Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC

Staff of the Directorate

Invitation procedure

Terms of reference for

"Cooperation Strategy Evaluations of the Cooperation Strategies Chad 2018-21, Mekong 2018-21, and Nepal 2018-21/22"

for the period May 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021

Berne 25.02.2020

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Contents 1 Terms and abbreviations ..................................................................................................................3

2 Purpose of this document .................................................................................................................4

3 Goal and content of the mandate .....................................................................................................4

3.1 Background ..................................................................................................................................4

3.2 Prior involvement ..........................................................................................................................4

3.3 Objectives .....................................................................................................................................4

3.4 Content of the mandate, terms of reference ................................................................................5

3.5 Volume of the mandate ............................................................................................................. 10

3.6 Time frame, target dates ........................................................................................................... 10

4 Formal aspects of the invitation to tender ..................................................................................... 11

4.1 Contracting authority ................................................................................................................. 11

4.2 Type of procedure ..................................................................................................................... 11

5 Suitability criteria ........................................................................................................................... 12

6 Award criteria ................................................................................................................................. 14

7 Composition and content of the offer ............................................................................................ 15

8 Additional points to be noted by the bidder ................................................................................... 16

8.1 Address for submission of offers ............................................................................................... 16

8.2 Language of documents, language of bids ............................................................................... 16

8.3 Expression of interest in submitting an offer and receiving documents .................................... 16

8.4 Answering questions ................................................................................................................. 16

8.5 Deadline for submitting a bid and validity .................................................................................. 16

8.6 General Terms and Conditions of Business (GTC) ................................................................... 17

8.7 Conclusion of contract ............................................................................................................... 17

8.8 Negotiations ............................................................................................................................... 17

8.9 Bidding consortia ....................................................................................................................... 17

8.10 Subcontractors .......................................................................................................................... 17

8.11 Confidentiality ............................................................................................................................ 17

8.12 Integrity clause .......................................................................................................................... 18

8.13 Protected rights ......................................................................................................................... 18

9 Annexes ......................................................................................................................................... 18

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1 Terms and abbreviations

Abbreviation Definition

AC Award Criteria

CS Cooperation Strategies

DAC Development Assistance Committee of the OECD

EAER Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research

Excl. exclusive

FDFA Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

GTC General Terms and Conditions of Business

HH Humanitarian Aid Domain of SDC

HQ Head Quarters

HSD Human Security Division of the FDFA

i.e. id est – that is to say

Max. Maximum

MRS Mekong Region Cooperation Strategy

NGO Non-Governmental Organisation

No. Number

OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

Peer Internal resource persons of SDC (and HSD, where applicable) that, in line

with the hybrid evaluation format, is part of the evaluation team

PPO Federal Ordinance of 11 December 1995 on Public Procurement

SC Suitability Criteria

SCO Swiss Cooperation Office

SDC Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

SECO State Secretariat for Economic Affairs

UN United Nations

VAT Value-added tax

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2 Purpose of this document

This document contains the requirements relating to the mandate for the "Cooperation Strategy

Evaluations of the Cooperation Strategies Chad 2018-21, Mekong 2018-21, and Nepal 2018-21/22". It

serves as a template for the bidder to submit his or her offer. Contracts are awarded according to the

invitation to tender procedure according to Art. 35 PPO. At least three bids shall be collected and the

Terms of Reference are additionally published on FDFA-Website (Website FDFA).The bidder

submitting the economically most favourable bid will be awarded the mandate.

3 Goal and content of the mandate

3.1 Background

Cooperation strategy evaluations analyse the Cooperation Strategies (CS), which define the Swiss

engagement in a particular country or region.

The goal of cooperation strategy evaluations is to assess the relevance and coherence of the Swiss

international cooperation in regard to national development priorities and the Federal Council Dispatch.

They assess the results achievement of the CS portfolio at the level of domains of intervention and

according to the performance of the CS implementation (management and monitoring mechanisms). In

doing so, these evaluations help the Management of the different entities involved in the CS in their

strategic and operational steering and in improving aid effectiveness.

