Bioreactors
SUPPLIER GUIDANCE
4 x Benchtop Bioreactors
Project Reference: AT/311/1116/BB
November 2016
Closing date: 12noon 2nd December 2016
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Contents
BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................ 3
INTRODUCTION TO ASTON UNIVERSITY.................................................................. 3
GENERAL CONDITIONS .............................................................................................. 4
USEFUL LINKS ........................................................................................................... 11
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BACKGROUND
Aston is seeking to purchase a four (4) Benchtop Bioreactors.
ASTON UNIVERSITY
Aston University is one of around 145 universities in the UK and six in the Greater
Birmingham region. It is located in the city centre of Birmingham. It is the smallest
mainstream English university with around 13,000 students.
Aston is focused around the needs of business and the professions, with four established
Schools – Engineering & Applied Science (EAS), Life & Health Sciences (LHS), Language &
Social Sciences (LSS), and Aston Business School (ABS).
The University has recently added to its offering with the launch of Aston Medical School
(AMS) – a new medical school for Birmingham. In line with our ethos, Aston Medical School
has a strong focus on widening access. It will receive its first undergraduate intake in 2018.
Aston has a number of strengths, which make us attractive to students and academics alike.
These include:
-
The integrated placement year. Around 73% of undergraduates spend a year working
in industry or the professions, in order to sharpen their skills and self-confidence.
-
A record for graduate employment in graduate level jobs that is better than Oxford and
amongst the top five in the UK. The placement year plays a major part in this success
story, but it is not alone. The free Languages for All programme is part of a significant
commitment to global citizenship, which is welcomed by employers.
-
A track record of applied, relevant research which makes a significant impact on
people, businesses and communities. For example, Aston is world leading in the
mentoring and training of small businesses, giving them the tools they need to grow.
The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses programme and the Enterprise
Research Centre are two manifestations. The Aston Brain Centre specialises in the
study of children with learning difficulties, including autism and epilepsy. The European
Bioenergy Research Institute is a major investment in proprietorial waste to energy
technology known as pyrolysis. The Centre for Forensic Linguistics works closely with
the Police and other organisations to help solve serious crimes. The Advanced
Services Group is a centre of excellence in research and practice on servitization and
advanced services. It has recently generated £11.6m of Gross Value Add (GVA) from
77 participating SMEs in the West Midlands through a part-funded ERDF project
mentoring business owners/directors in manufacturing SMEs.
In a time of significant change for the Higher Education sector, Aston has outperformed the
market. Undergraduate admissions are strong and we have seen good increases year on year
since the student numbers cap was removed. Aston is the biggest rising university in terms of
UK/EU acceptance since 2011. Our acceptances are up 79.3% from 1,715 in 2011 to 3,075
in 2015. We plan to grow through the addition of Aston Medical School, whilst focusing on our
core offer of STEM subjects. Currently we are honing our approach through a portfolio review.
Our 2020 strategy makes it clear that we will continue to focus on the needs of business and
the professions, whilst developing the talent that will help shape the companies, ideas and
communities of tomorrow.
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In recent years we have had great success in lifting the profile of Aston, both for specific
research projects and for individual academics. We have also been able to talk about our
commitment to widening participation, our placement year, languages for all, and our
popularity with applicants.
Aston was awarded a Royal Charter in 1966 (we are currently celebrating our 50th anniversary
year throughout 2016) but has roots that extend to 1895. Aston has tuition fees of £9,000 per
annum for home/EU students (increasing to £9,250 in 2017/18), 91% of whom come from
state schools and 50% from the West Midlands. 43% of our students come from what are
considered to be the lowest socio-economic groups and 61 % of our students rely on
scholarships.
There is much more information about Aston on our website www.aston.ac.uk and our
Facebook community (currently circa 42,500 ‘like’ our Facebook profile). There is also a list of
useful web links at the end of this document. In particular, look at our research groups including
Aston Centre for Healthy Ageing (ARCHA), Enterprise Research Centre (ERC), Aston Centre
for Europe (ACE), and the Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies (AIPT). Please also ensure
you look at the Aston Scholars video collection on YouTube, which highlights the
achievements of some of our leading academics, and the range of video marketing materials
available through our channel.
