Tender questionnaire for:
Board Communications Solution Software as a Service
Contract ref: PROC.02.0081
CPV codes: 48000000
72000000
Pamela Kelsall
Senior Procurement Adviser
Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat)
7 Hill Street
Birmingham
B5 4UA
[email protected]
1
CONTENTS
Section
Page Number
1. Organisation and Contact Details
3
2. Professional and Business Standing
5
3. Financial Information
6
4. Insurance
7
5. Experience and Contract Examples/References
8
6. Specific Questions
10
7. Pricing
13
8. Conditions of Contract
14
9. Information Security
15
Annex 1
Pricing Schedule
Annex 2
Declaration Form
Annex 3
Bona Fide Tendering
2
Tender Questionnaire: Board Communications Solutions
1
Organisation and Contact Details
1.1
Full name of organisation
tendering (or of organisation
acting as lead contact where a
consortium bid is being submitted)
1.2
Registered office address:
1.3
Company or charity registration
number (if this applies):
1.4
VAT registration number (if this
applies):
1.5
Name of immediate parent
company (if this applies):
1.6
Name of ultimate parent company
(if this applies):
1.7
Is your organisation:
i) a public limited company?
ii) a limited company?
iii) a limited liability
partnership?
iv) other partnership
v) sole trader
vi) other (please specify)
Contact details for enquiries about this tender
1.8
Contact name:
3
1.9
Address:
Post Code:
1.10
Telephone number:
1.11
Mobile number:
1.12
E-mail address: (if available)
1.13
Consortia and Sub-Contracting
a)
Your
organisation is
bidding to provide the
services required itself
b)
Your
organisation is
bidding in the role of
Prime Contractor and
intends to use third
parties to provide some
services
c)
The
tenderer
consortium
is
a
1.14
If your answer is (b) or (c) please indicate in a separate annex (by
inserting the relevant company/organisation name) the composition
of the supply chain, indicating which member of the supply chain
(which may include your organisation solely or together with other
providers) will be responsible for the elements of the requirement.
1.15
Please describe the main business activities of your organisation and the
number of years you have been involved in this activity.
1.16
Is your organisation a small or
medium sized enterprise (SME)*?
* "SME" means a business with a
headcount of less than 250; an
annual turnover of no more than
€50m; and/or a balance sheet
total not exceeding €43m.
4
Yes/No
1.17
How many staff does your
organisation (including consortia
members or named subcontractors where appropriate)
employ relevant to the carrying out
of services and/or delivery of
goods similar to those required
under this contract?
Comments:
We need some basic contact details for each tenderer and some background information
about who they are. In addition, we want to know what a potential tenderer’s main lines of
business are and whether they are an SME as we monitor the level of spend that goes to
SMEs.
Evaluation:
This section is not scored.
Completion of this section is mandatory and is for our information purposes. We may
confirm company identity and basic details with external bodies.
MANDATORY
2
Professional And Business Standing
Do any of the following apply to your organisation, or to (any of) the
director(s) / partners / proprietor(s)?
2.1
Bankruptcy, insolvency, compulsory winding up,
receivership, composition with creditors, or subject to
relevant proceedings
Yes / No
2.2
A conviction (or convictions ) for a criminal offence related
to business or professional conduct
Yes / No
2.3
Legal or administrative finding of commission of an act of
grave misconduct in the course of business
Yes / No
2.4
Failure to fulfil obligations related to payment of social
security contributions
Yes / No
2.5
Failure to fulfil obligations related to the payment of taxes
Yes / No
2.6
Failure to provide information required or providing
inaccurate/misleading information when participating in a
procurement exercise
Yes / No
5
2.7
Failure to obtain and maintain relevant licences or
membership of an appropriate trading or professional
organisation where required by law
Yes / No
2.8
If the answer to any of these is “Yes” please give brief details below,
including what has been done to put things right.
Comments:
Public bodies have a duty to maintain high standards of professional behaviour and
honesty. They need to be sure that tenderers can show that they meet the same
standards. This questionnaire asks tenderers to answer important questions on this
subject.
Evaluation:
This section is not scored.
A "Yes" response to any of these questions will result in automatic exclusion from this
procurement, unless you have provided an answer that clearly indicates the problem has
been resolved and that steps have been taken to prevent its recurrence.
PASS/FAIL
3
3.1
Financial Information
Please provide one* of the following set out below:
a)
A copy of your audited accounts for the most recent two
years (if this applies)
b)
A statement of your turnover, profit & loss account and
cash flow for the most recent year of trading
c)
A statement of your cash flow forecast for the current year
and a bank letter outlining the current cash and credit
position
d)
Alternative means of demonstrating financial status if
trading for less than a year
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Comments:
*If you are unable to provide the information requested at a) please provide the
information requested at b) or if b) is not available please provide the information
requested at c) or if c) is not available then please provide the information requested at d).
We need to know about your organisation’s financial situation. We want to be sure that
your organisation has the financial resources and stability to provide the required services,
and that they are likely to be around to complete the contract satisfactorily.
Evaluation:
The key objective is for us to analyse your financial information and determine the level of
risk that it would present to us – having regard to the requirement and value, criticality and
the nature of the market.
This section is not scored. Instead marking will be based on a risk-based approach.