In fulfilling the strengthened learning purpose, the CS evaluations are realized as hybrid evaluation,

conducted by a mixed team consisting of (per country/region) one external consultant and two internal

resource persons of SDC (and HSD, where applicable) (hereafter referred to as peers) and, if relevant,

a national consultant.

The evaluation approach is based on a relatively high degree of standardization (see also “Concept”

and “Toolkit”) and a stronger involvement of internal resources (e.g. participation of peers) to promote

institutional learning. However, methodological adjustments may be necessary. Such changes need to

be discussed and agreed upon with the Evaluation and Corporate Controlling Division (E+C).

3.2 Prior involvement

Experts, who have been involved in the design or implementation of strategies or projects covered by

this evaluation, are excluded from this assignment in order to avoid conflicts of interests.

3.3 Objectives

The objectives of cooperation strategy evaluations include the following:

To assess – through a mutual learning process – whether the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Human Security Division (HSD) and its partners reach the strategic objectives in the country or region, as defined in the CS, and to appraise the effectiveness and efficiency of the strategic and operational steering mechanisms of the Cooperation Office;

To timely build the foundation for the definition of key elements for the new CS, which includes but is not limited to providing recommendations for the next CS (i.e. formulation/selection of indicators for better measurability, etc.);

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To assess the significance of the Swiss contribution to national (and regional) humanitarian, peacebuilding and development results, and to identify key factors, which enhance or hinder performance and results achievements;

To identify good practices and innovative approaches as well as share experiences in managing CS.

The evaluation focuses on the thematic domains of intervention and the transversal themes mentioned

in the Cooperation Strategies.

The purpose of the mandate is to conduct the evaluation of the Swiss Cooperation Strategies for

Chad 2018-21, Mekong 2018-21, and Nepal 2018-21/22 with, per each country/region, one external

consultant, two peers, and possibly a local consultant. An extension of the duration of the country

strategy Nepal to 2022 is currently under consideration. The respective external consultant has the main

responsibility to analyze important documents, interview resource persons in Berne (using his/her

presence for team-building with the peers), produce an Inception Report, conduct a 10 to 14 day field

trip in Chad and Nepal, respectively, and a 14 to 20 day field trip to the Mekong region (Phnom Penh,

Vientiane, and Bangkok), as well as to write the evaluation report. In doing so, the consultant will draw

on the institutional knowledge, expertise and the experience of the peers. The consultant will implicate

the peers along the whole process and in particular at key moments such as during the process where

conclusions and recommendations are reached.

3.4 Content of the mandate, terms of reference

It is expected that each CS strategy evaluation has a dedicated team leader (external consultant). The

qualifications for each team leader will be assessed separately according to the required qualification

and experience for the respective CS, as described in the following sections. We expect that the bidder

will be able to realise synergies from conducting three CS evaluations and that the bidder describes

these synergies in the proposal.

In addition, it is expected that the bidder will designate a single contact person for general evaluation

issues such as activity coordination, quality assurance, etc. and for administrative matters to facilitate

contract management, payments etc.

Chad Cooperation Strategy The cooperation strategy for Chad is implemented by two entities of the Federal Department for Foreign

Affairs (FDFA): the SDC (Humanitarian Aid Department and South Cooperation Department) and the

Human Security Division (HSD).

The overall goal of the Cooperation Strategy is to contribute to reduced fragility, to sustainable

development in support of increased food security, and to the development of the provision of basic

services.

Switzerland will achieve the strategic goal through interventions in three complementary and intertwining

thematic domains:

Domain A: Citizenship, peace, and prevention of violence

Domain B: Agriculture and Food Security

Domain C: Basic education and vocational education

The CS promotes Good Governance and Gender Equality transversally in its domains of interventions

and its priorities.

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Mekong Region Cooperation Strategy The SDC Mekong Region Cooperation Strategy (MRS) covers Cambodia and Lao PDR with their own

country programme portfolios as well as regional projects that cover those two countries and Myanmar

and Vietnam. The cooperation strategy is implemented by the South Cooperation Department of SDC.

