The provision of qualitative research services

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

Department of Further and Higher Education Research Innovation and Science ran this procurement for “The provision of qualitative research services” 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:

• Title: The provision of qualitative research services
• the Services to be covered by the proposed Services Contract for qualitative research services may amount to some €400,000 (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.
• [RfT Qual Research - Feb 2025 - Final.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.
• [RfT Qual Research - Feb 2025 - Final.docx] from this Competition or any Mini-Competition or terminating any Framework Agreement or Services Contract entered into by a Tenderer.
• Contract description including overview of services
• 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. 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.

• Details of two relevant projects conducted over the last 3 years for that uncovered strategic insights which had a significant impact on your client’s policy/strategy. The project details should include at a minimum the following information:
• 5.1 If applicable, notifying parties should list and substantiate any possible positive effects on the development of the relevant subsidised economic activity on the internal market. Notifying parties should also list and substantiate any other positive effects of the foreign subsidies, such as broader positive effects in relation to the relevant policy objectives, in particular those of the Union, and specify when and where those effects have or are expected to take place. Notifying parties should provide a description of each of those positive effects.

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) — not specified in extract.
• 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:
• Appendix 3A: Schedule C – Declaration of non-notifiable foreign financial contributions (valued between €200,000 and €999,000 in the last three years preceding the declaration)
• 2022/2560 and where the notifying party has been in receipt of foreign financial contributions which are valued between €200,000 and €999,000 in the last three (3) years preceding the declaration
• valued between €200,000 and €999,000 in the last three (3) years preceding the declaration
• For reporting of foreign financial contributions which are of a value between €200,000 and €999,000 in the last three (3) years preceding the declaration
• Appendix 3A: Schedule D – Declaration of non-notifiable foreign financial contributions (valued between €1,000,000 and €3,999,000 in the last three years preceding the declaration)
• 2022/2560 and where the notifying party has been in receipt of foreign financial contributions which are valued between €1,000,000 and €3,999,000 in the last three (3) years preceding the declaration

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)
• 2022/2560 and where the notifying party has been in receipt of foreign financial contributions which are valued between €200,000 and €999,000 in the last three (3) years preceding the declaration
• 2022/2560 and where the notifying party has been in receipt of foreign financial contributions which are valued between €1,000,000 and €3,999,000 in the last three (3) years preceding the declaration
• [insert number]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.

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: RfT Qual Research - Feb 2025 - Final.docx, Tenderers shall complete and return the following form of Tenderers’ Statement

[RfT Qual Research - Feb 2025 - Final.docx, To

[RfT Qual Research - Feb 2025 - Final.docx.

• eTenders CFT / notice reference: not specified in extract.
• Clarification contact / portal: eTenders message portal (email not surfaced in extract).
• Key attachments to prioritise: Appendix 3A: Schedule C – Declaration of non-notifiable foreign financial contributions, Appendix 3A: Schedule D – Declaration of non-notifiable foreign financial contributions, RfT Qual Research - Feb 2025 - Final.docx] Request for Tenders dated.