Common use of Preparation of Proposals Clause in Contracts

Preparation of Proposals. 6. Language of the proposal The Proposals prepared by the Offeror and all correspondence and documents relating to the Proposal exchanged by the Offeror and the procuring UNDP entity shall be written in the English language. Any printed literature furnished by the Offeror may be written in another language so long as accompanied by an English translation of its pertinent passages in which case, for purposes of interpretation of the Proposal, the English translation shall govern. 7. Documents comprising the proposal The Proposal shall comprise the following components: (a) Proposal submission form; (b) Operational and technical part of the Proposal, including documentation to demonstrate that the Offeror meets all requirements; (c) Price schedule, completed in accordance with clauses 8 and 9; 8. Proposal form The Offeror shall structure the operational and technical part of its Proposal as follows: (a) Management plan This section should provide corporate orientation to include the year and state/country of incorporation and a brief description of the Offeror's present activities. It should focus on services related to the Proposal. This section should also describe the organizational unit(s) that will become responsible for the contract, and the general management approach towards a project of this kind. The Offeror should comment on its experience in similar projects and identify the person(s) representing the Offeror in any future dealing with the procuring UNDP entity. (b) Resource plan This should fully explain the Offeror's resources in terms of personnel and facilities necessary for the performance of this requirement. It should describe the Offeror's current capabilities/facilities and any plans for their expansion. (c) Proposed methodology This section should demonstrate the Offeror's responsiveness to the specification by identifying the specific components proposed, addressing the requirements, as specified, point by point; providing a detailed description of the essential performance characteristics proposed warranty; and demonstrating how the proposed methodology meets or exceeds the specifications. The operational and technical part of the Proposal should not contain any pricing information whatsoever on the services offered. Pricing information shall be separated and only contained in the appropriate Price Schedules. It is mandatory that the Offeror's Proposal numbering system corresponds with the numbering system used in the body of this RFP. All references to descriptive material and brochures should be included in the appropriate response paragraph, though material/documents themselves may be provided as annexes to the Proposal/response. Information which the Offeror considers proprietary, if any, should be dearly marked “proprietary” next to the relevant part of the text and it will then be treated as such accordingly.

Preparation of Proposals. 6General Considerations In preparing the Proposal, the Bidder is expected to examine the RFP in detail. Material deficiencies in providing the information requested in the RFP may result in rejection of the Proposal. The Bidder will not be permitted to take advantage of any errors or omissions in the RFP. Should such errors or omissions be discovered, the Bidder must notify the UNDP Cost of Preparation of Proposal The Bidder shall bear any and all costs related to the preparation and/or submission of the Proposal, regardless of whether its Proposal was selected or not. UNDP shall not be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the procurement process. Language of the proposal The Proposals prepared by the Offeror Proposal, as well as any and all related correspondence and documents relating to the Proposal exchanged by the Offeror Bidder and the procuring UNDP entity UNDP, shall be written in the English languagelanguage (s) specified in the BDS. Documents Comprising the Proposal The Proposal shall comprise of the following documents: Documents Establishing the Eligibility and Qualifications of the Bidder; Technical Proposal; Financial Proposal; Proposal Security, if required by BDS; Any attachments and/or appendices to the Proposal. Documents Establishing the Eligibility and Qualifications of the Bidder The Bidder shall furnish documentary evidence of its status as an eligible and qualified vendor, using the Forms provided under Section 6 and providing documents required in those forms. In order to award a contract to a Bidder, its qualifications must be documented to UNDP’s satisfaction. Technical Proposal Format and Content The Bidder is required to submit a Technical Proposal using the Standard Forms and templates provided in Section 6 of the RFP. The Technical Proposal shall not include any price or financial information. A Technical Proposal containing material financial information may be declared non-responsive. Samples of items, when required as per Section 5, shall be provided within the time specified and unless otherwise specified by UNDP, and at no expense to UNDP When applicable and required as per Section 5, the Bidder shall describe the necessary training programme available for the maintenance and operation of the services and/or equipment offered as well as the cost to the UNDP. Unless otherwise specified, such training as well as training materials shall be provided in the language of the Bid as specified in the BDS. Financial Proposals The Financial Proposal shall be prepared using the Standard Form provided in Section 6 of the RFP. It shall list all major cost components associated with the services, and the detailed breakdown of such costs. Any printed literature furnished output and activities described in the Technical Proposal but not priced in the Financial Proposal, shall be assumed to be