In Myanmar, the Humanitarian Aid Department of SDC has ongoing activities. Vietnam is a priority

country for the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of the Federal Department of Economic

Affairs, Education and Research. The exact degree to which these interfaces will be explored as a part

of this evaluation should be determined at the inception phase at the latest.

The overall goal of the MRS is to contribute to building inclusive societies through equitable and

sustainable development and democratic governance. To this end, Switzerland contributes to poverty

reduction and inclusive and equitable development in Lao PDR. It supports Cambodia to strengthen a

peaceful society with reduced poverty and sustainable and inclusive growth. In keeping with a regional

strategy, Switzerland will tackle issues that are best solved regionally and that contribute to achieving

the overall MRS and country-level objectives.

Switzerland will achieve the strategic goal through interventions in three complementary and intertwining

thematic domains:

Domain A: Governance and citizen participation

Domain B. Agriculture and food security

Domain C: Skills development and employment

The MRS promotes Gender Equality, Good Governance, and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) transversally in its domains of interventions.

Nepal Cooperation Strategy The cooperation strategy for Nepal is implemented by two entities of SDC: the South Cooperation

Department and the from 2015 until June 2020 by the Humanitarian Aid Department. The overall goal

of the Cooperation Strategy is that “women and men benefit from equitable socioeconomic development

and exercise their rights and responsibilities in an inclusive federal state”. This goal is pursued through

three integrated domains of intervention, where the federal state building programmes contribute to the

achievement of the sectoral outcomes, and the sectoral operations promote the progressive

establishment of inclusive political and social institutions.

Switzerland will achieve the strategic goal through interventions in three complementary and intertwining

thematic domains:

Domain A: Federal State Building (Consolidation of Peace, Conflict Prevention and Human Rights”)

Domain B: Employment and Income (“Employment and Economic Development”)

Domain C: Migration (global theme migration)

Switzerland continues to promote Gender Equity and Social Inclusion, Human Rights Based Approach,

and Reconstruction and Disaster Risk Reduction transversally in its domains of interventions and its

priorities.

Content The respective external consultant in charge of the evaluation of the Swiss Cooperation Strategies Chad

2018-21, Mekong 2018-21, and Nepal 2018-21/22 is the respective team leader. He/she is responsible

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for organizing and implementing the overall evaluation process and is expected to proactively include

the peers during the whole process. The external consultant of the mandate shall1:

• Coordinate the process, gather and analyse important information and data, provide important methodological elements, and assume overall responsibility for the quality of the result.

• Lead the evaluation team, composed by the team leader (the consultant), a national consultant (if needed/relevant) and two SDC/HSD peers. He/she will coordinate, control and supervise the work done by the team and facilitate exchange between the evaluation team members in order to reinforce mutual learning.

• Ensure the implementation of the cooperation strategy evaluation drawing on the “Concept” and the “Toolkit”, as necessary.

• Conduct interviews with both the headquarter staff of the different federal agencies involved and partners in Switzerland, the staff of the relevant Swiss Cooperation Office(s) (SCO), its partners and other key institutions as well as some key staff of the relevant Swiss Embassies.

• Be responsible for the elaboration of the inception report which summarizes the main findings of the preparation phase (document and portfolio analysis as well as interviews) and better defines methodological details and the working schedule for the respective field mission. The inception report builds important background information for the peer exchange during the field mission.

• Lead the field mission (with project visits), including a debriefing meeting at the SCO at end of the field mission. The field mission consists of the validation of the results of the inception report and of gathering additional information through a mutual learning process. The field mission consists of a series of peer exchanges, interviews, project visits and workshops involving the peers, Swiss government staff involved in implementing the programme, main international and national implementing partners and selected donors representatives. At the end of the field mission but before the debriefing meeting at the SCO, the consultant will set aside sufficient time for the team (consultant + 2 peers) to elaborate and summarize the key learnings and findings.