Full satisfactory responses provided with no areas of concern (Low risk)

Partial, satisfactory responses provided with some cause for concern (Medium risk)

Unsatisfactory responses provided with significant cause for concern (High risk)

No responses provided (Non-compliant)
If your response is evaluated as either of the last two categories then your tender will not
be considered further.
If your response is evaluated as “Medium Risk” then your tender may be excluded on this
basis although further clarification on financial position may be sought before a decision is
made. A response initially evaluated as “Medium Risk” will only be considered if
information provided in clarification satisfies Ofwat that there are no areas of concern.
PASS/FAIL
4
4.1
Insurance
Please provide details of your current insurance cover
Please include a copy of insurance certificates as a separate attachment.
a)
Employers Liability (This is
a legal requirement. There
are a small number of
exceptions.)
Yes /No
Value:
b)
Public Liability
Yes /No
Value:
c)
Product Liability
Yes /No
Value:
d)
Professional Indemnity
Yes /No
Value:
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e)
Other (please provide
details)
Yes /No
Value:
Comments:
With the best will in the world there are sometimes problems with contracts for one reason
or another. We need to know that your organisation has the necessary insurance policies
to adequately cover any such problems.
Evaluation:
The section is not scored. If you do not have adequate levels of insurance then you will
fail this section and your tender will not be considered further.
PASS/FAIL
5
Experience And Contract Examples/References
Please provide details of up to three similar (nature & size) contracts from
either or both the public or private sector, that are relevant to this
requirement. Contracts for the supply of services should have been
performed during the past three years. (The customer contact should be
prepared to speak to Ofwat's representative to confirm the accuracy of the
information provided below if we wish to contact them).
Please note that where possible referees should not be linked to Ofwat and
that we may contact your referees without telling you again.
Contract 1
5.1
Customer
Organisation
(name):
5.2
Customer
contact name,
phone number
and email
5.3
Contract start
date:
Contract 2
Contract
completion date:
Contract value*:
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Contract 3
5.4
Brief description
of contract (max
250 words)
including
evidence as to
your technical
capability in this
market.
If you cannot provide at least one example, please briefly explain why (250 words max)
Comments:
*If you are unable to provide a contract value then please specify one of the following
ranges: a) below £10k, b) £10k to <£25k, c) £25k to <£50k, d) £50k to <£100k, e) £100k
to <£500k, f) £500k or greater.
We want to know if your organisation has performed similar work of a similar size to a
good standard in the past. The more similar these are to our current requirement the
better.
9
Evaluation:
You must provide references relevant to the subject of the contract. Where no references
are provided or they are either totally irrelevant or of limited relevance then your tender
will not be considered further.
PASS/FAIL
6
6.1
Technical Questions
Experience and capability
Please provide details of your experience and capability for contracts of this
type, taking into account this contract’s complexity and potential value. You
must include relevant examples of your past experience and where you refer
to work carried out on behalf of a particular organisation; include this
organisation as one of your Referees/Contract Examples in Question 5.
[Word limit = 750 words]
WEIGHTING = 10%
6.2
Business requirements – board members
Specific requirement
Access to board packs via tablet devices, laptops or desktop PCs.
Simple, intuitive interface and navigation, in line with native tablet
device functionality.
Online and offline encrypted reading and annotation of board
packs.
Ability to access annotations created on desktop PCs on tablet
device, and vice versa.
Ability to print documents.
Ability to delete documents.
Ability to save annotated documents to desktop PCs if required.
Automatic alerts for new versions of documents.
Access to multiple board packs from a single BCS application.
Ideally supports multiple tablet brands, but must support the Apple
iPad at a minimum
Additional functionality would be an advantage, for example voting,
sharing comments with other board members, private messaging,
discussion boards, calendars, Q&A mechanism, electronic
