Second Cycle of the Field Data Collection for the National Forest Inventory (NFI) of Great Britain.

Descriptions

The Forestry Commission (FC), in conjunction with Natural Resources Wales (NRW), is the Government Department responsible for Britain's woodlands, and our mission is ‘to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and to increase their value to society and the environment’. In order to achieve this effectively, we need to have accurate scientific and statistical information about Britain's woodlands, and to keep it up to date.To do this we periodically carry out an extensive survey of woodlands and forests in England, Scotland and Wales, and the information gathered in the surveys contributes to the National Forest Inventory (NFI) of Great Britain.With the information gathered by the NFI, the FC and other government organisations will be better equipped to draft policy and guidance for protecting and increasing the value of Britain's woodlands and forests, and to plan future developments, investment and research. To achieve this, and in accordance with our responsibilities under the Forestry Act (1967), NFI surveyors intend to visit approximately 15 000 1-hectare (2.5-acre) sample squares randomly located across Britain to gather representative information about woodlands.NFI surveyors will gather a variety of information, such as tree species, heights and ages, and the woodland area within each 1-ha sample square. The FC will then use this information to assess the biodiversity value and general condition of Britain's woodlands, as well as any potential they have for sustainable timber production. This will help the FC and other relevant government organisations and forest users to monitor a range of woodland issues, focus attention on what is important, and inform decisions about the future of forestry.The information will also help the United Kingdom meet international commitments, such as reporting for the Global Forest Resources Assessment and the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE). It can also contribute to the process of estimating how much carbon is stored in Britain's woodlands.All information gathered is held in the strictest confidence, and it will not be used to police, regulate or directly affect management of individual woods in any way.Information will only be published in a summary form that does not reveal information about individual woodland holdings. The main reporting units (Great Britain, country and regional) are shown below, and although ‘customised’ reports might also be produced for some smaller areas, these, too, will not reveal any information about individual woodland holdings.This contract is divided into 108 individual Bid Areas (Lots). If a tenderer wishes to bid for work a separate price/bid must be made for each Bid Area. Each bid per Bid Area will be assessed according to the criteria set out in this document. Bids will be won strictly on scoring subject to the caveat below.In order for a tender to be assessed by the FC for this Framework Contract the following stipulations must be met:— 1 or more representatives of the supplier must pass the mandatory field test prior to a tender being evaluated;— A minimum of 2 Bid Areas (Lots) must be tendered for;— The Supplier must be the Primary supplier (have the highest tender score) in minimum of 2 Bid Areas.To be awarded work tenderers must win a minimum of 2 Bid Areas regardless of the number that are actually tendered for. Tenderers must also show the maximum number of Bid Areas they wish to win.For example a tenderer may bid for 9 Bid Areas winning 6 but only wish to work in a maximum of 5.Tenderers must therefore show a numerical order of preference for each of the Bid Areas tendered for (e.g. 1, 2, 3, …). The order of preference must be unique to each Bid Area, Bid Areas are not allowed to have the same Priority.For example whilst a tenderer may feel that they wish to assign Priority ‘1' to 5 Bid Areas they must assign each Bid Area a separate Priority number (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5).Once the initial scores for each tender, and Bid Area, have been tallied the scores will be passed through a number of filters in order to leave only Suppliers who meet the criteria shown in the bullet points above.The NFI will utilise a database programme based on the FC's Forester extension during the contract. Due to the government secure internet protocols adhered to by the FC, suppliers cannot connect to the FC network with their own hardware. For these reasons the FC will provide 1 ruggedised computer per supplier. Where a supplier has won multiple bidding areas and this necessitates multiple surveyors, the FC will agree a reasonable number of ruggedised computers to be supplied. If, for their own business purposes, the supplier deems it necessary to engage more surveyors to the contract than the FC would deem reasonable, and the supplier requires what the FC would deem to be an excessive number of ruggedised computers, then for each additional ruggedised computer supplied the FC will charge a rental fee of 480 GBP per annum over the contract period, to be recovered from Sample Square payments throughout the year.An initial mandatory briefing and calibration period is required for suppliers. This is classed as a calibration exercise and the staff attending this course must have passed the FC mandatory field tests. Where a supplier has worked on the first cycle of the NFI field data collection satisfactorily the duration of the calibration period can be reduced to just cover the differences between the first and second cycles. Once the initial calibration and briefing period has been completed the FC will provide ongoing support for the interpretation and application of the NFI Survey Manual. This will be provided as face to face meetings, online and telephone support as required.The spatial nature of the NFI means that suppliers could spend a long time on the road travelling to and from Sample Squares if logistics are not planned well. Experience to date has shown that by reducing the size of the Bidding Areas (Lots) suppliers can bid for geographical areas that are the most efficient for them to travel across, thus reducing travel and accommodation costs. For this reason the 2nd cycle of the NFI has 108 Bid Areas across GB rather than the 22 in the 1st cycle.Throughout the contract period the opportunity to carry out more work may become available:— Top-ups — extra NFI sample squares assessed outwith the sample squares in this tender;— Other ad hoc surveys (allowed up to 5 % of the contract value) — past examples include St Jude's storm damage survey and Ash dieback survey.For top-up surveys the current supplier in the affected areas will be offered the work at their current prices for NFI sample square work.Depending upon the nature of the ad hoc work suppliers will be asked to carry out the work at their hourly rates or allowed to send in a bid.Additional points to take into account:— Where there are ‘gaps' in the GB coverage the FC may award these areas in a mini-tender within the Framework or in a separate contract outwith this Framework contract;— Multiple suppliers will be allowed for each Bid Area with preference given to the Primary Supplier;— The tenderer with the highest score within a Bid Area will be denoted the Primary Supplier. The tenderer with the second highest score in that Bid Area will be denoted as the Secondary Supplier and so forth;— The Primary supplier will be awarded the work within their given Bid Areas;— An Annual Work Schedule will be agreed annually with the Primary Supplier and the FC at the start of the contract and at the start of each subsequent Financial Year. Where the initial Primary Supplier is no longer working within a Bid Area then the FC will agree the schedule with the current supplier for that Bid Area;— Where the Primary Supplier cannot service the contract to the agreed schedule, for whatever reason, the FC retains the right to pass on the work, wholly or partially, to the Secondary Supplier. Should the Secondary Supplier not be able to service the contract the offer goes to the Tertiary Supplier. Should the Tertiary Supplier not be able to service the contract the offer goes to the GB pool of suppliers;— The FC intends to assess approximately 3 000 sample squares a year across GB overall but actual numbers of squares per Bid Area per year will vary;— As funding for work in each bidding area becomes known in the prior autumn for each year the current supplier within each Bid Area will be awarded the work, at the price tendered for, plus an adjustment for inflation at up to a maximum of 10 %, at the FC's discretion for specific factors (e.g. fuel, weather, RPI), unless there are substantive changes to the survey itself (i.e. changes that merit a variation in unit price) in the work to be carried out. Note that any adjustments can mean a fall in prices as well as a rise. Adjustments for fuel price increases/decreases will commence 12 months after the initial contract start date — see Section.A full specification and tender documentation can be accessed at http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-7nrlsa