GUIDANCE ON APPOINTMENT OF DESIGN TEAMS FOR

DEVOLVED GRANT PROJECTS

Planning and Building Unit

Department of Education and Skills

Web: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/035b6-appointment-of-consultants/

First edition: March 2019

Version 2.0: Oct 2022

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

Table of Contents

GUIDANCE ON APPOINTMENT OF DESIGN TEAMS FOR DEVOLVED GRANT PROJECTS

1. General 2

2. Appointment of Consultants 2

3. Open Procedure 3

3.1 Who can submit a tender 3

3.2 Eligibility of Firms / Consultants to tender 3

3.3 Tender Documents (Open Procedure) 3

3.4 Award Criteria 4

4. Project Supervisor Design Process (PSDP) 5

5. Appointing the Design Team under an Open Procedure 5

5.1 Advertising on eTenders 5

5.2 Documents to be uploaded on eTenders 5

5.3 Documents to be submitted by Tenderers 6

5.4 Completing the eTenders Contract Notice 6

5.5 Assessing the Tender Submissions 12

5.6 Validating the preferred tenderer’s suitability 13

5.7 Completing Formal Appointments 14

(a) Letters to Unsuccessful Candidates 14

(b) Letter of Acceptance to Successful Candidate 14

(d) Contract Signings 14

(e) Maintaining records 15

6. Appointing the Project Supervisor Design Process (PSDP) 15

6.1 PSDP Framework 15

6.2 eTenders 15

6.3 Documents to be uploaded 16

6.4 Documents to be submitted by Tenderers 16

6.5 Completing the PSDP eTenders Contract Notice 16

6.6 Assessing Tender Submissions 18

6.7 Validating preferred tenderer’s suitability 19

6.8 Completing Formal Appointments 19

7. Appointing the Design Team from a Framework (Restricted Procedure) 19

7.1 Consultants Framework 19

7.2 eTenders 19

7.3 Documents to be uploaded 19

7.4 Documents to be submitted by Tenderers 20

7.5 Completing the eTenders Contract Notice 20

7.6 Assessing Tender Submissions 20

7.7 Validating preferred tenderer’s suitability 20

7.8 Completing Formal Appointments 20

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

GUIDANCE ON APPOINTMENT OF DESIGN TEAMS FOR DEVOLVED GRANT PROJECTS

1. General

Following receipt of the letter of approval from the Department, and prior to the signing of the form of

acceptance, School Authorities/ETBs must tender for Consultants to form a Design Team to design,

procure and oversee the approved works.

The following Design Team consultants will be required:

 Architect

 Building Services Engineer

 Civil/Structural Engineer

 Quantity Surveyor

The consultants must have appropriate professional Qualifications, Professional Indemnity Insurance

Cover and previous experience in consultancy service of a similar nature.

In addition to the above consultants, under Health and Safety legislation it is a legal requirement to

appoint a competent person to act as Project Supervisor (Design) Process to oversee the health and

safety requirements of the project.

The Department’s procurement procedures for appointing consultants for projects vary in relation to

the size and complexity of the project as follows:

(a) Estimated construction cost €1m - €3.0m (ex VAT) – Open Procedure; Type 2a projects.

(b) Estimated construction cost €3.0m - €10.0m (ex VAT) – Restricted Procedure using the

Department’s Framework for Type 2b projects.

Department’s Framework for Type 3 projects.

(d) Estimated construction cost over €25.0m (ex VAT) – Restricted Procedure using the Department’s

Framework for Type 4 projects.

In the case of PSDP Services appointments for all projects over €1m are based on a Restricted Procedure

using the Department’s PSDP Framework panels.

2. Appointment of Consultants

As the anticipated aggregated value of Design Team services will be in excess of the EU threshold for

services the Request for Tenders will need to be published on eTenders and in the Official Journal of the

European Union (OJEU). Details of the procedures to be followed, together with checklists for the

completion of eTenders and OJEU contract notices are set out below (completion of the OJEU contract

notice is facilitated through eTenders).

Appointment of Design Teams for approved works without a formal tender process will expose the School

Authorities/ETBs to challenge and subsequent financial penalties from a firm that considers it was not

afforded an opportunity to tender.

For devolved projects the School Authority/ETB will be responsible for any challenges that may arise due

to a failure to comply with the relevant procedures and guidelines. Any such challenge would also result

in the project being substantially delayed.

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

3. Open Procedure

3.1 Who can submit a tender

For an Open Tender process the tender is open to all consultancy firms that meet the minimum criteria

set down in the request for tenderers. The School Authority must advertise the tender opportunity on

www.eTenders.gov.ie. Where any Consultant (being qualified in the appropriate discipline) has

expressed an interest in tendering for the project (e.g. by writing or emailing the school), and where

that Consultant meets (or declares that they meet) the minimum standard required, that Consultant

should be notified that a contract notice has been uploaded on the eTenders website from which, upon

registering their interest, all necessary tender instructions and documentation can be obtained. (There

is no upper limit on the number of Consultants permitted to submit tender submissions.) The only way

to submit a tender is through eTenders.

In order to ensure an adequate tender response it is advisable to contact any suitably qualified firms

that may be known to the School Authority, or that may have worked successfully for the School

Authority in the past, and advise them of the tender opportunity to be accessed through eTenders.

3.2 Eligibility of Firms / Consultants to tender

Under the Building Control Act 2007, a body corporate, firm or partnership carrying on business under a

name, style or title containing the word “architecture” must be under the control and management of a

registered professional architect, i.e. at least one of the directors must be a registered architect.

The same applies to the title “Quantity Surveying” and “Building Surveying”, i.e. a body corporate, firm

or partnership carrying on business under either of these titles must be under the control and

management of a registered Quantity Surveyor (in the case of the former) or a registered Building

Surveyor (in the case of the latter).

The registration of Engineers as Chartered Engineers is governed by the Institution of Civil Engineers of

Ireland (Charter Amendment) Act, 1969.

