Coastal, Flood and Infrastructure Professional Services Framework Agreement: Southern Coastal Group and SCOPAC (covering England)

Descriptions

Portsmouth City Council ('the council') on behalf of the Southern Coastal Group (SCG) and SCOPAC (the Regional Coastal Group for central southern England), is inviting requests to participate, from suitably qualified consultants for inclusion onto a multi-supplier Coastal, Flood & Infrastructure Professional Services Framework Agreement. , The framework is due to be awarded on 29th October 2021 and will run for a period of four years until 28th October 2025. The established framework will consist of six suppliers split over two tiers. Tier 1 will consist of 3-4 suppliers. Tier 2 will consist of 2-3 suppliers and will act as a contingency resource., Supplier rankings and tiering may be altered up or down by performance scores achieved for framework projects or via the use of an in-term non-standard re-tiering / re-ranking mini-competition call off procedure. , Tier 1 suppliers who routinely do not bid for projects and/or who routinely submit uncompetitive bids may be demoted to Tier 2, following a framework performance review with the supplier., All suppliers must have the ability to provide comprehensive multi-disciplinary services within the role of lead consultant. A non-exhaustive list of the essential core and optional non-core services that may be sourced via the framework agreement is stated below:, Suppliers must be able to provide appraisal, technical engineering, design, project management, consultancy, support and staff secondment in relation to the following 'Essential' and 'Wider Essential' disciplines: , ESSENTIAL COMPETENCIES, •Flood & Coastal Erosion Risk Management, •Flood Risk Management and Modelling, •Coastal Engineering, •Coastal Processes, •Fluvial and Pluvial Flooding, •Surface Water Management, WIDER ESSENTIAL COMPETENCIES , •Drainage Engineering, •Groundwater Flooding, •Highway Engineering, •Structural Engineering, •Geotechnical Engineering, •Landscape Architecture and Design, •Port, Harbour and Maritime Engineering and Infrastructure, •Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, Suppliers may also be requested to provide services in relation to the following, but not limited to, optional non-core competency disciplines. Whilst an evidenced ability to undertake the services listed below either directly or via sub-contractor arrangements may result in additional scores being allocated to supplier applications at assessment an inability to provide will not result in the application being rejected and set aside. , NON-CORE COMPETENCIES, •Stakeholder Engagement, •Quantity Survey / Cost Consultancy, •Ground and Site Investigations, •Health and Safety Consultancy, •Economic Appraisal, Business Case Preparation and Funding Application, •Contaminated Land Consultancy, •Master Planning, •Planning and Regeneration Consultancy, •Environmental Engineering, Management and Consultancy, In view of the wide scope of services which will be covered by the framework, the council is open to bids which include for sub-consulting, consortium bidding and joint venture arrangements on the proviso that the stated minimum requirements are still met via the use of such arrangements. , However, if the proposed supply chain fails during the tender process, we reserve the right to set the bid aside. If it fails during the framework term, the lead consultant may be suspended, or potentially terminated, from the framework, as proportionate and appropriate., The framework will be available to all SCG and SCOPAC members, including any future iterations of these groups which may include for changes in existing member status and/or addition of new members over the term of the framework agreement. , Only members who are classified as Contracting Authorities as defined within the Public Contracts Regulations (2015) will be permitted to use the framework agreement. Access will not be allowed for any members who are classified as Economic Operators under the regulations. , The current list of members is provided within Section II.2.3. All current member organisations support the establishment of the framework agreement and have expressed interest in using the agreement once operational., In addition, the framework will also be accessible to all contracting authorities situated within England. To date, no commitment to use the framework has been made by any contracting authorities outside of the SCG and SCOPAC region and the council cannot provide any guarantee of take-up., The value of the framework is estimated to be in the region of £5M over 4 years based upon the forecast requirements of SCG and SCOPAC members. In the event of further schemes or take up by other Contracting Authorities across England, the total value of the framework could increase to up to £50M, however a figure £15M is more likely. The values attributed to additional schemes and additional take up is a top level estimate only and should not be taken as any form of guarantee., The average value of commissions called off via the framework by SCG and SCOPAC is likely to range from £150K to £500K. However, there is also likely to be frequent commissions below £50K and on occasion in excess of £1million., Once established, contracting authorities will have a variety of call-off mechanisms and contracting options available for use which include for both mini-competition and direct award options. These will include:, MINI-COMPETITION, •Standard mini-competition amongst all Tier 1 suppliers only. , •Suppliers from Tier 2 will be invited to participate in standard mini-competitions on a ranked basis in the event of capacity and / or performance issues with Tier 1 suppliers., •Suppliers from Tier 2 may be invited to participate in non-standard mini-competitions where the services are of a specialist / non-standard nature (specialist technical discipline, hi / lo contract value, hi / lo programme duration). In such cases an initial sifting brief may be issued to suppliers from both tiers in order to create a shortlist of suppliers. Such shortlists may be for a single commission or may be developed further into specific sub-lots which may be used to source future specialist / non-standard commissions over the duration of the framework agreement. , •Suppliers from Tier 2 will also be invited to participate where an in term non-standard mini-competition process is undertaken across both tiers the results of which will reset rankings and associated Tier allocations., DIRECT AWARD, •On a ranked basis - call-off contracts will be awarded to the highest ranked supplier on tier 1. Where the highest ranked supplier does not have the required capacity, the second ranked supplier will be approached, and so on., •On a work development basis - in the event that any framework supplier has delivered an initial phase of services, either via this framework agreement or via another contracting route, future phases may be awarded via direct award to the same supplier., •On a repeat work basis - where SCG or SCOPAC requirements are similar to services already delivered by a supplier for the contracting authority making the award or for work undertake for any other UK contracting authority let either via this framework agreement or another contracting route, a direct award may be made using this framework to the same supplier., It is envisaged that the framework agreement will be let using the NEC4 Framework Agreement terms. However, use of the council's standard framework agreement terms is also under consideration and the decision on which terms will be used will be made in advance of the invitation to tender being issued to the shortlisted suppliers., Call-off contracts will be let using either the NEC4 PSC or TSC in either the long or short form and with the choice of all options as proportionate and relevant to the services which are being commissioned., The framework will be established using the Restricted Procedure as set out within the Public Contracts Regulations (2015). The council anticipates shortlisting a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 8 suppliers from assessment of returned Supplier Selection Questionnaire submissions who will then be invited to tender. , The procurement procedure will be run in accordance with the following summary programme:, •FTS Notice issued - Monday 17th May 2021, •SSQ documents published - Monday 17th May 2021, •SSQ deadline for clarification requests - Friday 11th June 2021 12:00, •SSQ return deadline - Monday 21st June 2021 12:00, •Conformation of shortlisted suppliers - Monday 12th July 2021, •Invitation to tender issued - Friday 30th July 2021, •Tender return deadline - 10th September 2021 12:00, •Interviews - W/C 27th September 2021, •Award decision notification - Monday 18th October 2021, •Award - 29th October 2021, •Framework commencement - November 2021, Application is via submission of completed Supplier Selection Questionnaire and associated documentation via the Council's e-sourcing system InTend which is accessible via: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/portsmouthcc/aspx/home. The system will be used to administrate the procurement process.