Published date: 9 January 2018

This notice was replaced on 22 March 2018

This notice does not contain the most up-to-date information about this procurement. The most recent notice is:

Awarded contract (published 22 March 2018)

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.


Contract summary

Industry

  • Research and development consultancy services - 73200000

  • Market and economic research; polling and statistics - 79300000

Location of contract

SN2 1SZ

Value of contract

£60,000 to £100,000

Procurement reference

CR18004

Published date

9 January 2018

Closing date

12 February 2018

Contract start date

26 February 2018

Contract end date

30 July 2018

Contract type

Service contract

Procedure type

Open procedure (below threshold)

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

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

Contract is suitable for SMEs?

Yes

Contract is suitable for VCSEs?

No

Description

The final date and time for the submission of bids is 12 February 2018 at 11:00

Note: DO NOT apply directly to the buyer. Please disregard any content in this notice that requires your organisation 'to apply directly to the buyer' as this unfortunately is a system generated error that is outside of the contracting authorities control.

All tender information MUST be submitted through the CCS eSourcing Portal.

Brief Description of Requirement
The Aurora Programme, was set up in 2005 by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC). At the end of 2016 this became the Robotic Exploration Programme but is still commonly known as the Aurora programme by many people. The first mission of this programme was ExoMars, with the overall goal of the robotic and human exploration of Mars. The overall ExoMars mission is divided into 2 related components the Trace Gas Orbiter launched in 2016 and the rover to be launched in 2020. The purpose of ExoMars is to search for signs of past and present life on Mars, and more specifically, investigate how the water and geochemical environment varies and explore martian atmospheric trace gases and their sources. The mid-term objective but not necessarily the next mission was to participate in an international mission to collect samples from Mars and bring them back to Earth for analysis. The eventual aim of Exomars is a manned mission to Mars in approximately 50-100yrs.

The central aim of this tender is the evaluation of the aurora programme and the UK inputs and activities, outcomes and impacts associated with it to date. This will help the UKSA to understand if the programme is on track to deliver its objectives and how it might be improved in future. The evaluation should provide evidence that allows the Agency to assess what impact of the aurora programme has had, relative to what would have happened in its absence.

Please ensure you review all attached information to ensure a full understanding of this requirement. All attachments can be found with the RFx attachments tab within the Emptoris System.

This contract will be awarded based on the evaluation criteria set out in the ITQ document.

How to Apply

As part of the strategic alliance between UK Shared Business Services Ltd (UK SBS) and Crown Commercial Service (CCS), UK SBS will be using the CCS eSourcing Suite for this procurement.

To register on the CCS eSourcing portal please follow the details contained within the Additional Information section of this notice.

If you are already registered on the CCS eSourcing portal and wish to register your interest in this opportunity please email; expressionofinterest@crowncommercial.gov.uk

Your email must clearly state:
• the name and reference for the procurement you wish to register for;
• the name of the registered Bidder;
• the name and contact details for the registered individual sending the email.

More information

Attachments

Links

Additional text

DO NOT APPLY DIRECTLY TO BUYER

All submissions will be assessed in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, for procurement values that exceed Regulation 5 (Threshold amounts)

Responses must be received by the date in the bid documents.

Responses received outside or concurrently using the eSourcing process will not be accepted or considered further for this opportunity.

How to Register on the CCS eSourcing Suite

Full details of this opportunity can be found on the e-sourcing portal please follow instructions below. If you have not yet registered on the eSourcing Suite, this can be done online at https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk by following the link 'Register for CCS eSourcing'.

Please note that, to register, you must have a valid DUNS number (as provided by Dun and Bradstreet) for the organisation which you are registering, who will be entering into a contract if invited to do so.

Once you have registered on the eSourcing Suite, a registered user can express an interest for a specific procurement. This is done by emailing expressionofinterest@crowncommercial.gov.uk.

Your email must clearly state:
• name and reference for the procurement you wish to register for;
• name of the registered Bidder;
• name and contact details for the registered individual sending the email.

Crown Commercial Service will process the email and then enable the Bidder to access the procurement online via the e-Sourcing Suite. The registered user will receive a notification email to alert them once this has been done. The Sourcing documents can then be accessed on the eSourcing Suite at: https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk using the instructions detailed in the Specification documents within Contracts Finder.

As a user of the e-Sourcing Suite you will have access to Emptoris email messaging service which facilitates all messages sent to you and from you in relation to any specific RFX event.

Please note it is your responsibility to access these emails on a regular basis to ensure you have sight of all relevant information.

For technical assistance on use of the e-Sourcing Suite please contact Crown Commercial Service Helpdesk: Telephone: 0345 010 3503

Training documents to support Bidders to utilise Emptoris CCS eSourcing are available in the Contracts Finder Tender documents section.

About UK Shared Business Services

UK Shared Business Services Ltd (UK SBS) brings a commercial attitude to the public sector; helping our customers improve efficiency, generate savings and modernise.

Our broad range of expert services is shared by our customers. This allows our customers the freedom to focus resources on core activities; innovating and transforming their own organisations.

For full details of our partner base please review the following link: http://www.uksbs.co.uk/services/procure/

About the buyer

Contact name

Contracted Research Team

Address

Polaris House
Swindon
SN2 1ET
England

Telephone

01793 867005

Email

Research@uksbs.co.uk

Website

www.uksbs.co.uk