national, the application of an international or national sanction, a tax offence or a breach of a legal restriction on participation. For tax and social security debts, the stated threshold is EUR 0; among other cases, a tax debt certificate is not issued where the debt is below EUR 100 or payment has been deferred. The bidder must submit the ESPD and, where relevant, details of the circumstances and measures taken to restore reliability. The names and personal identification codes of authorised persons not visible to the contracting authority through the commercial register must also be provided, or the bidder must confirm that no such persons exist.
Qualification criteria and exclusion grounds
The bidder must submit a compliant tender and a service description; conditional tenders are not permitted. The service description must have separate sections covering understanding of the study objective and terms of reference, methodology, the tasks and responsibilities of the research team, the timetable and action plan, and risks and mitigation measures.
The research team must include at least three members: a project manager, a subject-matter expert and an analyst. All named members must personally participate in contract performance. A list of team members and a description of their areas of responsibility must be submitted.
Within the 60 months preceding the start of the procurement, the project manager must have experience managing at least two completed studies or analysis projects in the health or prevention field. The bidder must submit the project manager’s name, project titles, management tasks and project periods using the contracting authority’s CV form.
The subject-matter expert must hold a master’s degree in clinical psychology, psychology, psychiatry, mental-health nursing, mental-health therapy or a similar field and must have at least one year of experience in a relevant position during the 60 months preceding the start of the procurement. The CV must state the person’s name, position or projects, duties, duration of experience and client or employer. A copy of the document proving education must also be submitted; publication references may be added where available.
Within the 60 months preceding the start of the procurement, the analyst must have experience as an analyst in completed mental-health or social-science research or analysis projects. The analyst must also have experience conducting at least three qualitative studies, including independently conducting group interviews in at least two of them. The analyst’s CV must list the projects, clients or employers, duties and periods using the contracting authority’s form.
The bidder must confirm acceptance of all tender-document conditions, describe any trade secrets and justify their classification, and submit a power of attorney for joint bidders where applicable. During contract performance, environmentally friendly solutions must be preferred, including online meetings, digital materials, optimally sized files and deletion of unnecessary digital materials.