Distribution of tasks, compentences and responsibilities European Tender process

Distribution of tasks, powers and responsibilities during a European tender process

The client is responsible for:

• Selecting and appointing a project leader;
• Communicating with stakeholders within the organization who have given him the mandate for the client role and the contract;
• Ensuring support within the project and the University of Twente
• Providing resources (budget, resources, manpower);
• Accountability for the progress throughout the project;
• Approving or rejecting the Plan of Approach for the tender/project plan;
• Selecting the tender strategy/model;
• Approving or rejecting changes in time, money and scope during the project;
• Approving or rejecting the quotation request;
• Accepting the provisional award proposal.

The project leader is responsible for:

• Organising the tender team;
• Compliance with the schedule;
• Organising the communication process;
• Informing the persons responsible for the project;
• Providing award advice to the client;
• Approving all documents to be delivered;
• Timely provision of input for the quotation request and any other tender documents;
• Reporting;
• Drawing up the statement of requirements with the subject material expert(s) and the purchaser. The subject material expert is responsible for:
• Contributing to the preparation of the statement of requirements and also responsible for the ultimate quality of the (form and content) of the tender documents;
• Communicating and informing the internal organization for the statement of requirements;
• Ensuring support within the project and the University of Twente;
• Timely provision of input for the design brief and any other tender documents;
• Describing the organization in terms of tasks, responsibilities and activities during the implementation and utilisation phase;
• Answering questions in the information memo;
• Assessing submitted tenders. The purchaser is responsible for:
• Providing support and guidance for the tender;
• Providing purchasing expertise concerning the European tender procedure;
• Monitoring the tender process;
• Contributing to the preparation of the statement of requirements in cooperation with the subject material expert and the project leader;
• Compiling, editing and publishing the quotation request and related documents;
• Implementing the tender process through the online Negometrix tool;
• Identifying potential consequences of mutations in the process and the schedule;
• Timely provision of the draft agreement;
• Any legal checks of all relevant documents;
• Substantial contribution to the tender team;
• If applicable, cancelling ongoing contracts in consultation and on behalf of the client;
• Drawing up the award advice and the related award and rejection letters to participants. Use of tender attorney:The University of Twente does not employ any tender attorneys itself and an external expert must be hired, if necessary. The internal agreement has been made that Kienhuis Hoving shall be engaged in these circumstances. The costs of hiring Kienhuis Hoving in specific tenders will by default be borne by the Procurement Department. The tender attorney is responsible for:
• Verifying the formats used by the Procurement Department upon request;
• Answering questions*;
• In case of complex tenders****:
• Answering questions during the preparation of the tender strategy to be used, identified (risky) choices during the procedure, and context;Checking the design brief/quotation request for legality (risks)**;Checking the preparation of the (draft) agreement and associated SLA;Answering legal questions in the information memo (potentially checking the draft answers of the purchaser);Advising in case of doubt about interpretation of submitted bids, potentially having these corrected, etc.Checking proposed award letter and rejection letters to participants***. 

* The purchaser will, based on common sense, estimate whether a tender attorney must be consulted.

** The purchaser will inform the tender attorney about the subjects in the design brief which demand specific attention. 

*** The tender attorney will make an estimate whether the arguments and formulation are legally tenable (sufficiently objective). The tender attorney cannot assess the completeness. He or she can ask critical questions, however.

**** A tender is complex if it meets one or more of the following aspects:

• It is not a repeat tender with minimal adjustments of already existing tender documents.
• There are no ‘standard’ tender documents (award criteria, statement of requirements etc.) available for the product or service.
• There is no existing knowledge about the market present within the UT; it still needs to be developed.
• The contract has a direct relationship with an important part of the primary process of the UT.
• The contract is politically sensitive and/or has administrative focus.
• There is significant time pressure.
• It concerns an innovative contract form or tender procedure.
• There are multiple internal budget holders with divided interests involved in the tender, who must be heard during the project.

If there is any discussion as to whether or not a tender is complex, the Procurement Manager will have the final say.

Annex 1: Phasing of tender process and corresponding responsibilities

The tender

The tender consists of four phases.

timeline:  week/month            week/month              week/month     week/month                  week/month

The above phasing is based on a public tender procedure. The phasing must be adjusted if another procedure is selected.