• Be responsible for the elaboration of the draft and final evaluation report (incl. a discussion of the draft report at HQ) and guarantee their high quality.

Jointly with the peers, the team leader will brief the team of the SCO on the first draft conclusions and

recommendations during the debriefing meeting at the end of the field mission.

A national consultant may assist the international consultant (if needed/relevant). He/she should

possess a proven level of knowledge and experience in humanitarian engagements, peace building and

development cooperation (as applicable for the respective CS), in at least one of the thematic areas of

the CS and in regional and national socio-political issues. He/she should also have proven experience

in evaluation.

Deliverables For each of the 3 CS evaluations, the following deliverables are expected. The reports and meetings for

the CS evaluations for Mekong and Nepal are in English, for Chad in French.

a. An inception report – following a standard structure (see “Toolkit”) - summarizing the main findings of the preparation phase (document analysis and interviews). Document references (sources) should be clearly mentioned. This report provides as well details on the time schedule of the field trip and provides additional methodological information (e.g. agenda of workshops). The inception report will also describe how the consultant plans to harness the knowledge and experience of the peers. It is commented by the agencies involved in the CS evaluation and by the

1 see also “Toolkit”, chapter 4.

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concerned staff in the field. The inception report should not exceed 10 pages (excluding appendices).

b. Debriefing meetings – Jointly with the peers, the team leader will brief the SCO team at the end of the field mission. The debriefing will include first draft findings, conclusions and recommendations.

Similarly to the debriefing meeting at the end of the field mission, a debriefing on preliminary

findings, conclusions and recommendations will also be organized with all the involved Operational

Division(s) a few days after the field mission, if possible, at the SDC/HSD headquarters in Berne or

over the phone.

c. A draft final evaluation report – The evaluation team will deliver a draft evaluation final report. The report follows a standard structure (see “Toolkit”), is in accordance with the agreed time schedule, and takes into account the comments received during the debriefings. On acceptance, the report will be circulated for comments within the concerned SCO and involved Operational Divisions to correct possible factual errors before elaborating the final evaluation report.

Moreover, a meeting for the discussion of the draft final evaluation report will be organized in Berne. In this meeting, an overall appreciation of the evaluation will be elaborated. This will include the discussion on lessons learnt and recommendations. The evaluation team, the involved Operational Divisions and other interested staff of SDC/HSD (such as interviewed resource persons) will participate in the meeting.

d. A final evaluation report – The final evaluation product is a report which analyses and synthesises the elements resulting from the evaluation process. The report must meet the following requirements:

The final report shall be structured following the formatting instructions for SDC evaluation.

The findings, conclusions and recommendations should be thorough and based entirely on proven evidence. In addition, they should reflect a methodical and thoughtful approach, and highlight links or sequences between them. The final report takes into account the comments received during the debriefings as well as the comments received before and during the discussion of the draft final report (misunderstandings and factual errors). Major document references (sources) should be mentioned. Structurally, the report should follow the four evaluation areas:

o EA1: A concise context analysis (referring to the partner country, the region and the Swiss context).

o EA2: Relevance, coherence, and appropriateness of the projects/programs portfolio with regard to the domains of intervention of the CS.

o EA3: Implementation of the CS and its portfolio.

o EA4: Results of the CS in relation to the results (mainly outcomes) at country level.

The final evaluation report should be concise and to the point and should not exceed 20 pages (excluding the executive summary (max 3 pages) and appendices) and should be in line with the standards and structure mentioned in the “Toolkit”.

Qualifications Each of the evaluation is conducted by a mixed team consisting of one external consultant (= team

leader), a national consultant (if needed/relevant) and two internal resource persons (SDC/HSD peers).

The qualifications of the peers will consider the professional qualifications of the external consultant in

order to set up a complementary team.

General qualifications The following specific qualifications are required for the team leader:

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Understanding of Peer Evaluation Format.

Knowledge and expertise in interdisciplinary thinking and cross-cutting analysis for strategic orientation.

Confirmed experience in the management of an evaluation team comparable in size, composition (i.e. peers) and scope.

