Provision of Research Expertise to Assist the Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam

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

The Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention Tuam ran this procurement for “Provision of Research Expertise to Assist the Director of Authorised Intervention, Tuam” 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:

• ty estimates that the expenditure on the Services to be covered by the proposed Services Contracts may amount to some €320,000 (excl
• rer shall be required to supply its Tax Clearance Access Number and Tax Reference Number to facilitate online verification of their tax status by
• Prior to and as a condition of award of any Services Contract, the successful Tenderer shall be required to designate a single entity who will carry overall responsibility for the Services Contract (the “Prime Contractor”), irrespective of whether or not tasks
• Prior to and as a condition of award of any Services Contract, the successful Tenderer shall be required to designate a single entity who will carry overall responsibility for the Services Contract (the “Prime Contractor”), irrespective of whether or not tasks are to be performed by a subcontractor or other consortium member (the “Subcontractor”).
• No publicity regarding this Competition or any Services Contract pursuant to this Competition is permitted unless and until the Contracting Authority has given its prior written consent to the relevant communication.
• The terms “Registrable Interest” and “Relative” shall be interpreted as per Section 2 of the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001, copies of which are available at www.irishstatutebook.ie. The Contracting Authority will, at its absolute discretion, decide on the appropriate course of action, which may in appropriate circumstances include eliminating a Tenderer from this Competition or terminating any Services Contract entered into by a Tenderer.
• [20250414_ Researcher CFT Document.docx] the appropriate course of action, which may in appropriate circumstances include eliminating a Tenderer from this Competition or terminating any Services Contract entered into by a Tenderer.
• Any conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest on the part of a Tenderer, Subcontractor or individual employee(s) or agent(s) of a Tenderer or Subcontractor(s) must be fully disclosed to the Contracting Authority as soon as the conflict or potential conflict is or becomes apparent. Tenderers are required to declare that the preparation of their Tender was carried out independently. In the event of any actual or potential conflict of interest, the Contracting Authority may invite Tenderers to propose means by which the conflict of interest might be removed and in circumstances where there are links between Tenderers, the Contracting Authority may seek further information to confirm the Tenders have been prepared independently. The Contracting Authority will, at its absolute discretion, decide on the appropriate course of action, which may in appropriate circumstances include eliminating a Tenderer from this Competition or any Mini-Competition or terminating any Framework Agreement or Services Contract entered into by a Tenderer.
• [20250414_ Researcher CFT Document.docx] from this Competition or any Mini-Competition or terminating any Framework Agreement or Services Contract entered into by a Tenderer.
• Tenderers must address each of the issues and requirements in this part of the RFT and submit a detailed description in each case which demonstrates how these issues and requirements will be dealt with / met and their approach to the proposed delivery of the Services. A mere affirmative statement by the Tenderer that it can/will do so or a reiteration of the tender requirements is NOT sufficient in this regard.
• The Director seeks the services of a research expert to assist the undertaking of intervention at the site of the former Mother and Baby Institution, Tuam.
• Financial records indicating transfers or support payments. 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.

• The main objectives of the intervention can be summarised as affording dignity to the children who were manifestly inappropriately interred at the Tuam site by reburying them in a respectful manner and if possible, identifying them and establishing circumstances and causes of death.
• At least 5 years’ experience in undertaking research or investigation in similar area involving social, institutional and medical history, public and other relevant archival records
• At least 5 years’ experience in undertaking research or investigation in similar area involving social, institutional and medical history, public and other relevant archival records.
• Under the guidance of the Forensic Data Manager, and where relevant, the Director, the Researcher will deliver on agreed upon outputs through the contribution of professional research and evaluation of background information related to children who died while resident in the former Mother and Baby Institution in Tuam. These products document and contextualize the social, economic, medical and historical contexts in which the children’s deaths occurred. The research must build upon the collected sources and evidence amassed thus far that represent the corpus of knowledge about the individuals, context, and site of the Tuam project. This research will be used to inform the site investigation, laboratory analysis, and identification functions of ODAIT. All data and research methods related initiatives should be coordinated with the ODAIT Forensic Data Manager.