The websites of the professional bodies include search facilities for checking the qualification status of

members, including, in the case of Architects, Building Surveyors and Quantity Surveyors, their

registration number. The following are the relevant professional bodies:

Architects

Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI)

Building Surveyors

Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI)

Quantity Surveyors

Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI)

Building Services Engineers

Engineers Ireland (IEI) and

Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland (ACEI)

Civil/Structural Engineers

Engineers Ireland (IEI) and

Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland (ACEI)

3.3 Tender Documents (Open Procedure)

In order to invite tenders from suitable firms the following tender documents are essential:

(a) Letter of Invitation

(Sets out general information about the project, the service required, the closing date for

receipt of tenders and a procedure for dealing with queries. It should also include the Project

Type and the Notional Capital Value (NCV) for Design Team appointment purposes.)

(b) Form of Tender

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

(Sets out the information required from tenderers.)

(Sets out how the tender process is to be managed including tender assessment, the award

process, the time periods for each of the project stages and project particulars.)

(d) Schedule of Stage Services

(States the services to be provided by each Design Team member at each stage of the project.)

(e) Conditions of Engagement

(This is a standard Public Sector conditions of contract for consultancy services and includes

details of fee payment stages throughout the project.)

(f) Project Brief

(This describes the project to be delivered and includes a Schedule of Accommodation which is

the limit of accommodation to be provided.)

(g) Suitability Assessment Declaration

This document is in two parts. Part 1; ‘DoE – QC1- Suitability – Assessment - Declaration 2022’

sets out the minimum standards which a successful tenderer will be required to meet in a

number of different areas including professional indemnity insurance, qualifications and

experience of personnel who will deliver the services, previous experience of the firm in relation

to projects of similar scale and complexity, etc. Tenderers submit a signed declaration to

confirm that they can meet the required standards: ‘DoE Suitability Assessment Questionnaire

Part 2’. There are three appendices associated with the Suitability Assessment Declaration that

are to be submitted by the tenderer these are:

 Appendix-A-QC1-and-QC2 (Article 57 declaration)

 DoE-QC1-Appendix-B1 (List of Services carried out over specified period)

 DoE-QC1-Appendix-B2 (Certificate of Satisfactory Execution – Services,

separately required for three projects)

When tender assessment has been completed the apparently successful tenderer is requested

to provide verification in relation to all matters covered by the declaration as part of the

validation process.

With the exception of (f), which is specific to each project, all of the above documents are available on

the gov.ie Website under:

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/035b6-appointment-of-consultants/#suitability-assessment-open-

and-restricted-procedures

and

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/035b6-appointment-of-consultants/#tender-documents-open-

procedure-for-minor-projects-type-2a

Award Criteria

Tenders will be assessed using criteria that include quality of service as well as price. There are four

criteria in all, with a total of 150 marks available, as follows:

PRICE

Price

25 marks

QUALITY

B1.

Tendered Rates

25 marks

B2.

Resources (Hours devoted to the project)

25 marks

Project Assessment (Site and Project Specific Issues)

75 marks

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

Criteria B1, B2 and C relate to the quality of service and have 125 marks allotted to them. Criterion A

relates to price only and has 25 marks allotted to it.

Marks are assigned to Criterion A, B1 and B2 by mathematical calculation in accordance with the Excel

Marking Matrix.

Criterion C is divided into five sub-criteria, each assigned a maximum of 15 marks. Three of these sub-

criteria are assigned to site specific issues and two for project specific issues. A written submission is

required from tenderers citing and explaining the site and project specific issues which they consider to

be most important for the successful delivery of the project. The submission must not exceed 1 written

A4 page of text and may also include a second A4 page of graphics i.e. sketches or drawings that help to

demonstrate the applicants written responses to the site specific and project specific issues. Note that

completion of the second graphics page is not a compulsory requirement for applicants and may for

example be utilised by some Architects and Engineers but to a lesser degree or not at all by Quantity

Surveyors.

The criteria are detailed in the Form of Tender to which tenderers must respond and the method of

marking and assessment is detailed in the Explanatory Notes attached to the Form of Tender.

To allow some flexibility at the early design stages, fees are tendered on a percentage basis, i.e. the fees

are calculated as a percentage of the approved estimated cost. The fees are then converted to a lump

sum at the end of Stage 1, based on the approved Stage 1 Cost Plan. The fee for each fee payment

stage can be calculated at the end of Stage 1 and these amounts will remain fixed for the duration of

the project. After Stage 1, fees will only be adjusted if there is an increase in the scope of the project

that could not have been predicted at Stage1.

4. Project Supervisor Design Process (PSDP)

A separate competition for the appointment of a PSDP is to be run in parallel with the Design Team

appointments, using the Department’s PSDP Framework. (See Section 6 herein for guidance on

appointing a PSDP.)

For an understanding of the role of the PSDP see “Form of Tender and Proposal Form for PSDP

Consultant Services” on the website. Part of this role is to confirm that consultants being considered for

appointment to the Design Team meet all statutory requirements with regard to health and safety;

therefore it is important that the PSDP is appointed first in order to assist in the completion of the

appointments of the Design Team members.

5. Appointing the Design Team under an Open Procedure

5.1 Advertising on eTenders

The School Authority must advertise the tender opportunity on www.eTenders.gov.ie, by way of a

Contract Notice, and upload all necessary information.

The contract notice must state the date, location and method for the receipt of tender submissions. A

minimum of 30 calendar days should be allowed between the date of publication of the contract notice

and receipt of tender submissions.

5.2 Documents to be uploaded on eTenders

Placing a Contract Notice on eTenders is an online process and it is good practice to assemble all of the

necessary documents to have them ready to upload when prompted by eTenders.

The documents required and where they are sourced are as follows. The location on the website for the

web based documents below is https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/035b6-appointment-of-

consultants/#tender-documents-open-procedure-for-minor-projects-type-2a

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

Document

Source

Template Letter of Invitation

gov.ie website above; to be

customised for the particular project

including the Project Type and the

NCV.