Proven experience (minimum of 6 years) in managing evaluations, either as an independent consultant or within an organization. Verifiable skills in evaluation methodology and ability to manage complex processes involving a multitude of stakeholders in a multi-cultural environment ability to evaluate according to the OECD / DAC evaluation standards.

Sensitivity at enhancing learning processes.

Experience with programme cycle management instruments is an asset.

Verifiable expertise (through work experience and education) in one of the thematic domains of the Cooperation Strategy is an asset.

Specific qualifications

Chad

Knowledge and verifiable expertise through work experience on development cooperation, humanitarian aid and peace building in fragile contexts.

Experience in the area of humanitarian aid and nexus / LRRD approach (“Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development”).

Excellent French language speaking, writing, and presentation skills.

Knowledge of the specific aid architecture in Chad is an asset.

Mekong

Excellent English language speaking, writing and presentation skills.

Substantial working experience in the Mekong region.

Good understanding of climate change impact and architecture in the Mekong region.

Knowledge of the specific aid architecture in the Mekong region.

Nepal

Knowledge of the Nepalese context, especially the federalism system.

Proven expertise with fragile states, conflict transformation/post-conflict and adaptive programme management.

Excellent English language speaking, writing and presentation skills.

Knowledge of the specific aid architecture in Nepal is an asset.

The concept documents include an evaluation matrix defining specific evaluation questions, criteria

and indicators, as well as methods. For a majority of evaluation questions – defined for the four

evaluation areas – practical tools have been elaborated (see “Toolkit”, Annex 5).

Template evaluation questions are summarized in Annex 13. The evaluation matrix contains

standards questions. Additional priority questions – suggested by the Embassies / SCOs and

Operational Division(s) – will be available at a later stage, estimated by the end of April. Once finalized,

the evaluation matrix will be the reference document to orient the evaluation and to respond to

SCO/Division(s) expectations for the design of the new CS.

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The various tasks are shared by the evaluation team members under the responsibility of the evaluation

team leader according to their individual areas of competence.

The strengths and weaknesses of the evaluation process should be discussed with the Evaluation and

Corporate Controlling Division and presented in the evaluation report.

3.5 Volume of the mandate

The services are expected to start in May 1, 2020 and will end on December 31, 2021.

The assignment includes the following international trips, as approved by E+C:

1 x N’Djamena (Chad), foreseen for the end of October / beginning of November 2020;

1 x Kathmandu (Nepal), foreseen for first quarter 2021;

1 x Phnom Penh, Vientiane, and Bangkok, fixed for October 19 to November 7, 2020 (Mekong);

9 x Berne (each consultant 3 times for the following occasions: 1) kick-off, initial interviews, team building; 2) debriefing after field mission; 3) presentation of draft final report)

It is estimated that the total number of person-days (external and national consultant) required for the

review could be 42 days each for Chad and Nepal and 46 days for Mekong.

The average estimated level of effort for one evaluation for the external and national consultant(s) is as

follows:

Item Estimated person-days

1. desk review / phone interviews 4

2. interviews in Berne 4

3. inception report 5

4. visit selected project sites and debriefing 17

5. draft final report and final report 12

Total 42

All the price details must be indicated in Swiss Francs (CHF) excl. VAT. The price excl. VAT includes in

particular insurance, allowances, social costs, transport, customs etc.

The bidder will not be reimbursed for any costs arising from the preparation or submission of bid.

3.6 Time frame, target dates

Deadline Activity

February 26, 2020 Invitation of at least 3 bidders and publication of the mandate on the FDFA

website

March 9, 2020 Expression of interest in submitting an offer by email

March 12, 2020 Deadline for submitting questions by email

March 16, 2020 Sharing of the questions and answers with all the interested bidders

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Deadline Activity

March 31, 2020 Deadline for submitting offer

April 17, 2020 Awarding of mandate and notice to unsuccessful bidders

April 24, 2020 Signing of contract

May 1, 2020 Start of the Mandate

4 Formal aspects of the invitation to tender

4.1 Contracting authority

SDC’s Evaluation and Corporate Controlling Division manages the award procedure and is also the

direct mandating party for the bidder.