included in the prices of other activities or items, as well as in the final total price. Prices and other financial information must not be disclosed in any other place except in the financial proposal. Proposal Security A Proposal Security, if required by BDS, shall be provided in the amount and form indicated in the BDS. The Proposal Security shall be valid up to thirty (30) days after the final date of validity of the Proposal. The Proposal Security shall be included along with the Technical Proposal. If Proposal Security is required by the Offeror RFP but is not found along with the Technical Proposal, the Proposal shall be rejected. If the Proposal Security amount or its validity period is found to be less than what is required by UNDP, UNDP shall reject the Proposal. In the event an electronic submission is allowed in the BDS, Bidders shall include a copy of the Bid Security in their proposal and the original of the Proposal Security must be sent via courier or hand delivery as per the instructions in BDS. The Proposal Security may be forfeited by UNDP, and the Proposal rejected, in the event of any one or combination, of the following conditions: If the Bidder withdraws its offer during the period of the Proposal Validity specified in the BDS, or; In the event that the successful Bidder fails: to sign the Contract after UNDP has issued an award; or to furnish the Performance Security, insurances, or other documents that UNDP may require as a condition precedent to the effectivity of the contract that may be awarded to the Bidder. Currencies All prices shall be quoted in the currency or currencies indicated in the BDS. Where Proposals are quoted in different currencies, for the purposes of comparison of all Proposals: UNDP will convert the currency quoted in the Proposal into the UNDP preferred currency, in accordance with the prevailing UN operational rate of exchange on the last day of submission of Proposals; and In the event that UNDP selects a proposal for award that is quoted in a currency different from the preferred currency in the BDS, UNDP shall reserve the right to award the contract in the currency of UNDP’s preference, using the conversion method specified above. Joint Venture, Consortium or Association If the Bidder is a group of legal entities that will form or have formed a Joint Venture (JV), Consortium or Association for the Proposal, they shall confirm in their Proposal that : (i) they have designated one party to act as a lead entity, duly vested with authority to legally bind the members of the JV, Consortium or Association jointly and severally, which shall be evidenced by a duly notarized Agreement among the legal entities, and submitted with the Proposal; and (ii) if they are awarded the contract, the contract shall be entered into, by and between UNDP and the designated lead entity, who shall be acting for and on behalf of all the member entities comprising the joint venture. After the Deadline for Submission of Proposal, the lead entity identified to represent the JV, Consortium or Association shall not be altered without the prior written consent of UNDP. The lead entity and the member entities of the JV, Consortium or Association shall abide by the provisions of Clause 9 herein in another language so long respect of submitting only one proposal. The description of the organization of the JV, Consortium or Association must clearly define the expected role of each of the entity in the joint venture in delivering the requirements of the RFP, both in the Proposal and the JV, Consortium or Association Agreement. All entities that comprise the JV, Consortium or Association shall be subject to the eligibility and qualification assessment by UNDP. A JV, Consortium or Association in presenting its track record and experience should clearly differentiate between: Those that were undertaken together by the JV, Consortium or Association; and Those that were undertaken by the individual entities of the JV, Consortium or Association. Previous contracts completed by individual experts working privately but who are permanently or were temporarily associated with any of the member firms cannot be claimed as accompanied by an English translation the experience of the JV, Consortium or Association or those of its pertinent passages members, but should only be claimed by the individual experts themselves in their presentation of their individual credentials. JV, Consortium or Associations are encouraged for high value, multi-sectoral requirements when the spectrum of expertise and resources required may not be available within one firm. Only One Proposal The Bidder (including the individual members of any Joint Venture) shall submit only one Proposal, either in its own name or as part of a Joint Venture. Proposals submitted by two (2) or more Bidders shall all be rejected if they are found to have any of the following: they have at least one controlling partner, director or shareholder in common; or any one of them receive or have received any direct or indirect subsidy from the other/s; or they have the same legal representative for purposes of this RFP; or they have a relationship with each other, directly or through common third parties, that puts them in a position to have access to information about, or influence on the Proposal of, another Bidder regarding this RFP process; they are subcontractors to each other’s Proposal, or a subcontractor to one Proposal also submits another Proposal under its name as lead Bidder; or some key personnel proposed to be in the team of one Bidder participates in more than one Proposal received for this RFP process. This condition relating to the personnel, does not apply to subcontractors being included in more than one Proposal. Proposal Validity Period Proposals shall remain valid for the period specified in the