Project Brief

Provided by DoE for each project.

DoE Form of Tender Consultants - Minor (Architect, Design

Team Leader)

gov.ie website above

DoE Form of Tender Consultants - Minor (Engineers & QS)

gov.ie website above

DoE ITTS Instructions to Tenderers (Open)

gov.ie website above

DoE Schedule of Stage Services for Construction Consultants

gov.ie website above

Conditions of Engagement

gov.ie website above

DoE COE1 - Schedules A & B (Architect, Design Team Leader)

gov.ie website above

DoE COE1- Schedules A & B (Engineers & QS)

gov.ie website above

DoE Tender Excel Marking Matrix

gov.ie website above

DoE-QC1 Suitability Assessment Declaration

gov.ie website above

DoE Suitability Assessment Questionnaire Part 2

gov.ie website above

DoE-QC1 Appendix B1

gov.ie website above

DoE-QC1 Appendix B2

gov.ie website above

Appendix-A-QC1-and-QC2 (Article 57 declaration)

gov.ie website above

5.3 Documents to be submitted by Tenderers

The tender submissions (returned by the consultants via eTenders) should comprise:

 The Form of Tender signed by a director or principal of the firm.

 DoE-QC1 Suitability Assessment Declaration

 DoE Suitability Assessment Questionnaire Part 2 signed by a director or principal of the firm.

 Appendix-A-QC1-and-QC2, (completed Article 57 declaration)

 DoE-QC1 Appendix B1 (a list of all projects of a similar nature, size and complexity completed by

the firm over the last 5 years).

 DoE-QC1 Appendix B2 (three examples of projects of a similar size and complexity, which have

reached Substantial Completion, carried out by the firm in the last 5 years).

5.4 Completing the eTenders Contract Notice

The following are the procedures to be followed to advertise on eTenders:

1. If already registered with eTenders complete login.

2. If not already registered and you are acting on behalf of a School as Contracting Authority, go to

www.eTenders.ie and on the home page scroll down to “Buyer Registration” for instructions.

3. When logged in, if a Workspace has been created for you by the DoE, go to Workspace, and then go

to Create RFT (Request for Tender).

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

4. If a Workspace has not been created for you by the DoE, click into Buyer’s Services, scroll down to

the bottom of the page and click on the “Create RFT Outside Workspace” tab.

5. Select the type of contract (in this case “Services”) and complete the relevant details as prompted.

In this instance tick the box beside “Click here if this is a construction related services RFT”. You will

then be prompted to select one of three options. Select option 1 “COE1 Standard Conditions of

Engagement for Consultancy Services (Technical)”.

You will then be prompted to select a procedure from a drop down menu. Select the second item

“2. Open Procedure (OJEU)”.

(Note: eTenders will automatically populate later cells with relevant repeat information to avoid

double entering.)

6. A separate RFT will be created for each of the four disciplines (i.e. Architect, Quantity Surveyor,

Civil/Structural Engineer, Building Services Engineer), with the relevant tendering Consultants

completing and submitting the tender documentation relevant to their discipline. A separate RFT

will be also required for the appointment of the PSDP.

7. Select “Use a Tender Box” at “Opening Procedure” (this allows receipt of all applicants’ information

through eTenders). De-select “Allow suppliers to also make a discount bid if awarded all of multiple

lots”.

8. Once you have completed these steps you then move on to the main eTenders RFT Checklist as

follows (when each information point is addressed the red X on the left hand side changes to a

green tick ).

(Note: all Contract Notices commence in the same way whether the project is required to follow EU

procurement rules (i.e. above the EU threshold) or not. If you selected an OJEU procedure at 4

above, eTenders will direct you into the OJEU contract notice as you complete the RFT.)

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

eTENDERS RFT CHECKLIST (OPEN PROCEDURE)

RFT - Title

The short description of the project that you entered at an

earlier step will automatically appear here.

Manage lots

Create, delete, copy or edit lots for this

RFT add more detailed information

regarding the procurement.

The short description of the project that you entered at an

earlier step will automatically appear here.

Assign Team

Assign team members to work on this RFT

Select the persons to work on the RFT from members

already registered with eTenders or, if the required persons

are not registered arrange to have them registered. A

minimum of two persons required.

Set Message Recipients

Set or change who is going to receive

messages from suppliers

This field is automatically populated by the assigned team

members. Tick at least two members to receive messages.

Select CPV codes

CPV codes for RFT, for any relevant

publications and business opportunities

email alerts

CPV Codes are important in that they enable alerts to be

issued to consultants registered with eTenders and

appropriate to the category selected.

Click on the blue text and follow the prompts to enter the

CPV Category Tree and select the categories that apply to

the project. Tick the box against the main category.

RFT Dates / Planned activities in this

process

Set or change dates related to this RFT

Insert appropriate dates and times for the single stage

process. Latest date for queries should be 5 days before

the closing date for receipt of Tenders.

Note: if for any reason a date set in eTenders has passed,

but tender/EOI documents are not yet ready to issue, it will

be necessary to reset the dates to allow further

amendments to be made. Please ensure that any deadline

dates inserted on eTenders match any return dates in the

tender documents.

Publication sites

Manage external publication sites for this

RFT

If OJEU was selected in the early responses TED will be

automatically selected by eTenders. (TED is Tenders

Electronic Daily, the European public procurement journal.)

Manage evaluation model

Manage which evaluation model to use for

the RFT

Not currently used and can be ignored for the present.

Change X to  manually

Create ESPD request

Not currently used and can be ignored for the present.

Change X to  manually

Pricing required (if any)

Untick the boxes under this heading

Manage Questionnaire

Add or edit questions to be answered by

the suppliers through the system and for

you evaluate after submission deadline.

For school construction projects this can generally be left

blank. Manually click the red X.