Aston has a number of key strengths which are summarised in the proposition ‘Employable
Graduates; Exploitable Research’.
We achieved our best score in the REF 2014, with 78% of research submitted evaluated as
'world leading' or 'internationally recognised'. That's up from 45% in 2008. 89% of graduates
go into a graduate level job within six months of graduation. This is partly because:
-
73% of undergraduates do a placement or year abroad programme with an employer
as an integrated part of their degree, helping them to gain the skills businesses look
for. Our placement year has a £1,000 tuition fee but most placements are paid. Our
aim is that by 2020 every Aston student will undertake a placement year.
-
Academic Excellence – five times oversubscribed despite raising entry level
requirements to ABB.
-
The majority of Aston research is significant and applicable (or ‘exploitable’) – in areas
such as drug design, forensic linguistics, photonics, bio-energy and entrepreneurship
it has had demonstrable impact on business, society, communities, and on individuals.
-
Aston is down to earth and friendly: ‘a real world university’.
-
In league tables Aston is always highly rated for optometry, pharmacy and subjects
allied to medicine. Aston Business School is one of only 1% worldwide that has triple
accreditation from global bodies EQUIS, AMBA and AACSB.
These strengths are the foundation of the core brand proposition, and will form the narrative
we wish to communicate.
For more information visit our website at: www.aston.ac.uk
GENERAL CONDITIONS
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1.
Instructions
All required responses must be submitted in accordance with the following instructions. We
may reject applications not complying with these instructions.
These instructions are designed to ensure that all applicants are given equal and fair
consideration. It is important that you provide all the information requested in the format and
order specified. Please contact the Procurement Team if you have any doubt as to what is
required or will have difficulty in providing the information requested.
1.1
Your completed response will be treated as part of your expression of interest. In order
for your application to be considered, you must ensure that you have read all
instructions provided via ProContract and return all required documents by the due
date and time as indicated by ProContract.
1.2
For technical support in relation to ProContract please contact the help desk on
[email protected] or 01670 597136.
1.3
Please do not alter the original file format of any documentation sent out as part of
this procurement exercise.
1.4
All attachments if required should be cross referenced; noting the question number
the attachment relates too i.e. [ref no/supplier name/question number] and must be in
a Microsoft Office or PDF format as we are unable to open other formats. Anything that
is submitted in a non-supported format may not be considered.
1.5
The evaluation team reserves the right to seek further information to support the
information in the form of clarification questions which will be issued via ProContract.
1.6
Please note that this will be an electronic evaluation and adjudication based on the
responses provided, it is imperative that you complete all of the sections as fully and
in as concise a manner as possible. If you do not complete all sections, or do not
provide appropriate supporting evidence and information, your application may be
disqualified or your overall rating following adjudication may be adversely affected.
1.7
It is in your interest to ensure that adequate, appropriate responses are made to each
section of the questionnaire, and that adequate and appropriate supporting evidence
is provided.
1.8
Do not leave any questions unanswered; otherwise they will be given a zero mark and
may result in your application being excluded from the process.
1.9
Please note that questions answered incompletely because the information is ‘not
available’ or is ‘confidential’ may be given a zero mark and may result in your
submission being excluded from the process.
1.10
Please ensure all documents requested are enclosed with your response otherwise
you will be given a zero mark that may result in your submission being excluded from
the process.
1.11
Please answer the questions specifically for your company only and NOT for any group
(given you are part of a group of companies). Where you are submitting details
covering a consortium bid, you should make clear where and how your submission
relates to individual consortium members.
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1.12
All documentation will be issued, and the responses received using our e-tender web
portal (ProContract): https://procontract.due-north.com/SupplierPreLoginHome
1.13
Responses are to be received via ProContract web portal. If you are unable to do so,
please contact us via the messaging function of ProContract portal using or contact
the ProContract support desk.
1.14
All details within your response and any further documentation supplied as a result of
applying for a project must be treated as private and confidential and thus shall not be
disclosed to any party, whether your application is successful or not.
1.15
It is your responsibility to ensure that you download and review all of the documents
available for the project on ProContract. Please inform Procurement if you are unable
to access any documentation via the messaging function of ProContract.
