Open competition for Spectral Flow Cytometer (Ref 453)

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

Maynooth University ran this procurement for “Open competition for Spectral Flow Cytometer (Ref 453)” 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:

• Minimum requirement to remain eligible in the competition: Candidates should refer to instances within the last three to five years which demonstrate that they have successfully delivered services of a comparable nat
• following requirement: System must contain multiple excitation lasers with a minimum of 2 and preferably 3 or more lasers (Preferably Blue, Red and Yellow)
• se will meet the following requirement: System should have the capacity of a minimum of > 30 parameters
• System must contain multiple excitation lasers with a minimum of 2 and preferably 3 or more lasers (Preferably Blue, Red and Yellow)
• System should have the capacity of a minimum of > 30 parameters
• SUB-SERVICE PROVIDERS If the candidate wishes to rely on the standing of other parties including sub-service providers full details must be provided.
• If your answer is “Yes”, please provide the following information: Name Service to be delivered Confirm Separate Questionnaire enclosed?
• 2.1.a has, in the performance of any public contract, failed to comply with applicable obligations in the field of environmental, social and labour law applying at the place where the works were carried out or the services provided, as established by EU law, national law, collective agreements or by international, environmental, social and labour law listed in Annex X of Directive 2014/24/EU;
• 2.1.h * is guilty of serious misrepresentation in supplying the information required for the verification of the absence of grounds for exclusion or the fulfilment of the selection criteria; or
• • has withheld such information or is not able to submit supporting documents required under Article 59 of Directive 2014/24/EU; or
• We have procedures in place to ensure that our subservice providers, if any are used for this contract, apply the same standards.
• NOTE: The term Economic Operator covers equally the concepts of Service provider, Supplier and Service Provider whether as Candidate, Tenderer or Participant under an award procedure in accordance with the relevant Public Procurement Directive. 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.

• C3 What is the company policy for Environmental & Sustainability practices?
• C4 Please provide your organisations Corporate Social Responsibility policy.
• C5 Does your organisation have a current sustainability policy or statement? If so please provide it.
• MU was formally established as an autonomous university in 1997. Yet, it traces its origins to the foundation of the Royal College of St. Patrick in 1795, drawing inspiration from a heritage that includes over 200 years of education and scholarship. The University has grown from 982 students in 1980 to 16,110 in 2023/24. Maynooth University has over 1,300 staff, of which 560 are academic staff. Today, MU is a place of lively contrasts – a modern institution, dynamic, rapidly-growing, research-intensive and engaged, yet grounded in historic academic strengths and scholarly traditions. With over 16,000 students, including over 1,800 taught postgraduates and 530 research postgraduates from more than 90 countries, Maynooth offers a range of programmes at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level in the humanities, science and engineering, and social sciences, including business, law, and education. The University also offers a range of international programmes and partnerships.

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.; The levels relevant to this procurement being as follows: Insurance Type Level Required Employers Liability €13m Public Liability €6.5m Professional Indemn
• 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.
• Turnover Requirement: €300,000 I confir
• Turnover Requirement: €300,000 Financial Year*
• The levels relevant to this procurement being as follows: Insurance Type Level Required Employers Liability €13m Public Liability €6.5m Professional Indemn

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:
• Value: not disclosed (eTenders placeholder)
• Tenderers are required to complete and submit with their Tender Section A of the RFT
• Where tenderers are relying on the capacity of other entities (for example, Subcontractors) for the purposes of fulfilling any of the Selection Criteria in part 3.3 they much ensure that each entity completes and submits separate compliance documentation and when requested by the Contracting Authority, submit proof, to the satisfaction of the Contracting Authority, that each such entity will place the necessary resources at the disposal of the Tenderer.
• If your answer is “Yes”, please provide the following information: Name Service to be delivered Confirm Separate Questionnaire enclosed?
• Please note that Maynooth University will seek to verify self-declarations regarding financial capacity prior to next stage of the competition.
• A5 DECLARATION OF BONA FIDES In relation to an award procedure under Public Sector Directive 2014/24/EU (Article 57). Weighting: Pass/Fail only Pass requirement: Candidates must complete, sign and date this Declaration. Maynooth Universityreserves the right at its discretion to exclude a non-compliant Candidate under each heading. This must be completed by each group member.

7. Key dates & process

8. Contract terms that matter

Contract duration in the extract: 2 year. Payment cycle, SLA/KPI schedule, and penalty regime were not fully disclosed in the snippets unless listed below.

• Sector: Scientific Equipment & Laboratory
• VERIFIED PHRASES (deterministic regex extract from the documents — treat as authoritative for numerical claims)
• 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:
• following requirement: System must contain multiple excitation lasers with a minimum of 2 and preferably 3 or more lasers (Preferably Blue, Red and Yellow)
• System must contain multiple excitation lasers with a minimum of 2 and preferably 3 or more lasers (Preferably Blue, Red and Yellow)
• ontinues for 15 calendar days either Party may terminate at 14 days notice
• breach(es) (if the breach(es) are capable of remedy) within 30 days after receipt of a request in writing f
• For the Term and for a period of 12 months thereafter (and save in respect of publ

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.
• Contract value was not disclosed in metadata, creating uncertainty on margin, resourcing, and financing assumptions.
• 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: 453 TRD Spectral Flow Cytometer.docx, 453 RFT Spectral Flow Cytometer.docx, Sample Supply Contract.docx.
• eTenders CFT / notice reference: not specified in extract.
• Clarification contact / portal: eTenders message portal (email not surfaced in extract).
• Key attachments to prioritise: RFT, RFT document : Response to include cost of the following * Capital cost (includi, RFT,.