Documents

Upload documents that the suppliers can

download.

This is where all tender documents can be uploaded.

For Consultants the following documents must be uploaded

(see 5.2 above):

 Project Brief

 DoE Form of Tender Consultants - Minor (Architect,

Design Team Leader) OR

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

 DoE Form of Tender Consultants - Minor (Engineers &

QS) (depending on discipline)

 DoE Tender Excel Marking Matrix

 DoE ITTS Instructions to Tenderers (Open)

 DoES Schedule of Stage Services for Construction

Consultants

 Conditions of Engagement

 DoE COE1- Schedules A & B (Architect, Design Team

Leader) OR

 DoE COE1- Schedules A & B (Engineers & QS)

(depending on discipline).

 DoE-QC1 Suitability Assessment Declaration

 DoE Suitability Assessment Questionnaire Part 2

 DoE-QC1 Appendix B1

 DoE-QC1 Appendix B2

 Appendix-A-QC1-and-QC2 (Article 57 declaration)

Prepare zip file

Create a zip file with all documents that

the suppliers can download

For large amounts of data this allows the preparation of a

zip file to include all documents. This makes it easier for

tenderers to download the tender documents.

Internal Documents

Uploading of internal documents to the

RFT, the documents uploaded to this

folder are not visible or possible to

download for the suppliers.

Not generally used. Change X to  manually.

Attach cover letter

Configure or select cover letter

The Invitation to Tender Letter can be entered here.

Use the following, customised for the particular project:

 Template Letter of Invitation to Tender (Open)

Prepare items for Evaluation

Prepare and set the parts of the RFT that

will be part of the evaluation. Checklist

item will become green upon refresh.

This allows assessment of applications on line but would

not generally be used on school construction projects.

Change X to  manually.

Define opening committee

Define users to open the tender box

Select the members assigned to the project as the opening

committee. Of these select the number of persons (keys)

required to open tender box. Recommended (and

minimum) default is two.

ENSURE Approval before publishing

Ensure that you seek appropriate approval,

if needed, before publishing the tender

This is a prompt to ensure that the person preparing the

contract notice has authorisation to publish (i.e. letter of

approval from DoE).

Prepare and manage publications

Prepare and manage the forms for

publication

Click on TED. This brings you into the EU Contract Notice.

Refer to OJEU (TED) Checklist below for guidance on

completing this.

Publish

Publish to the site selected in procedure

template.

When you have completed the TED notice you are ready to

publish. Ensure that authorisation to publish the Contract

Notice has been received in writing from the DoE.

The remaining questions relate to evaluation and

assessment of applications.

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

OJEU (TED) SERVICES CONTRACT NOTICE CHECKLIST

Publication

Select “Contract notice”

Form Data

Form Language [English]

Type of Contract [Services]

Type of Procedure [Open]

Section I: Contracting authority

I.1) Name and addresses

[Enter Contracting Authority name and address]

NUTS code [Country or region code - select from drop down list]

Contact person: [Enter contact person name]

Telephone: [Enter phone number]

E-mail: [Enter email address]

Internet address(es):

Main address: [Enter email address]

Address of the buyer profile: [A link similar to the following is entered automatically by eTenders]

https://irl.eu-supply.com/ctm/Company/CompanyInformation/Index/.....

1.2) Joint Procurement

[Skip]

1.3) Communication

[Select] The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge,

at: [A link similar to the following is entered automatically by eTenders]

http://irl.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/rwlentrance_s.asp?PID=........=ETENDERS_SIMPLE

Additional information can be obtained from the abovementioned address: [Select]

Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted electronically via: [A link similar to the following

is entered automatically by eTenders]

http://irl.eusupply.com/app/rfq/rwlentrance_s.asp?PID=......=ETENDERS_SIMPLE

I.4) Type of the contracting authority

[If the Contracting Authority is the Department of Education and Skills select “Ministry or any other

national or federal authority….”, otherwise select “Body governed by public law”.]

I.5) Main activity

[Select “Education”]

Section II: Object

II.1) Scope of the procurement

II.1.1) Title

[This information should be carried over from eTenders, if not Insert Project Title, e.g. Proposed New

School for St. Mary’s National School at (town), (county)]

Reference number: [Insert Roll Number]

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

II.1.2) Main CPV code

[Once you have selected the CPV Code in the eTenders notice it is automatically repeated here; the

main code is 71000000-8 Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services.]

II.1.4) Short description

[Insert a short description of the project including information on the site and the building (e.g. nature

of accommodation, number of storeys, gross floor area, etc.).]

II.1.5) Estimated total value

[Insert estimated approximate value of project exclusive of VAT.]

II.1.6) Information about lots

This contract is divided into lots: [Select “no”.]

II.2) Description

II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)

[As division into Lots has not been selected there is no requirement for additional CPV Codes.]

II.2.3) Place of performance

[Select “Add” to open the NUTS code tree, select “Ireland” and select the appropriate region for the

location of the project site (Northern and Western, Southern or Eastern and Midland or further sub-

divisions of these regions).]

Main site or place of performance: [Insert address of site.]

II.2.4) Description of the procurement

[Insert a more detailed description of the project.]

II.2.5) Award criteria

[Select “Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement

documents”.]

II.2.6) Estimated value

[Insert estimated approximate value of project exclusive of VAT.]

II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system

[Enter proposed contract duration in months.]

This contract is subject to renewal: [Select “no”.]

II.2.10) Information about variants

Variants will be accepted: [Select “no”.]

II.2.11) Information about options

Options: [Select “no”.]

II.2.12) Information about electronic catalogues

[Skip]

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

II.2.13) Information about European Union funds

The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: [Select

“no”.]

II.2.14) Additional information

[Skip]

Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information

III.1) Conditions for participation

III.1.1) Suitability to pursue the professional activity, including requirements relating to enrolment on

professional or trade registers

List and brief description of conditions: As DoE-QC1….. [State exact title of Suitability Assessment

Questionnaire being used].