1.16
All communication relating to the requirements must be forwarded in writing, to the
Procurement Team through the messaging function of ProContract
1.17
You should make yourself aware of the specific requirements of the procurement
exercise and of the goods, works or services to be provided. All enquiries relating to
this project must be made to Procurement Team not less than 4 days prior to the
specified date for the return of application. If the answer to a question raised alters or
supplements the basis for the proposals, then the relevant document will be revised
and issued to all companies. Aston University reserves the right to amend the
enclosed documentation at any time prior to the deadline for receipt of tenders. Any
such amendments will be issued to all companies. Where amendments are significant
Aston University may, at its discretion extend the deadline for receipt.
1.18
Returns submitted must be in strict accordance with the Project Documentation. The
applicant may not alter the documents in anyway including re-formatting. Should you
discover any discrepancies therein or be in any doubt as to the meaning thereof you
should notify Procurement Team through the messaging function of ProContract
1.19
No response or any part of a return shall be deemed to have been accepted unless
such acceptance shall have been notified to the Applicant by notice in writing by Aston
University.
1.20
The response by Aston University to any query, as well as the nature of that query will
be notified to all Companies, without disclosing the name of the Company who initiated
it. The Company must on no account contact or communicate with any other person
involved in work concerning this project before the closing date unless Aston University
redirects the enquiry to an authorised person for response.
1.21
Where Aston University discovers any errors or omissions in your return, this will be
pointed out and you will be given the opportunity to confirm the information. Your
decision and any subsequent adjustment must be confirmed in writing and submitted
through the messaging function within ProContract. Aston University reserves the right
to disqualify incomplete returns.
1.22
The Company warrants that the prices in the return have been arrived at
independently, without any consultation, communication, agreement or understanding,
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either for the purpose of restricting competition or on any matter relating to such prices,
with any other company or with any competitor and prices are fully inclusive to meet
the requirements of the project. To this effect, please complete and return the pricing
details as detailed within with your submission.
1.23
Gathering all necessary information for the preparation of the response will be the
Companies own responsibility and must be done at their own expense. Any
information provided is supplied only for general guidance in the preparation of the
response. Companies must satisfy themselves by their own investigations about the
sufficiency of information and no responsibility is accepted by Aston University for any
loss, damage or expense of whatever kind arising from the use by Applicants of such
information.
1.24
Aston University reserves the right, unless expressly stipulates to the contrary in the
return, to accept all or part of the return without being bound to accept the whole return.
1.25
The conditions stated in the project documentation. Offers made subject to additional
or alternative conditions may be rejected on the grounds of such conditions alone.
2. Selection Criteria
Score
Performance
10
Excellent - Response is completely relevant and excellent
overall. The response is comprehensive, unambiguous and
demonstrates a thorough understanding of the requirement
and provides details of how the requirement will be met in full.
Good - Response is relevant and good. The response is
sufficiently detailed to demonstrate a good understanding and
provides details on how the requirements will be fulfilled.
Acceptable - Response is relevant and acceptable. The
response addresses a broad understanding of the requirement
but lacks details on how the requirement will be fulfilled.
Poor - Response is relevant and poor. The response
addresses some understanding of the requirement but
contains limited detail and limited explanation to demonstrate
how the requirement will be fulfilled.
Doubtful: Response is partially relevant. The response
demonstrates some understanding of the requirement but
contains insufficient or no explanation to demonstrate how the
requirement will be fulfilled.
Unacceptable - Nil or inadequate response. Fails to
demonstrate an ability to meet the requirement
8
6
4
2
0
Judgement
Excellent
Good
Acceptable
Poor
Doubtful
Unacceptable
Any supplier responses which receive a score of 2 or less may result in your submission being
deemed non-compliant.
3. Award Criteria
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The award criteria and question weighting is stated in the questionnaire on the ProContract
portal.
4. Contract and evaluation criteria
6.1
Aston University does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any tender for the goods
and services. Aston University will have no obligation to Companies arising from this
process unless and until it enters into a formal contract with the chosen supplier(s) for
the provision of the goods/services that are subject to this process.
6.2
Aston University will award the contract on the basis of the return that is most
economically advantageous to Aston University. Account will be taken of any factors
which impact on the Companies suitability that emerge from the process and relate to
information previously provided by the Company. Aston University reserves the right
to award to one or more of the companies.
