Provision of the Evaluation of the National Challenge Fund for Taighde Éireann Research Ireland

AI-generated analysis of the documents. Check the official notice and any amendments for current submission details.

1. At a glance

2. Scope of Work

Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland ran this procurement for “Provision of the Evaluation of the National Challenge Fund for Taighde Éireann Research Ireland.” as an operational contract requiring implementation and sustained service execution. The extracted pack showed qualification-stage material with references to later ITT technical depth; practical activity therefore centred on building, integrating, and operating the specified service stack with compliant reporting and handover obligations where stated. Constituent activities and named work elements in the supplied extracts:

• l be required to hold for the Term of the Service Contract the following insurances: Type of Insurance Indemnity Limit Employer’s Liability €10.0ml limit for any one claim or series of
• and estimates that the expenditure on the Services to be covered by the proposed Services Contract may amount to some €300,000 (excluding VAT) over the Term of proposed contract
• es, each supporting further development of the challenge concept and solution, to compete for an overall Prize Award of €1-2 million
• eclare in the Tender Response Document or by way of eESPD that they satisfy the minimum annual turnover thresholds set out below and that they are able, upon request and without delay, to provide the supporting documentation specified below to Research Ireland in each case:
• APPENDIX 6: Draft Services Contract 34
• *Tender Response Document (TRD), Pricing Schedule and draft Service Contract are separate documents accompanying this CFT on eTenders site
• [CFT - Evaluation of the National Challenge Fund.docx] * 1. Taighde Éireann Research Ireland(the “Contracting Authority”) invites tenders (“Tenders”) to this Request for Tender (CFT) from operators for the provision of services as described in Appendix 1 of this CFT (the “Services”).
• 2. In summary, the Service comprises the provision of a the provision of the Evaluation of the National Challenge Fund for Taighde Éireann Research Ireland. Full requirements are listed in Appendix 1 of this CFT
• 3. This public procurement Competition (the “Competition”) will be conducted in accordance with the open procedure under the European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016 (Statutory Instrument 284 of 2016) (the “Regulation”). Any Contract that will result from this Competition (the “Services Contract”) will be issued to a single services provider for a term of eighteen (18) months (“the Term”).
• 5. Research Ireland estimates that the expenditure on the Services to be covered by the proposed Services Contract may amount to some €300,000 (excluding VAT) over the Term of proposed contract. Tenderers must understand that this figure is an estimate only based on current, and future expected, usage. The Services Contract will be awarded on a fixed fee basis, following the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) tender award process.
• 6. Research Ireland policy seeks to encourage participation on a fair and equal basis by Small and Medium Enterprises (“SMEs”) in this Competition. SMEs that believe the scope of this Competition is beyond their technical or business capacity are encouraged to explore the possibilities of forming relationships with other SMEs or with larger enterprises. Through such relationships they can participate and contribute to the successful implementation of any contracts, agreements or arrangements that result from this Competition and therefore increase their social and economic benefits.
• This CFT does not constitute an offer or commitment to enter into a Service Contract. Non-binding monetary references in the source were treated as context only and were not used as qualification thresholds.

3. Background & buyer context

The buyer context reflected a formal Irish public-procurement route, with pre-qualification used to control entry into the tender stage.

• Title: Provision of the Evaluation of the National Challenge Fund for Taighde Éireann Research Ireland.
• The National Challenge Fund is a €65 million research fund established under the Government of Ireland’s National Recovery a
• The Lead and Co‑Lead are academics, giving a minimum of 194 academics in core leadership roles across the programme
• [CFT - Evaluation of the National Challenge Fund.docx]

4. Eligibility & selection criteria

• Turnover requirement — — use these verbatim for insurance / turnover. If a category (insurance, turnover) has no entry here, treat it as 'not specified' for THIS tender.
• Insurance — — use these verbatim for insurance / turnover. If a category (insurance, turnover) has no entry here, treat it as 'not specified' for THIS tender.; l be required to hold for the Term of the Service Contract the following insurances: Type of Insurance Indemnity Limit Employer’s Liability €10.0ml limit for any one claim or series of; Public Liability €5ml limit for any one claim or series of
• Certifications — not specified for this tender
• Past experience — not specified for this tender
• Personnel — not specified for this tender
• Geographic / facility constraints — not specified for this tender Additional binding lines surfaced in the deterministic extract:
• — use these verbatim for insurance / turnover. If a category (insurance, turnover) has no entry here, treat it as 'not specified' for THIS tender.
• l be required to hold for the Term of the Service Contract the following insurances: Type of Insurance Indemnity Limit Employer’s Liability €10.0ml limit for any one claim or series of
• Public Liability €5ml limit for any one claim or series of
• Professional Indemnity €0.5ml for any one claim or series of claim
• Cyber Liability €1.0ml for any one claim or series of claim