[Include also: A declaration is required to confirm that none of the circumstances specified Article 57 of

Directive 2014/24/EU (and Regulation 57 of SI No. 284 of 2016) or Article 80 of Directive 2014/25/EU

(and Regulation 85 of SI No.286 of 2016) apply to the applicant.]

III.1.2) Economic and financial standing

[Tick: “Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents”.]

III.1.3) Technical and professional ability

[Tick: “Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents”.]

III.2) Conditions related to the contract

III.2.2) Contract performance conditions

As DoE-QC1….[State exact title of Suitability Assessment Questionnaire being used.]

III.2.3) Information about staff responsible for the performance of the contract

[Tick box.]

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1) Description

IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: [Select “Yes”.]

IV.2) Administrative information

IV.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

[Date and time is automatically inserted by eTenders.]

IV.2.3) Estimated date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates

[Insert date on which it intended to publish the Contract notice.]

IV.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted

[“English” already selected by eTenders.]

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

IV.2.6) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender

[State 60 days.]

Section VI: Complementary information

VI.1) Information about recurrence

This is a recurrent procurement: [Select “no”.]

VI.3) Additional information

[Insert the following:]

All tenderers will be evaluated on the basis of the information submitted in response to this notice (All

criteria have a minimum standard). The submission of the apparently successful tenderer will be

validated prior to awarding the contract.

The contract will be awarded on the basis of most economically advantageous tender.

The scope of works requirements may be extended to include additional works of a similar nature at the

discretion of the Contracting Authority. All additional scope of works are subject to the restrictions as

set out in Article 72 of Directive 2014/24/EC (Regulation 72, SI 284 of 2016).

It is a condition precedent to the award of the Contract that the successful Tenderer will provide a

current tax clearance certificate or in the case of a non-resident Tenderer a statement of suitability on

tax grounds from the Revenue Commissioners of Ireland.

The Funding Agency, the Department of Education & Skills, is subject to the requirements of the

Freedom of Information Acts, 1997, 2003 and 2014. If a tenderer considers that any of the information

supplied in response to this notice is either commercially sensitive or confidential, this should be

highlighted and reasons for its sensitivity given. The relevant material will, in response to a request

under the Act, be examined in the light of exemptions provided for in the Act.

VI.4) Procedures for review

VI.4.1) Review body

Department of Education and Skills

Portlaoise Road

Tullamore, County Offaly

5.5 Assessing the Tender Submissions

When the tender time and date has expired, open all submissions.

A minimum of two people must be present for the opening of tenders. A formal record of tenders

received, opened and tender amounts must be made. Late tenders cannot be submitted as eTenders

will prevent uploading once the latest date and time for tender has passed.

The School Authority must be satisfied that there is no conflict of interest for any individual participating

in the assessment process.

Tender assessment must be based only on the information submitted by tenderers in response to the

tender documents and not on any pre-existing knowledge.

A record of the tender assessment should be retained by the School Authority.

Assess Criterion C for each tender submitted from each discipline in accordance with the guidance in

the Explanatory Notes attached to the Form of Tender.

Marking Matrix

Download the Excel Marking Matrix from the gov.ie website (a separate copy is required for each

discipline).

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

When the Marking Matrix is opened the Project Name and Roll Number should be inserted.

The project Type should then be selected from the drop down menu. The project type will be identified

in the approval letter and/or the associated Appendices (i.e. Type 1, 2a, 2b, 3 or 4).

The default for project type is “New Project”. If this is not the case (e.g. if it states “Stage 1 complete”)

use the drop down menu to select “New Project”.

Next select the discipline which is currently being evaluated. This is located on the top right and the

default is “Architect”. Use the drop down menu to select the required discipline.

By selecting the correct “project type” and “discipline” the reference hours will be adjusted accordingly

and the spreadsheet will make the necessary calculations relative to project type and discipline.

When the above steps have been carried out the information provided in the Form of Tender by each

tenderer and the results of Criterion C evaluation can be inserted into the Marking Matrix as follows:

 In column “C” insert the name of the Firm.

 In columns “E”, “F” and “G” insert the tendered hourly rates as per the Form of Tender.

 In column “I” insert the tendered total (notional) hours as per the Form of Tender

 In column “K” insert the fixed price lump sum tendered as per the Form of Tender (where fees

are tendered on a percentage basis the amount to be inserted is the product of the Notional

Capital Value as stated in the Letter of Invitation multiplied by the tendered percentage fee)

 The marks achieved for Criterion C should then be inserted in the columns “Y” to “AC”.

When all this information has been inputted the matrix will indicate the final scores on the right hand

side with the highest ranking tenderer for each discipline (i.e. the apparently most economically

advantageous tender) highlighted in dark green.

5.6 Validating the preferred tenderer’s suitability

The tenderer submitted a signed declaration with the tender stating that the firm was offering

personnel with the required qualifications and experience and that the firm had the required

insurances, health and safety competence, measures for ensuring quality, tax clearance, etc. The

Project Director and Project Senior person to be responsible for the service were also named in the

Form of Tender submitted. It is now necessary to verify that everything promised will be provided. This

is done through the issue of a Letter of Intent.

This is a very important step and is the Client’s last opportunity to ensure that the apparently successful

tenderer has the capability to deliver a competent service.

The Template Letter of Intent (Open Procedure) on the website lists all of the areas where verification is

required. This should be read in conjunction with the Explanatory Notes attached to DoE QC1 Suitability

Assessment Declaration.

Where a consultant is a Sole Trader, Employer’s Liability Insurance is not required but the consultant

must have all other Insurances. The Registration of Business Names Act 1963 requires Sole Traders to

Office and they must also register with the Revenue Commissioners as a self-employed person. A Sole

Trader ceases to operate on the decision of the Sole Trader, although they remain liable for any

liabilities that have been incurred when operating.