BDS, commencing on the Deadline for Submission of Proposals. A Proposal valid for a shorter period may be rejected by UNDP and rendered non-responsive. During the Proposal validity period, the Bidder shall maintain its original Proposal without any change, including the availability of the Key Personnel, the proposed rates and the total price. Extension of Proposal Validity Period In exceptional circumstances, prior to the expiration of the proposal validity period, UNDP may request Bidders to extend the period of validity of their Proposals. The request and the responses shall be made in writing, and shall be considered integral to the Proposal. If the Bidder agrees to extend the validity of its Proposal, it shall be done without any change in the original Proposal. The Bidder has the right to refuse to extend the validity of its Proposal, and in which case, for purposes such Proposal will not be further evaluated. Clarification of interpretation Proposal Bidders may request clarifications on any of the ProposalRFP documents no later than the date indicated in the BDS. Any request for clarification must be sent in writing in the manner indicated in the BDS. If inquiries are sent other than specified channel, even if they are sent to a UNDP staff member, UNDP shall have no obligation to respond or confirm that the English translation query was officially received. UNDP will provide the responses to clarifications through the method specified in the BDS. UNDP shall govern. 7. Documents comprising endeavor to provide responses to clarifications in an expeditious manner, but any delay in such response shall not cause an obligation on the proposal The Proposal shall comprise the following components: (a) Proposal submission form; (b) Operational and technical part of UNDP to extend the Proposal, including documentation to demonstrate that the Offeror meets all requirements; (c) Price schedule, completed in accordance with clauses 8 and 9; 8. Proposal form The Offeror shall structure the operational and technical part of its Proposal as follows: (a) Management plan This section should provide corporate orientation to include the year and state/country of incorporation and a brief description submission date of the Offeror's present activitiesProposals, unless UNDP deems that such an extension is justified and necessary. It should focus on services related Amendment of Proposals At any time prior to the Proposal. This section should also describe deadline of Proposal submission, UNDP may for any reason, such as in response to a clarification requested by a Bidder, modify the organizational unit(s) that will become responsible for RFP in the contract, and the general management approach towards a project form of this kind. The Offeror should comment on its experience in similar projects and identify the person(s) representing the Offeror in any future dealing with the procuring UNDP entity. (b) Resource plan This should fully explain the Offeror's resources in terms of personnel and facilities necessary for the performance of this requirement. It should describe the Offeror's current capabilities/facilities and any plans for their expansion. (c) Proposed methodology This section should demonstrate the Offeror's responsiveness an amendment to the specification RFP. Amendments will be made available to all prospective bidders. If the amendment is substantial, UNDP may extend the Deadline for submission of proposal to give the Bidders reasonable time to incorporate the amendment into their Proposals. Alternative Proposals Unless otherwise specified in the BDS, alternative proposals shall not be considered. If submission of alternative proposal is allowed by identifying BDS, a Bidder may submit an alternative proposal, but only if it also submits a proposal conforming to the specific components proposedRFP requirements. UNDP shall only consider the alternative proposal offered by the Bidder whose conforming proposal ranked the highest as per the specified evaluation method. Where the conditions for its acceptance are met, addressing or justifications are clearly established, UNDP reserves the requirementsright to award a contract based on an alternative proposal. If multiple/alternative proposals are being submitted, they must be clearly marked as specified“Main Proposal” and “Alternative Proposal” Pre-Bid Conference When appropriate, point by point; providing a detailed description Bidder’s conference will be conducted at the date, time and location specified in the BDS. All Bidders are encouraged to attend. Non-attendance, however, shall not result in disqualification of an interested Bidder. Minutes of the essential performance characteristics proposed warranty; Bidder’s conference will be disseminated on the procurement website and demonstrating how shared by email or on the proposed methodology meets or exceeds e-Tendering platform as specified in the specificationsBDS. The operational No verbal statement made during the conference shall modify the terms and technical part conditions of the Proposal should not contain any pricing information whatsoever on the services offered. Pricing information shall be separated and only contained RFP, unless specifically incorporated in the appropriate Price Schedules. It is mandatory that the Offeror's Proposal numbering system corresponds with the numbering system used in the body of this RFP. All references to descriptive material and brochures should be included in the appropriate response paragraph, though material/documents themselves may be provided as annexes to the Proposal/response. Information which the Offeror considers proprietary, if any, should be dearly marked “proprietary” next to the relevant part Minutes of the text and it will then be treated Bidder’s Conference or issued/posted as such accordinglyan amendment to RFP.