An Area Monitoring System Service

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1. At a glance

2. Scope of Work

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) seeks an Area Monitoring System (AMS) Service. The estimated contract value is €8,000,000 over an initial two-year term, with potential for two one-year extensions. The service involves the automated extraction, pre-processing, analysis, and manipulation of large volumes of Sentinel Data. This data will be used to generate and present required results for area monitoring purposes.

Key activities and requirements include:

• Data Extraction and Pre-processing: Automated extraction and pre-processing of large volumes of Sentinel Data.
• Data Analysis and Manipulation: Analysing and manipulating large datasets derived from Sentinel Data.
• Results Generation and Presentation: Generating and presenting required results based on the analysed data.
• Service Delivery: Providing a similar service to that described in Appendix 1 of the RFT, within the private and/or public sector.
• Compliance: Adherence to DAFM's security requirements, including information security and cyber security policies. Tenderers must complete DAFM’s Information Security and Cyber Security training, achieving a minimum of 85% in on-line ISO 27001 familiarisation training.
• Contractual Framework: The service will operate under a Services Contract, with specific terms and conditions outlined in Appendix 5.
• Data Management: Compliance with all applicable EU and domestic tax laws. Tenderers must provide Tax Clearance Access Number and Tax Reference Number for online verification.
• Reporting: The AMS must be operational by 15 May 2027, with preparatory 2028 monitoring work to commence by 01 September 2027.
• Data Protection: Compliance with all applicable national and EU data protection laws, including GDPR.

The service is part of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) programme, with the current CAP programme ending on 31 December 2027 and the next CAP programme scheduled to commence on 1 January 2028. The contract is expected to be in place during this transitional period.

3. Background & buyer context

This procurement is for an Area Monitoring System (AMS) Service, procured by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM). The service is integral to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) programme. The current CAP programme (2023-2027) concludes on 31 December 2027, with the subsequent programme (2028-2034) scheduled to begin on 1 January 2028. This contract is anticipated to span this transition. The requirement for an AMS was established by EU Member States by 1 January 2023. The strategic driver is to ensure compliance and effective monitoring within the agricultural sector under the CAP framework. No incumbent provider is explicitly named, but the context suggests a need for a system to manage data for current and future CAP cycles.

4. Eligibility & selection criteria

Tenderers must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered:

• Turnover requirement:
• Minimum average annual turnover of €3,000,000 (excluding VAT).
• This turnover must have been achieved in a minimum of two out of the three most recent years of audited accounts, or for each year the entity has been established if more recent.
• Insurance:
• Employer’s Liability: €12,700,000
• Public Liability: €6,500,000
• Professional Indemnity: €3,000,000
• Cyber Indemnity: €1,000,000
• Product Liability: Not specified
• Certifications:
• DAFM's ISO 27001 information security standard accreditation is mentioned in relation to security obligations. Tenderers' resources must undertake ISO27001 familiarisation training and achieve an acceptable level of 85%.
• Past experience:
• Minimum of two examples of contracts undertaken in the last three years, providing similar services to those described in Appendix 1.
• Services must involve automated extraction and pre-processing of large volumes of Sentinel Data, analysing and manipulating large datasets, and generating/presenting required results.
• Experience must be within the Earth Observation environment, with a minimum of 2 years' experience required for key resources.
• Personnel:
• Key resources must have a minimum of 24 months' experience working within the Earth Observation environment.
• Project management roles require a minimum of 5 years' experience or a Level 6 QQI framework qualification in project management.
• Geographic / facility constraints:
• Insurance policies must include Ireland within their territorial limits and jurisdiction.

5. Award criteria & scoring

The award of the contract will be based on the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT), determined by a combination of price and quality. The specific weighting between price and quality is not detailed in the provided text, but the evaluation process involves two stages: qualification and award.

Criterion Weight (%) Sub-criteria