Published date: 9 December 2021

Last edited date: 7 January 2022

Closed opportunity - This means that the contract is currently closed. The buying department may be considering suppliers that have already applied, or no suitable offers were made.


Closing: 14 January 2022, 11am

Contract summary

Industry

  • Microscopes - 38510000

Location of contract

East of England

Value of contract

£18,000

Procurement reference

tender_293782/1021528

Published date

9 December 2021

Closing date

14 January 2022

Closing time

11am

Contract start date

7 February 2022

Contract end date

31 January 2023

Contract type

Supply contract

Procedure type

Open procedure (above threshold)

Any interested supplier may submit a tender in response to an opportunity notice.

This procedure can be used for procurements above the relevant contract value threshold.

Contract is suitable for SMEs?

Yes

Contract is suitable for VCSEs?

No

Description

There is a growing concern about the widespread occurrence and abundance of microplastics (particles below 5 mm in size) and their unknown environmental effects. To date, there is no widely accepted protocols for the extraction and detection of microplastics in environmental compartments (sediment, biota and water). Cefas has developed a fast screening method for microplastics in environmental compartments but is currently lacking the capability for particle characterisation for the smaller sized items (below 500 m in size). This capability is required for the accurate investigation in microplastic concentrations and composition that is essential to assess their behaviour in the environment and the risks for biota and human health related to exposure. Tight deadlines to deliver national and international projects is creating an urgent necessity to process samples quickly to cope with the high volume. However, gains in time-efficiency in the data acquisition have usually resulted in a reducing spatial resolution. Therefore, the ability to rapidly process whilst maintaining accuracy and spatial resolution is a critical requirement for this application.

As a result, the marine litter team at Cefas Lowestoft Laboratory requires a 2x fully motorised micro-FTIR's in order to carry out analysis on microplastics particles. The units will be housed at the University of Belize and Department for the Environment (addresses below) and therefore will required to be delivered and installed in Belize. The main objective is the quantification and characterisation of extracted particles onto filters from sediment, biota and water samples quickly, efficiently and accurately.

More information

Links

Additional text

Bravo E-tendering Portal - managing procurement on behalf of Cefas
https://defra.bravosolution.co.uk

Thank you for your interest in tendering for this requirement, You will need to access the documents through Bravo Solutions portal using the link provided.

If you are new to Bravo, you are required to register as a supplier:

1) Visit https://defra.bravosolution.co.uk and click the link to register - Accept the terms and conditions and click 'continue' - Enter your correct business and user details - Note the username you chose (usually your email address) and click 'Save' when complete - You will shortly receive an email (check spam filters if this does not arrive in a timely manner) with your unique password (please keep this secure). You can then log onto the system and change your password. Once these step are completed you can apply for any tender on Bravo using these details.

2) To read the full details or apply for a tender:
- Login to the portal with the username/password
- Click the 'PQQs / ITTs Open To All Suppliers' link. (These are opportunities open to any registered supplier)
- Click on the relevant PQQ/ ITT to access the content
- Click the 'Express Interest' button at the top of the page. (This will move the PQQ /ITT into your 'My PQQs/ My ITTs' page) within your Bravo account.
- Access the tender information by clicking 'Buyer Attachments' in the 'PQQ/ ITT Details' box 3.

3) Responding to the tender:
- Click 'My Response' under 'PQQ/ ITT Details', you can choose to 'Create Response' or to 'Decline to Respond' (please give a reason if declining)
- You can now use the 'Messages' function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification
- Note the deadline for completion, then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the requirements to upload a successful Tender. There may be a mixture of online and offline actions for you to perform (there is detailed online help available)
- Once all information is complete, you can then submit your reply using the 'Submit Response' button at the top of the page. Please give yourself enough time to complete this before the deadline. If you require any further assistance please consult the online help, or contact the e-Tendering help desk.

Please direct all questions and queries to Cefas using the message function of the portal, including any clarification questions. This is to ensure no questions are missed and that all answers can be shared with all interested suppliers at the same time.

About the buyer

Address

Pakefield Road
Lowestoft
NR33 0HT
England

Email

procure@cefas.co.uk

Website

www.cefas.co.uk