When you have confirmed that the preferred bidder meets the necessary requirements (as above), you

are now ready to appoint that firm.

If the firm does not provide the necessary evidence within the assigned timeframe, or does not meet

the required standard (e.g. if the person proposed for the project was not suitably qualified), or

withdraws their tender, you may exclude that firm and proceed to the next highest scoring tenderer.

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

5.7 Completing Formal Appointments

(a) Letters to Unsuccessful Tenderers

When the apparently successful tender has been selected following receipt of tenders, and before the

School Authority make an appointment you must send letters of regret to the unsuccessful candidates

informing them that they have not been successful, using the Template Letter to Apparently

Unsuccessful Candidates from the https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/035b6-appointment-of-

consultants/#tender-documents-open-procedure-for-minor-projects-type-2a website (Open

Procedure). The letters to unsuccessful candidates must give the reasons why they were not successful

by citing the relative advantages of the successful tender compared to the unsuccessful tender. These

letters must be issued via the eTenders portal.

A period of time called the stand still period must be allowed (16 calendar days) from the date of issue

of the regret letters before the successful consultants’ appointments can be confirmed. This period is

obligatory to allow time for the unsuccessful candidates to query the reasons for their lack of success.

The Letter of Intent to the apparently successful tenderer and the Letters to Unsuccessful tenderers

should all issue at the same time.

(b) Letter of Acceptance to Successful Candidate

Once the letters of regret have issued and the standstill period of time has elapsed, and provided no

challenge or appeal has been received and the PSDP has verified the health and safety competence of

the successful tenderers, the School Authority is ready to appoint the Consultants. To confirm the

successful consultants’ appointments you should issue a Letter of Acceptance using the template letter

from the https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/035b6-appointment-of-consultants/#tender-documents-

open-procedure-for-minor-projects-type-2a website (Open Procedure). The Letters of Acceptance

should be issued along with the Conditions of Engagement.

Together with the Letter of Acceptance, it is also necessary to execute a formal agreement with that

consultant called the Standard Conditions of Engagement for Consultancy Services (Technical Services).

The Standard Conditions of Engagement for Consultancy Services (Technical Services) sets out the

general terms and conditions of contract and should be signed by both parties (School Authority and

Consultant).

The documents to be used for signing are available on https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/035b6-

appointment-of-consultants/#tender-documents-open-procedure-for-minor-projects-type-2a Because

the Architect as Team Leader has a different role in the Design Team compared to the other

consultants, there are two versions of the contract documents tom be used as follows:

 Architect: Conditions of Engagement and DoE COE1- Schedules A & B (Architect, Design Team

Leader)

 Engineers and Quantity Surveyor: Conditions of Engagement and DoE COE1- Schedules A & B

(Engineers & QS)

In the above documents Schedule A and B to the Conditions of Engagement, which are attached to the

Contract and set out the project specific requirements, have been already completed for typical school

building projects. School Authority and Consultant contact details should be entered in Schedule A.

The Contracting Authority entries should be reviewed and if there are any particular project

circumstances that suggest a need for alternative entries contact the DoE.

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

(d) Contract Signings

Once Schedules A and B have been checked and the details of the contracting parties and the project

title inserted on the front page of the Conditions of Engagement two copies should be made of the

entire documents (i.e. Conditions of Engagement and Schedules A & B). Both sets should be sent to the

Consultant for signature together with the letter of acceptance. The Consultant should then return

both sets to the School for signature and dating by the School Authority. One set of the signed contract

documents is then returned to the Consultant and the other is retained by the School.

A more convenient way to deal with contract signing is to invite the Consultant to attend the school

where the signings can be completed by both parties at the same time and the signed and dated

documents exchanged.

Once all of the Design Team members have signed and dated the contract, the Design Team can start

work on the project.

Alternatively the signing of contracts can be managed through the Messaging Facility in eTenders.

(e) Maintaining records

The importance of maintaining an efficient system for keeping records cannot be overstated. At any

time throughout the project, the Department (and/or in the case of an accident the Health & Safety

Authority) may wish to audit the records of the School Authority to ensure that proper procedures are

being adhered to and that vital information is being retained.

The School Authority should set up their own filing system, one that recognises the different areas of a

building project (e.g. Design Team appointments, Financial, submissions from the consultant, general

correspondence, minutes of meetings, etc.) and ensure that all documentation is properly filed therein.

Reliance should not be placed on the Consultant to store information in relation to the project.

Where the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014 apply to the project there is a particular

onus on the Building Owner to maintain records. Key documents in this regard are the written

undertakings, on statutory forms, to the Building Control Authority to appoint a competent Assigned

Certifier and a competent Builder. You should seek the advice of your Consultant in relation to other

important documentation to be maintained as records.

6. Appointing the Project Supervisor Design Process (PSDP)

6.1 PSDP Framework

The DoE has set up a Framework of PSDP service providers and this is available for School/ETB

Authorities to use. In setting up the framework an eTenders/OJEU advertising and suitability

assessment process was carried out and, as only framework members are permitted to tender, it is not

necessary to publically advertise on eTenders or in the OJEU. However, the eTenders Portal is used to

run the call off competitions as it offers an open and transparent method of communication with all

framework members and provides records for Contracting Authorities of all communications during the

tender process.

The previously submitted information, upon which the PSDP service providers were admitted to the

framework, will need to be validated prior to appointment of the preferred tenderer, to ensure that this

information is still valid and that the circumstances of the firm and personnel have not changed. The

validation process is as set out at 6.6 below.

6.2 eTenders

It is necessary to create a Request for Tender (RFT) notice on eTenders which is then issued (through

eTenders) to all PSDP framework members on the relevant panel.

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

The RFT notice must state the date, location and method for the receipt of tender submissions. A

minimum of 15 working days should be allowed between the date of publication of the contract notice

and receipt of tender submissions.

6.3 Documents to be uploaded

As explained previously, it is good practice to assemble all of the necessary documents to have them

ready to upload when prompted by eTenders.