4. Eligibility & selection criteria

• Turnover requirement — not specified for this tender
• Insurance — not specified for this tender
• 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

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:
• Each Tenderer is required to accept the provisions of this RFT. ALL TENDERERS MUST RETURN, with their Tender, a scanned signed copy of the Tenderer’s Statement, as set out in Appendix 3, printed on the Tenderer’s letterhead. The Contracting Authority must be able to read the scanned signature of the Tenderer. If possible, please sign documents using blue ink. If the Contracting Authority cannot read the scanned signature, Tenderers may be requested to re-submit. Tenderers may not amend the Tenderer’s Statement.
• Where a group of undertakings (in whatever form and regardless of the legal relationship between them) come together to submit a Tender in response to this RFT, the Contracting Authority will deal with all matters relating to this Competition through a single nominated entity authorised to represent all members of the group of undertakings. The Tenderer must provide details of all members of the group of undertakings and their role in the Tender and clearly set out the contact details including name, title, telephone number, postal address, facsimile number and e-mail address of the nominated entity authorised to represent the Tenderer and to whom all communications shall be directed and accepted until this Competition has been completed or terminated. Correspondence from any other person will NOT be accepted, acknowledged or responded to.
• Tenderers are required to notify the Contracting Authority immediately via the e-tenders website, if at any stage they decide to
• Tenderers are required to notify the Contracting Authority immediately via the e-tenders website, if at any stage they decide to withdraw from this Competition.
• Appendix 1: Requirements and Specifications
• Tenderers must address each of the issues and requirements in this part of the RFT and submit a detailed description in each case which demonstrates how these issues and requirements will be dealt with / met and their approach to the proposed delivery of the Services. A mere affirmative statement by the Tenderer that it can/will do so or a reiteration of the tender requirements is NOT sufficient in this regard.

7. Key dates & process

8. Contract terms that matter

Contract duration in the extract: 12 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)
• e right to extend the Term for a period or periods of up to 12 months with a maximum of two such extensions p
• ntinues for ten 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
• Where a group of undertakings (in whatever form and regardless of the legal relationship between them) come together to submit a Tender in response to this RFT, the Contracting Authority will deal with all matters relating to this Competition through a single nominated entity authorised to represent all members of the group of undertakings. The Tenderer must provide details of all members of the group of undertakings and their role in the Tender and clearly set out the contact details including name, title, telephone number, postal address, facsimile number and e-mail address of the nominated entity authorised to represent the Tenderer and to whom all communications shall be directed and accepted until this Competition has been completed or terminated. Correspondence from any other person will NOT be accepted, acknowledged or responded to.
• The terms “Registrable Interest” and “Relative” shall be interpreted as per Section 2 of the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001, copies of which are available at www.irishstatutebook.ie. The Contracting Authority will, at its absolute discretion, decide on the appropriate course of action, which may in appropriate circumstances include eliminating a Tenderer from this Competition or terminating any Services Contract entered into by a Tenderer.
• [20250414_ Researcher CFT Document.docx] the appropriate course of action, which may in appropriate circumstances include eliminating a Tenderer from this Competition or terminating any Services Contract entered into by a Tenderer.

9. Risks, red flags & unusuals

• Numeric qualification gates were only partially visible, so eligibility certainty required full pack review.
• 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 — specialist operator with compliant procurement governance and evidencable experience.
• 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: 20250414_ Researcher CFT Document.docx,

[20250414_ Researcher CFT Document.docx,

AGREEMENT

Relating to the provision of Services pursuant to

Request for Tenders for the provision of

THIS AGREEMENT is made on the day of 20 BETWEEN:

, of (“the Client”);

and

, of (“the Contractor”)

(each a “Party” and together “the Parties”).

WHEREAS:

IT IS HEREBY AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Schedule A: Terms and Conditions

1. Contractor’s Obligations

2. Key Personnel

The Contractor undertakes and acknowledges that it is responsible for ensuring that all key personnel as specified in the Submission (“Key Personnel”), assigned by it to provide the Services shall be available for the Term of this Agreement. The Contractor acknowledges that the Key Personnel are essential to the proper provision of the Services to the Client. In the event that any of the Key Personnel assigned by the Contractor to provide the Services under this Agreement becomes unable to provide the Services for whatever reason then, the Contractor acknowledges and undertakes that it shall immediately notify the Client in writing of the inability of any Key Personnel and replace that person with a person of equivalent experience and expertise (“Replacement Personnel”). The Contractor shall provide to the Client such details as the Client may reasonably require in writing regarding any Replacement Personnel. The Client shall have absolute discretion as to the suitability of any proposed Replacement Personnel.

3. Payment

4. Warranties, Representations and Undertakings

5. Remedies

6. Intellectual Property

7. Confidentiality

8. Force Majeure

9. Termination

[20250414_ Researcher CFT Document.docx.

• eTenders CFT / notice reference: Contract Notice..
• Clarification contact / portal: eTenders message portal (email not surfaced in extract).
• Key attachments to prioritise: RFT Requirements, RFT. ALL TENDERERS MUST RETURN, with their Tender, a scanned signed copy of the Ten, Appendix 3, printed on the Tenderer’s letterhead. The Contracting Authority must be able.