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC

Evaluation and Corporate Controlling Division

Freiburgstrasse 130

3003 Berne

Switzerland

4.2 Type of procedure

Procurement in the invitation to tender is in accordance with the Federal Ordinance of 11 December

1995 on Public Procurement, PPO, SR 172.056.11.

The award of contract cannot be contested.

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5 Suitability criteria

The bidder must prove and thoroughly fulfil without reservation or modification the following suitability

criteria; otherwise, the bid will not be further considered.

SC Suitability criterion Verification

SC1 Information of bidder

The bidder has to fill in the bidder information.

Written confirmation, signed by

the bidder according to annex 1.

SC2 Acceptance GTC

The bidder shall explicitly confirm, without limitation or

modification, the acceptance of the FDFA’s General

Conditions of Business (GTC) as per annex 2 of the

present tender document.

Written confirmation

SC3 Legal Status

The bidder confirms to fulfil the legal requirements

according to his status.

Evidence according the legal

status.

Legal persons and institutions Excerpt from the commercial

register (not older than 3 months).

Bidders from abroad are required

to present comparable current

foreign official certificates (copy of

original);

Natural persons

For Self-employed persons (*see information

below)

This criterion is only to be met by self-employed

persons, whereby they submit valid proof (not older

than two years) of professional independence in

accordance with 'AHV' law.

Proof (not older than two years)

provided by the responsible social

insurance authority at which the

company/person is registered

For Employed persons (** see information below)

Bidders who do not quality as self-employed in

accordance with 'AHV' law and non-legal

persons (AG, GmbH, etc.) are considered as

employed persons for whom the FDFA, as contracting

authority, must pay the statutory social insurance

contributions.

Declaration of agreement that

all social insurance

contributions are to be paid

by the contracting authority.

Indication of 'AHV' number

and date of birth. Foreign

nationals who do not have a

'AHV' number only indicate

their date of birth.

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SC Suitability criterion Verification

SC4 Experience

The bidder in its entirety has enough experience in

projects comparable with the present mandate in

terms of scope, financial extent and complexity.

He/they prove(s) this experience with exactly 5 (five)

references in the last 8 (eight) years.

If a subcontractor provides essential services as part

of the present mandate, the subcontractor must also

provide proof of suitable experience in the field of

activity for this mandate.

Written proof of the references

giving at least the following data:

Name of company and address of

contact person(s) and telephone

number(s);

Time and place of execution of

the mandate;

Volume of the executed mandate;

Description of the provided

services;

The contracting authority reserves

the right to contact the contact

persons indicated.

SC5 Acceptance e-billing: Contractors are obliged to

submit an electronic bill to the FDFA if the contract

value is above CHF 5’000 (excl. VAT). For

Information on the electronic billing see annex 3.

Written confirmation

SC6 Personnel resources and availability: The

consultants confirm to be able to fulfil the mandate

and their availability during the indicated period

including for the indicated dates of the field trip.

Written confirmation

SC7 Contact person: Single person of contact

responsible for carrying out the evaluation.

Written confirmation mentioning

the name of the person.

SC8 Language skills: The consultants proposed by the

bidder must be proficient (orally and writing) in

English for Mekong and Nepal and French for Chad.

The bidder must be able to read and understand

documents in German, French and English.

Written confirmation and overview

of team members and language

skills.

SC9 Independence from the evaluation subject: The

bidder, its sub-contractors and proposed team

members have not been involved in project inception

or implementation activities (excluding evaluations)

for SDC within the last 5 years.

Confirmation of no prior

involvement with SDC or

complete list of contracts with

SDC.

*) Information for self-employed (Natural person, mandate type B)

Please note: The awarding of longer-term mandates to self-employed persons (individual

companies) can lead to their economic dependence on the contracting authority which can lead

to result in the re-classification of the contractor in accordance with 'AHV' law (Alters- und

Hinterlassenen Versicherung = Federal Old-age, Survivors' and Invalidity Insurance).