For PSDP call off tender competitions the documents listed below must be used. The location on the

website for the web based documents listed is https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/035b6-appointment-

of-consultants/#project-supervisor-design-process-psdp-appointment-documents

Document

Source

Template Letter of Invitation

gov.ie website above; to be

customised for the particular

project including the Project Type

and the NCV.

Project Brief

Provided by DoE for each project.

Form of Tender and Proposal Form for PSDP Consultant

Services

gov.ie website above

DoES ITTS Instructions to Tenderers (PSDP)

gov.ie website above

PSDP Conditions of Engagement

gov.ie website above

PSDP Conditions of Engagement - Schedules A&B

gov.ie website above

PSDP Marking Matrix

gov.ie website above

6.4 Documents to be submitted by Tenderers

The tender submissions (returned by the consultants via eTenders) should comprise:

 The Form of Tender signed by a director or principal of the firm.

6.5 Completing the PSDP eTenders Contract Notice

The following are the procedures to be followed to place the contract notice on eTenders:

1. If already registered with eTenders complete login.

2. If not already registered and you are acting on behalf of a School as Contracting Authority, go to

www.eTenders.ie and on the home page scroll down to “Buyer Registration” for instructions.

3. Access will be given by the Department, on request, to the PSDP Framework.

4. When logged in to the Framework Workspace go to Create RFT (Request for Tender).

5. Select the type of contract (in this case “Services”) and complete the relevant details as prompted.

In this instance tick the box beside “Click here if this is a construction related services RFT”. You will

then be prompted to select one of three options. Select option 1 “COE1 Standard Conditions of

Engagement for Consultancy Services (Technical)”.

You will then be prompted to select a procedure from a drop down menu. Select “Mini

Competition”.

(Note: eTenders will automatically populate later cells with relevant repeat information to avoid

double entering.)

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

6. On the next page fill in the relevant details of the proposed project and the response deadline.

Select “Use a Tender Box” at “Opening Procedure” (this allows receipt of all applicants’ information

through eTenders). De-select “Allow suppliers to also make a discount bid if awarded all of multiple

lots”.

7. On the next page fill in the relevant details of the proposed project and the address of the school

authority. Fill in the “Instructions to bidders” along the lines of “The School Authority invites you to

tender for services in the above consultancy as detailed below”.

8. Once you have completed these steps you then move on to the main eTenders RFT Checklist as

follows (when each information point is addressed the red X on the left hand side changes to a

green tick ).

eTENDERS RFT CHECKLIST FOR PSDP

Manage lots

Create, delete, copy or edit lots for this

RFT add more detailed information

regarding the procurement.

The short description of the project that you entered at

an earlier step will automatically appear here.

Set Message Recipients

Set or change who is going to receive

messages from suppliers

This field is automatically populated by the assigned team

members. Tick at least two members to receive

messages.

RFT Dates / Planned activities in this

process

Set or change dates related to this RFT

Insert appropriate dates and times for the single stage

process (Step 1 process).

Note: if for any reason a date set in eTenders has passed,

but tender/EOI documents are not yet ready to issue, it

will be necessary to reset the dates to allow further

amendments to be made. Please ensure that any deadline

dates inserted on eTenders match any return dates in the

tender documents.

Publication sites

Manage external publication sites for

this RFT

As this tender will not be advertised on OJEU this step can

be skipped. Change X to  manually.

Manage evaluation model

Manage which evaluation model to use

for the RFT

Not currently used and can be ignored for the present.

Change X to  manually

Create ESPD request

Not currently used by the Department. This step can be

skipped

Pricing required (if any)

Untick the boxes under this heading

Manage Questionnaire

Add or edit questions to be answered by

the suppliers through the system and for

you evaluate after submission deadline.

For school construction projects this can generally be left

blank. Change X to  manually.

Documents

Upload documents that the suppliers can

download.

This is where all tender documents can be uploaded.

For PSDPs the following documents must be uploaded:

 Project Brief

 Form of Tender and Proposal Form for PSDP

Consultant Services

 DoE ITTS Instructions to Tenderers (PSDP)

 PSDP Conditions of Engagement

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

 PSDP Conditions of Engagement - Schedules A and B

 PSDP Marking Matrix

Prepare zip file

Create a zip file with all documents that

the suppliers can download

For large amounts of data this allows the preparation of a

zip file to include all documents. This makes it easier for

tenderers to download the tender documents.

Internal Documents

Uploading of internal documents to the

RFT, the documents uploaded to this

folder are not visible or possible to

download for the suppliers.

Not generally used. Change X to  manually.

Attach cover letter

Configure or select cover letter

The Invitation to Tender Letter can be entered here.

For PSDP use the following, amended as appropriate:

 Template Letter of Invitation (PSDP)

Prepare items for Evaluation

Prepare and set the parts of the RFT that

will be part of the evaluation. Checklist

item will become green upon refresh.

This allows assessment of applications on line but would

not generally be used on school construction projects.

Change X to  manually.

Define opening committee

Define users to open the tender box

Select the members assigned to the project as the

opening committee. Of these select the number of

persons (keys) required to open tender box.

Recommended (and minimum) default is two.

ENSURE Approval before publishing

Ensure that you seek appropriate

approval, if needed, before publishing

the tender

This is a prompt to ensure that the person preparing the

contract notice has authorisation to publish (i.e. Letter of

approval received from DoE).

Suppliers

Search suppliers within the CTM

database and add them to your RFT

These are the firms who qualified for the PSDP

framework.

Details of the relevant firms will be provided by the DoE.

Send invitations

Send invitations to suppliers

When all checks have been completed, and the School

authority is ready to issue the invitations to tender, this is

selected to issue the invitation to the relevant

participants.

The remaining questions relate to evaluation and

assessment of applications.

6.6 Assessing Tender Submissions

When the tender time and date has expired, open all submissions.