signatures etc.
Secure email within the application
Please provide any further details of your proposed solution over
and above the requirements set out above.
10
Yes/No
[Word limit = 750 words]
WEIGHTING = 10%
6.3
Business requirements – board administrators
Specific requirement
Assembly of board packs via laptops in web portal
Full control over board pack lifecycle and versioning
Ability to perform remote shredding of data from iPads
Retain control over access to the tablet application and access to
individual documents
Customisable layout and display
Ability to create printed packs
No thresholds for the number of members per board
No thresholds for the number of meetings
Allow creation of multiple boards with different memberships
Ability to upscale or downscale the number of members of boards
quickly
Copy and clone previous board pack agenda or template to create
a new meeting board pack
Yes/No
Please provide any further details of your proposed solution over
and above the requirements set out above.
[Word limit = 750 words]
WEIGHTING = 10%
6.4
Technology
Specific requirement
iOS application available
Android application available
Windows 7/8 application available
No bandwidth restrictions
Yes/No
Please provide any further details of your proposed solution over and above
the requirements set out above. You should include any additional
technology requirements or any bandwidth and access considerations.
[Word limit = 350 words]
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WEIGHTING = 5%
6.5
Security
Specific requirement
Secure login to application on iPad
All data transferred, accessed or stored on desktops, tablets or
within the cloud must be protected by AES security (256-bit) at all
times
Vendor must not be able to access or read Ofwat data
Access to the application must use industry standard
authentication and encryption mechanisms (separate to the native
iPad inbuilt functions)
Data should not be extractable from the tablet application
Yes/No
Please state how you would ensure security requirements are met, with
reference to :
-
Evidence of regular penetration testing using accredited, independent
testers
Compliance with ISO27000 or equivalent
Evidence of proactive security measures, management and security
keys
Evidence of compliance with EU/UK data protection legislation
[Word limit = 750 words]
WEIGHTING = 10%
6.6
Implementation, trial and training
Please state how you will approach the implementation of a live board
meeting trial and how administrators and board members will be trained.
[Word limit = 750 words]
WEIGHTING = 10%
12
6.7
Maintenance and support
Please provide details of the maintenance and support arrangements you will
provide once the solution is in live operation. Please reference and provide a
service level agreement including support hours, availability/downtime,
performance and severity definitions for the logging of faults.
[Word limit = 500 words]
WEIGHTING = 5%
6.8
Contract Management
Please provide details of your approach to contract management including
your escalation process for dispute resolution and procedure for managing
change requests.
[Word limit = 500 words]
WEIGHTING = 5%
6.9
Key Personnel
Please provide full details and experience of the key personnel that will be
used in the provision of the implementation, services, training and support
including the Contract Manager.
[Word limit = 500 words]
WEIGHTING = 5%
Comments:
We want to establish that tenderers have the skills, experience and expertise to provide
the required services and meet the requirements as set out in the Specification.
13
Evaluation:
Each question 6.1 to 6.9 will be marked separately.
Marks will be awarded as follows:
Score 0 – No response or does not meet the requirement
Score 1 – Major reservations/constraints
Score 2 – Minor reservations/constraints
Score 3 – Fully meets the requirement
Score 4 – Exceeds the requirement
TOTAL WEIGHTING = [70%]
7
7.1
7.2
Pricing
Please provide details of your pricing in the template provided including onboarding (set-up) charges and annual charges (Annex 1).
Annual charges are required for years one, two and three of the Contract.
Please provide details of any costs that would be incurred by Ofwat if a trial
was not successful and Ofwat did not take up the subscription.
Comments: We want a schedule of set-up charges and annual charges fixed for the three
years of the contract.
14
Evaluation:
Tender price will be evaluated on the basis of whole-life costs of the solution.
Each tender will be given a score based on the following formula:
Lowest tender price x price weighting (30%)
Tender price
The calculations are based on:

Marks will be awarded in "reverse order" that is the lowest-priced tendered gets
the highest marks and the highest priced tendered gets least marks

Scores awarded will reflect the proportional difference between tendered
prices.
WEIGHTING = [30%]
8
Conditions of Contract
8.1
Do you accept Ofwat’s Conditions of
Contract as detailed below? Please note
that failure to agree to our Conditions of
Contract may invalidate your tender
submission.
8.2
If no, please provide details of any specific areas that you have an issue with.
8.3
Please specify the minimum period required for termination without cause in
accordance with Clause 16.4 of the Conditions of Contract. Please provide
details of any specific terms relating to such termination e.g. anniversary of
subscription start date only.
15
Yes / No
Comments:
This Invitation to Tender (ITT), and any contract arising from it, will be subject to our
Conditions of Contract, a copy of which is enclosed at Appendix B to the Specification.
The successful tenderer’s usual terms and conditions are not, and will not, become terms
and conditions of any contract that we may award as a result of this ITT.
Evaluation:
If you do not confirm your acceptance of the Conditions of Contract then your tender may
not be considered further.
PASS/FAIL
9
9.1
Information Security
An internal information security handling risk assessment has been
completed for this project and its assessment level is deemed to be High.
Suppliers are required to submit a draft security plan (your security plan may
be subject to refinement). Please submit your draft security plan as a
separate document.
To help you understand the security requirements and to help you develop
your security plan we have provided our ‘Information Security Policy for
Suppliers’ at paragraph 10 of the Specification. This includes a model
structure for a security plan (see Annex D). As a minimum, your draft security
plan must cover all the areas as set out in the model structure.
Ofwat’s information must be stored preferably within the UK and if necessary
within the EU. Ofwat must not have its information stored outside of the UK
or EU. Contractors should describe where our information is to be hosted
and, through the security plan, how that information and infrastructure is
secured to compliance levels relevant for OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE (IL2)
information
Please provide any further details in addition to the security plan.
Comments:
The successful supplier will be required to comply with our ‘Information Security Policy for
Suppliers’, a copy of which is enclosed at paragraph 10 of the Specification. The draft
Security Plan should set out the security measures to be implemented and maintained by
the supplier in relation to the delivery of the services. The final Security Plan to be
adopted under the Contract may be subject to refinement and agreement with Ofwat.
16
Evaluation:
This section is not scored. Instead marking will be based on a risk-based approach.

Full satisfactory responses provided with no areas of concern (Low risk)

Partial, satisfactory responses provided with some cause for concern (Medium risk)

Unsatisfactory responses provided with significant cause for concern (High risk)

No responses provided (Non-compliant)
If your response is evaluated as either of the last two categories then your tender will not
be considered further.
If you cannot provide secure hosting of Ofwat’s information either within the UK (most
preferable) or within the EU then your tender will not be considered further.
PASS/FAIL
Further detail on the evaluation approach can be found at section 15 of the
Specification
Mandatory Attachments Checklist:
Financial information (Q3)
Copies of all relevant insurance certificates (Q4)
Draft Security Plan (Q9)
Completed Pricing Schedule (Annex 1)
Completed Declaration Form (Annex 2)
Completed Bona Fide Tendering Form (Annex 3)
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Annex 1
Price schedule for Board Communications Solution
Attached as a separate document
18
Annex 2
Declaration Form
Tender for:
Project: Board Communications Solution – Software as a Service
Project Ref.:PROC.02.0081
To the Water Services Regulation Authority
On behalf of [
] I offer to provide the service specified in your ITT
documents. I understand that our offer and any contract, which may result from it, will
be based upon the documents listed below:
a)
Invitation to tender letter;
b)
Specification and any appendices; and
c)
Conditions of Contract.
1. Any other terms and conditions
I agree that any terms or conditions of contract or any general reservations which
may be printed on any correspondence originating from me/us in connection with this
tender or with any contract resulting from this tender, will not be applicable to the
contract.
2. Law
I agree that any contract made will be subject to the law of England and Wales.
3. Tendered Price
The tendered price is valid for [ ] days from the tender returnable date.
[The tenderer is to insert the number of days which must be no fewer than 21 days; if
no validity period is stated, it will be assumed that the offer is firm for 90 days from
the tender returnable date.]
4.
Information Sharing
I agree that the Customer may disclose our information/documentation (submitted
to the Customer during this Procurement) more widely within Government for the
purpose of ensuring effective cross-Government procurement processes, including
value for money and related purposes.
Name:
…………………………………...
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Signature:
…………………………….…
Position: ……………………………….......
Date:
…………………………………….
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Annex 3
Tender for:
Project: Board Communications Solution - Software as a Service
Project Ref.:PROC.02.0081
Statement of Bona Fide Tender
We certify that this is a Bona Fide Tender in that we have not fixed or
adjusted the amount of the tender by or under or in accordance with any
agreement or arrangement with any other person. We also certify that we
have not at any time before the hour and date specified for the return of
the Tender performed any of the following acts:
i)
communicated to any person other than the person calling for the
Tender the amount or approximate amount of the proposed
Tender, other than for obtaining a quotation for an insurance
premium required for the purpose of the tender;
ii)
entered into any agreement or arrangement with another person
so that he or she shall refrain from tendering, or as to the amount
of any tender to be submitted;
iii)
offered, paid, given or agreed to pay or give consideration directly
or indirectly to any person for having done or for doing, or caused
to have done or for doing, in relation to another tender or proposed
tender for the said work any act or thing of the sort described
above.
iv)
canvas or solicited any of the Customer's staff.
In this Certificate, the word ‘person’ includes any person, or body or
association, corporate or otherwise; and ‘any agreement or arrangement’
includes any such transaction, formal or informal and whether legally
binding or otherwise.
Signed…………………………………….
Position ……………………………….
Name…………………………..
Date…………………………………
For and on behalf of:
………………………………………………………….….
…………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………….
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