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**) Financial offer for employed persons (Natural person, mandate type A)

Offsetting employers' social insurance contributions: To ensure comparability of financial bids

between employed persons (type A) and contractors (type B), FDFA will increase the value of the

bids of type A contractors by 10% in the comparison to take into account the employer's social

insurance contributions

Contributions to the occupational pensions If the total remuneration to be contractually agreed is

subject to the Occupational Pensions Act (OPA) (second pillar), the contribution to be paid must

be clarified with the responsible pension institution on a case-by-case basis. The OPA employer

contributions must be added to the gross remuneration to create comparability of bids.

6 Award criteria

Of the valid offers submitted, the contract will be awarded to the economically most favourable bid.

Offers will be assessed according to the following award criteria and weighting:

AC Award criterion Weighting

1 Understanding of the mandate, including the template evaluation matrix (see

annex 13)

20%

2 Proposed methodology, approach and timeline. 20%

3 Qualification, experience and expertise of the organization 5%

4 Qualifications of proposed consultants (CVs)

Refer to qualifications in section 3.4.

30%

5 Clarity of financial offer 5%

6 Financial offer - Overall price

The overall price is to be submitted only together with the budget form

as per annex 4.

The overall amount (excl. VAT) across the mandate will be estimated

using the following formula

Score= M x (Pmin

P)

2

P = price of bid being assessed

P min = price of cheapest bid

M = Max. points

20%

Total 100%

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Award criteria are evaluated on a scale of 0 to 5.

Score Fulfilment and quality of the criteria

0 Cannot be established Information not available

1 Very bad fulfilment Information is incomplete

Data quality is very poor

2 Bad fulfilment Information relates inadequately to the requirements

Data quality is poor

3 Average fulfilment

Information globally responds inadequately to the

requirements

Data quality is adequate

4 Good fulfilment Information focuses well on requirements

Data quality is good

5 Very good fulfilment Information clearly relates to the achievement of outputs

Data quality is excellent

7 Composition and content of the offer

Chapter Contents Max. No.

pages

SC/AC

00 Cover letter with signature(s) 1 -

01 Form «Bidder Information» - SC 1

02 Acceptance of GTC 1 SC 2

03 Legal documents - SC 3

04 Proof of references 10 SC 4

05 Acceptance e-billing 1 SC 5

06 Confirmation personal resources 1 SC 6

07 Information contact person 1 SC 7

08 Language skills 1 SC 8

09 Independence from the evaluation subject 1 SC 9

10 Understanding of the mandate 3 AC 1

11 Proposed methodology, approach and timeline. 5 AC 2

12 Qualification, experience and expertise of the organization 3 AC 3

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13 Qualifications of proposed consultants (CVs) 3 pages per

CV

AC 4

14 Financial proposal: submit the financial proposal in

accordance with Annex 4 Budget form in CHF currency.

The financial proposal must include the estimated costs for

(according 3.4 and 3.5):

international trips, as approved by E+C:

1 x N’Djamena (Chad); 1 x Kathmandu (Nepal); 1 x Phnom Penh, Vientiane, and Bangkok (Mekong); 9 x Berne (each consultant 3 times for the following

occasions: kick-off / initial interviews / team building; debriefing after field mission; presentation of draft final report)

If applicable, VAT must be offered separately.

1 narrative

page +

budget form

AC 5, AC6

8 Additional points to be noted by the bidder

8.1 Address for submission of offers

Email: sektion.evaluation-controlling@eda.admin.ch

8.2 Language of documents, language of bids

The bid must be submitted in English. The documents are available in English.

8.3 Expression of interest in submitting an offer and receiving documents

Interested bidders can express their interest by email until March 9, 2020 and will receive the annexes

to these terms of reference.

8.4 Answering questions

Questions concerning the awarding of the mandate in question can be sent by March 12, 2020 to the

contact address named under point 8.1 by email. The answers will be made available by email to all

bidders who have expressed an interest in submitting an offer by March 16, 2020.