A minimum of two people must be present for the opening of tenders. A formal record of tenders

received, opened and tender amounts must be made. Late tenders cannot be submitted as eTenders

will prevent uploading once the latest date and time for tender has passed.

The School Authority must be satisfied that there is no conflict of interest for any individual participating

in the assessment process.

Tender assessment must be based only on the information submitted by tenderers in response to the

tender documents and not on any pre-existing knowledge.

A record of the tender assessment should be retained by the School Authority.

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

Assessment of Criterion C has already been undertaken at the pre-qualification stage and is not

applicable to this tender action.

PSDP Tenders are assessed as explained in the Template Letter of Invitation (PSDP).

Marking Matrix

Download the Excel PSDP Marking Matrix from the DoE website.

When the Marking Matrix is opened the Project Name and Roll Number should be inserted.

The project category should then be selected from the drop down menu. The project category will be

identified in the Approval Letter and/or associated Appendices (i.e. Type 1, 2a, 2b, 3 or 4).

When the above steps have been carried out the information provided in the Form of Tender by each

tenderer can be inserted, as follows:

 In column “B” insert the name of the Firm.

 In column “E” insert the tendered fixed price lump sum as per the Form of Tender.

 In columns “F”, “G” and “H” insert the tendered hourly rates as per the Form of Tender.

 As the assessment of Criterion C has already been carried out the default for all tenderers is 25

marks. This should not be amended.

 On columns I, J, K and L zero should be inserted for all tenders.

When all this information has been inputted the matrix will indicate the final scores in column “W” with

the highest ranking tenderer (i.e. the apparently most economically advantageous tender) highlighted in

dark green.

6.7 Validating preferred tenderer’s suitability

The Letter of Intent sets out the procedure (see Template letter of Intent (PSDP) on the website under

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/035b6-appointment-of-consultants/#project-supervisor-design-

process-psdp-appointment-documents

Completing Formal Appointments

The procedure is similar to that described at 5.7 above but using the PSDP Conditions of Engagement

and Schedules A&B.

7. Appointing the Design Team from a Framework (Restricted Procedure)

7.1 Consultants Framework

The DoE has set up a Framework of Design Team Consultants comprising two panels: Panel 1 for Type

2b Projects (generally projects between €3.0mand €10.0m ex VAT in value) and Panel 2 for Type 3

Projects (generally projects between 10.0m and €25.0m ex VAT in value) and Panel 3 for Type 4 projects

(generally projects over €25.0m ex VAT). This framework is available for School/ETB Authorities to use.

In setting up the framework an eTenders/OJEU advertising and suitability assessment process was

carried out and, as only framework members are permitted to tender, it is not necessary to publically

advertise on eTenders or in the OJEU. However, the eTenders Portal is used to run the call off

competitions as it offers an open and transparent method of communication with all framework

members and provides records for Contracting Authorities of all communications during the tender

process.

7.2 eTenders

It is necessary to create a Request for Tender (RFT) notice on eTenders which is then issued (through

eTenders) to all PSDP framework members.

Contact the DoE for access to the eTenders Workspace where the framework panels are set up.

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

The RFT notice must state the date, location and method for the receipt of tender submissions. A

minimum of 15 working days should be allowed between the date of publication of the contract notice

and receipt of tender submissions.

7.3 Documents to be uploaded

It is good practice to assemble all of the necessary documents to have them ready to upload when

prompted by eTenders.

For Design Team call off tender competitions the documents listed below must be used. The location

on the website for the web based documents listed is https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/035b6-

appointment-of-consultants/#award-stage-documents-restricted-procedure-for-major-projects-type-2b-

and-type-3

Document

Source

Template Letter of Invitation

gov.ie website above; to be

customised for the particular

project including the Project Type

and the NCV.

Project Brief

Provided by DoE for each project.

DoE Form of Tender Consultants – Major (Architect, Design

Team Leader)

gov.ie website above

DoE Form of Tender Consultants – Major (Engineers & QS)

gov.ie website above

DoE ITTS Instructions to Tenderers (Restricted)

gov.ie website above

DoE Schedule of Stage Services for Construction

Consultants

gov.ie website above

Conditions of Engagement

gov.ie website above

DoE COE1 – Schedules A&B Architect/Design Team Leader

gov.ie website above

DoE COE1 – Schedules A&B Engineers & QS

gov.ie website above

DoE Tender Excel Marking Matrix

gov.ie website above

 Note: Unlike the Open Procedure, DoE QC1 Suitability Assessment Declaration, DoE Suitability

Assessment Questionnaire Part 2, Appendix-A-QC1-and-QC2 (Article 57 declaration), DoE QC1

Appendix B1 and DoE QC1 Appendix B2 are not required as all framework members had to satisfy

the suitability requirements in order to be placed on the framework. However, the validation

process is similar to the Open Procedure in that the apparently successful tenderers will be asked to

verify any declarations that were made when applying for a place on the framework.

7.4 Documents to be submitted by Tenderers

The tender submissions (returned by the consultants via eTenders) should comprise:

 The Form of Tender signed by a director or principal of the firm.

7.5 Completing the eTenders Contract Notice

The process is identical to Section 6.5 above.

7.6 Assessing Tender Submissions

Tenders are assessed in the same way as for the Open Procedure, as explained in Section 5.5 above.

Department of Education and Skills - Guidance for Appointing Design Teams for Devolved Grant Projects

7.7 Validating preferred tenderer’s suitability

The validation process is similar to Section 5.6 with the exception that the Template Letters to be used

are those on the website under AWARD STAGE DOCUMENTS (Restricted Procedure for Major Projects,

Type 2b, Type 3 and Type 4).

7.8 Completing Formal Appointments

The procedure is similar to that described at 5.7 above but using the appropriate documents and

template letters from the website under AWARD STAGE DOCUMENTS (Restricted Procedure for Major

Projects, Type 2b, Type 3 and Type 4).