5. Award criteria & scoring

6. Submission requirements

• Method statement / response document (template/page limits) — Appendix 1 questionnaire/PQQ response was required.
• CVs (page count, named roles) — not specified in extract.
• Pricing schedule (format/template) — expected at ITT stage.
• Case studies (number/value range) — client references/comparable project evidence was referenced.
• Declarations (ESPD/Bona Fides/Tax/COI) — ESPD/declaration/statement-of-confirmation language was present.
• Mandatory site visit — not specified in extract.
• Submission portal and formatting — eTenders portal and PDF electronic copies were referenced. Submission-related source lines:
• eclare in the Tender Response Document or by way of eESPD that they satisfy the minimum annual turnover thresholds set out below and that they are able, upon request and without delay, to provide the supporting documentation specified below to Research Ireland in each case:
• APPENDIX 1: REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIFICATION 20
• APPENDIX 2: PRICING SCHEDULE 28
• APPENDIX 2(A): PROFESSIONAL GRADES & DESCRIPTIONS 29
• APPENDIX 3: TENDERER’S STATEMENT 30
• APPENDIX 4: Declaration as to Personal Circumstances to Tender 32

7. Key dates & process

8. Contract terms that matter

Contract duration in the extract: 1 months. Payment cycle, SLA/KPI schedule, and penalty regime were not fully disclosed in the snippets unless listed below.

• VERIFIED PHRASES (deterministic regex extract from the documents — treat as authoritative for numerical claims)
• l be required to hold for the Term of the Service Contract the following insurances: Type of Insurance Indemnity Limit Employer’s Liability €10.0ml limit for any one claim or series of
• NOW IT IS HEREBY AGREED in consideration of the sum of €2.00 (the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged by the Contractor) as follows:
• and estimates that the expenditure on the Services to be covered by the proposed Services Contract may amount to some €300,000 (excluding VAT) over the Term of proposed contract
• The Lead and Co‑Lead are academics, giving a minimum of 194 academics in core leadership roles across the programme
• If the Force Majeure Eventcontinues for 50 days either Party may terminate at 14 days’
• Majeure Eventcontinues for 50 days either Party may terminate at 14 days’
• each (es) (if the breach (es) are capable of remedy) within 30 days after receipt of a request in writing f

9. Risks, red flags & unusuals

• Qualification gate: the deterministic extract included a turnover threshold line (— use these verbatim for insurance / turnover. If a category (insurance, turnover) has no entry here, treat it as 'not specified' for THIS tender.), which can materially narrow bidder pool composition.
• The two-step process (PQQ then ITT) shifted effort to compliance evidence early, with competitive scoring detail potentially deferred.
• Technical and contractual granularity appeared ITT-dependent, increasing ambiguity at qualification stage for non-incumbent bidders.

10. SME fit assessment

This competition looked most accessible to firms with established public-sector tender capability, documented financial capacity, and direct operational experience in the relevant service category.

• Credible bidder profile — mid-sized to large specialist with formal QA/compliance process.
• Consortium / sub-contracting — allowed or addressed in the extracts (Appendix references and reliance provisions).
• Indicative bid-prep effort — 6 to 12 working days for evidence collation, form completion, and review cycles at PQQ level.
• Pwin signal — strongest for bidders with reusable qualification artefacts, comparable references, and low-friction mobilisation capability.

11. Where to dig deeper

• Source RFT/PQQ filenames: CFT - Evaluation of the National Challenge Fund.docx, Appendix 6.docx, APPENDIX 1: REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIFICATION 20](#_Toc219810538).
• eTenders CFT / notice reference: not specified in extract.
• Clarification contact / portal: eTenders message portal (email not surfaced in extract).
• Key attachments to prioritise: APPENDIX 2: PRICING SCHEDULE 28](#_Toc219810539), APPENDIX 2(A): PROFESSIONAL GRADES & DESCRIPTIONS 29](#_Toc219810540), APPENDIX 3: TENDERER’S STATEMENT 30](#_Toc219810541).