6.3
Unsuccessful Companies will be notified about why they have been unsuccessful via
the ProContract portal.
5. Scope of Agreement
6.1 Aston is looking to procure four (4) Benchtop Bioreactors as detailed in the essential
requirements stated on the ProContract portal.
6.2 Please be aware that the project may be part funded by the European Regional
Development Fund.
6. Agreement
Any Agreement which may result from this process will be based upon the Detailed Functional
Service Specification and further information, your response, the Proposed Form of
Agreement and any changes which may be agreed in writing following post-tender clarification
which, taken as a whole, shall comprise “the Agreement”.
7. Agreement Period
The Agreement period will be for a minimum of 1 year including warranty and servicing from
the date of a completed successful installation and testing.
8. Submission of Response
Your response must be uploaded to the Aston University e-tendering portal no later than
12noon 2nd December 2016. ProContract will allow bid submissions after the time and date
stipulated on the timescales, however your response will be recorded and flagged as being
late and a decision will be taken whether or not to accept the bid. Unless informed of an
extension to the return date via ProContract.
9. Language of the Response
Your response must be in the English language.
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10. Approximate Timetable:
Timings provided are approximate and may be subject to amendment, notification of any
changes to timing will be provide via the ProContract Portal
Procurement Process
Invitation to Apply
Date
18 Nov 2016
Final Date for Clarifications
12noon 29 Nov 2016
Closing date for Returns
12noon 2 Dec 2016
Evaluation Period
9 Dec 2016
Recommendation Approval
13 Dec 2016
Suppliers notified of Outcome
14 Dec 2016
11. Pricing Schedule
14.1
Please use the pricing schedule attached on the ProContract portal
14.2
Tender Offer - Unless otherwise stated by the tenderer, tenders shall remain valid
for three (90) days from the closing date for receipt of tenders. A tender valid for a
shorter period may be rejected by Aston.
14.3
Price Review - All tender prices should remain fixed for the initial duration of the
contract. Any price increases must be submitted in writing at least 3 months prior to
the anniversary of the contract. Submission of a price increase does not constitute
automatic acceptance of the request and Aston University reserves the right to
review your request. You may be requested to provide further details to support
your request.
14.4
Any increases must not be above the appropriate CPI price index.
14.5
Value Added Tax - The prices contained herein shall exclude Value Added Tax,
which shall be chargeable, where appropriate, in accordance with Government
legislation.
12. Freedom of Information Act
15.1
Aston has a legal obligation to comply with the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (“FoIA”) and Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (the
“EIRs”). Accordingly, all information submitted to a public authority may need to be
disclosed by the public authority in response to a request under the Act. Aston may
also decide to include certain information in any publication scheme that Aston is
required to maintain under the FoIA and the EIRs.
15.2
If a Provider considers that any of the information included in its tender response is
commercially sensitive, it should identify it and explain (in broad terms) what harm may
result from disclosure if a request is received, and the time period applicable to that
sensitivity.
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15.3
Providers should be aware that, even where it has indicated that information is
commercially sensitive, Aston might be required to disclose it under the FoIA or the
EIRs if a request is received. Should that be the case Aston will contact yourselves in
the first instance.
13. Alternative Proposals
Aston will not accept alternative proposals
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USEFUL LINKS
Aston University home page
www.aston.ac.uk
Aston University Overview and History:
http://www1.aston.ac.uk/about/
Aston Strategy:
http://www1.aston.ac.uk/about/strategy/
Equality & Diversity:
http://www1.aston.ac.uk/staff/hr/equalops/
Safety and Security
http://www1.aston.ac.uk/about/security/
Vehicles accessing pedestrian & Parking Areas
POLICY ON THE
CONTROL OF VEHICLES ACCESSING PEDESTRIAN AREAS AND PARKING AREAS (Reviewed June 2015).pdf
Environment and Sustainability:
http://www1.aston.ac.uk/about/environment/
Fairtrade:
http://www1.aston.ac.uk/about/fairtrade/
Freedom of Information Act
http://www1.aston.ac.uk/about/university-governance/university-regulation/foi/
ProContract.
https://procontract.due-north.com/SupplierPreLoginHome
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