21.Selection criteria:
The following selection criteria will be applied to candidates. Where applications are submitted by a consortium, the selection criteria will apply to the
consortium as a whole, unless specifically stipulated otherwise. The selection criteria shall not apply to natural persons and single-member companies working as
subcontractors.
1) Candidate"s economic and financial capacity (details to be given in section 3 of the application form). If the candidate is a
public body, equivalent information must be provided. The reference period taken into account will correspond to the last 3 financial years for which accounts have been
closed.
This criterion is to ensure that the candidate, or the consortium as a whole where the application is submitted by a
consortium:
• will not be financially dependent on the contracting authority should they be awarded the contract, and
• is in a stable enough financial position to take up the proposed contract;
1.1) the candidate"s average annual
turnover must exceed the maximum annualised budget for the contract, i.e. the maximum budget given in the contract notice divided by the initial duration of the contract in years, if
this exceeds 1 year (the minimum annual turnover does not exceed twice the estimated annual contract value, except where duly justified in the tender dossier); and
1.2) the general liquidity ratio (short-term assets/short-term liabilities) for the last financial year for which accounts have been closed must be at least
1. In the case of a consortium, this criterion must be complied with by each member thereof.
2) Candidate"s professional capacity (details to be
given in sections 4 and 5 of the application form). The reference period will correspond to the 3 financial years prior to the submission deadline.
This criterion is to ensure that the candidate, or the consortium as a whole where the application is submitted by a consortium:
• has the staff and skills needed to take up the proposed contract,
• is not a manpower subcontractor ("body shop") with no
real expertise in fields related to the contract, but which simply identifies and proposes experts to fit the project description;
2.1) the
candidate must have a specialisation in the field of technical assistance in institutional support, particularly with regard to institutional and/or organisational reforms and
management of development aid;
2.2) the candidate"s staff must include at least 5 members who are currently working in fields related to this
contract, particularly institutional capacity building of national authorities in developing countries, contract and financial management of projects as well as monitoring and
assessment of development cooperation projects.
3) Candidate"s technical capacity (details to be given in sections 5 and 6 of the application
form). The reference period corresponds to the 3 financial years prior to the submission deadline.
This criterion is to check whether the
candidate, or the consortium as a whole where the application is submitted by a consortium, has the skills and experience required to take up the proposed contract:
3.1) the tenderer must have provided services under at least 2 contracts with a budget of at least that of this contract, in the following fields:
identification and drawing up of projects, support with preparing and implementing programme-estimates, support with preparing invitation to tender dossiers and calls for proposals,
monitoring of contracts and disputes, preparation of training plans and implementation, support with the closure of global and individual commitments, that were implemented at any
time during the reference period: 1.4.2013–31.3.2016.
This means that the project the candidate refers to could have been started or completed
at any time during the period given. However, it need not necessarily have been completed during this period, or have been carried out during the whole of said period. Candidates or
tenderers may refer to either a project completed during the reference period (although started before this period) or to part of a contract that has not yet been fully carried out.
In the first scenario, the project will be considered as a whole, subject to proof of satisfactory performance (statement from the entity having awarded the contract, proof of final
payment, etc.). In the case of ongoing projects, only the part which has been successfully carried out by the candidate may be used as a reference. The candidate must be able to
provide documentary proof of satisfactory performance of this part (statement from the entity having awarded the contract, proof of final payment, etc.) and the corresponding amount.
If the project referred to has been implemented by a consortium, in the event that a selection criterion relating to the relevance of the experience is used, the supporting documents
must clearly show the proportion completed by the candidate, as well as a description of the nature of services provided.
Previous experience
involving a breach of contract and termination by a contracting authority cannot be used as a reference.
An economic operator may, if necessary
and for a specific contract, make use of the capacities of other entities irrespective of the legal nature of the connection between itself and said entities. In such an event, it
must provide the contracting authority with proof that it will have the resources needed to carry out the contract by, for example, producing a written commitment undertaken by said
entities to place such resources at its disposal. Such entities, for instance the economic operator"s parent company, must observe the same eligibility rules — notably regarding
nationality — and meet the same selection criteria as the economic operator. With regard to the technical and professional criteria, an economic operator may only use the capacities
of other entities if they carry out the work or provide the services for which said capacities are required. With regard to the economic and financial criteria, the entities whose
capacities the tenderer uses become jointly and severally liable for performance of the contract.
If more than 8 applications prove to be
eligible, i.e. meet all the selection criteria, then the strengths and weaknesses of these candidates" applications must be re-examined to determine which 8 applications are most
suitable for the invitation to tender. Only the following factors will be considered in the re-examination:
• the most projects in criterion
3.1.