8.5 Deadline for submitting a bid and validity

The bid must be sent by email to the contact address sektion.evaluation-controlling@eda.admin.ch by

March 31, 2020 at the latest with the following note: Offer Evaluation Cooperation Strategy Chad,

Mekong, and Nepal

The bidder should request a read/delivery receipt when sending the e-mail. The receipt of the offer will

be confirmed within three working days, latest by Monday, April 1, 11h30 CET. In the absence of this

confirmation, the bidder must request a confirmation of receipt. In any case, the bidder shall ensure that

proof of timeliness of the offer is provided.

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The bid is valid for up to 160 days after the aforementioned date for submission.

Please submit the financial proposal in CHF.

8.6 General Terms and Conditions of Business (GTC)

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS (GTC) OF THE SWISS FEDERAL

DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (FDFA) FOR MANDATES (TYPE A for employed persons AND

TYPE B for legal persons and institutions).

These General Conditions of Business (GTC) shall be deemed accepted by the contractor on

submission of the offer.

8.7 Conclusion of contract

The contract is concluded subject to the prior approval of credits by FDFA.

8.8 Negotiations

Remain reserved.

8.9 Bidding consortia

Bidding consortia are not permitted.

8.10 Subcontractors

Subcontractors are permitted, subject to the prior approval of the awarding entity. Subcontractors are

allowed to participate in several bids. If the bidder engages subcontractors in order to carry out the work,

the bidder will assume overall responsibility. It will list all the subcontractors involved, together with the

roles allocated to them, in annex 1 "Bidder information".

Any contractual delegation by the contractor of performance of all or part of the present contract to

subcontractors shall be subject to the prior written consent of the contracting authority. Subcontractors

and their personnel must satisfy all conditions stipulated in the present contract and the appendices

thereto. In the event that the contractor delegates performance of all or part of the contract, the

contractor shall bear sole liability for the acts of any subcontractors.

8.11 Confidentiality

All information of any kind that comes to the attention of the bidder in connection with the tendered

mandate of the awarding authority is to be treated as confidential. The content of the present tender

may only be made available to persons taking part in the preparation of the bid.

The tender documentation may not be used for any other purposes than preparation of the bid, even in

extracts.

Bidders treat facts as confidential that are not public knowledge or publicly available. In cases of doubt,

facts are to be treated as confidential. This obligation to secrecy remains valid even after conclusion of

the tender procedure.

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The awarding authority undertakes to maintain confidentiality about this bid towards third parties subject

to the reserve of statutory publication requirements.

8.12 Integrity clause

Bidders undertake to take all necessary measures to avoid corruption, especially not to offer or accept

payments or other advantages.

Bidders who violate the integrity clause are required to pay a contractual penalty to the contracting

authority amounting to 10% of the contract sum or at least CHF 3,000 per violation.

The bidder notes that a violation of the integrity clause leads as a rule to the cancellation of the award

or to early termination of the contract by the contracting authority for important reasons.

The Parties shall inform each other in case of any well-founded suspicions of corruption.

8.13 Protected rights

All protected rights that arise from executing the mandate shall be transferred to the contracting

authority.

9 Annexes

The annexes will be sent separately to the interested bidders (see point 8.3. above).

No. Annex

1 Form „Bidder Information“

2 GTC FDFA Mandates (type A and B)

3 Information e-billing

4 Budget-form Type A/B

5 SDC 2019: Cooperation Strategy Evaluation: Toolkit

6 SDC 2019: Cooperation Strategy Evaluation: Concept

7 SDC 2018: Evaluation Policy, March 2018

8 Swiss Cooperation Strategy Chad 2018 – 2021

9 Swiss Cooperation Strategy Mekong 2018 – 2021

10 Swiss Cooperation Strategy Nepal 2018 – 2021

11 Independent Evaluation of the Linkage of Humanitarian Aid and Development

Cooperation at the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) (‘Nexus Evaluation’)

12 Road Maps of Evaluation Process, Chad, Mekong, Nepal