Compliance requirements
The bidder must confirm that neither it nor its management, administrative or supervisory body members, procurators or other persons authorised to represent it have been finally convicted within the last five years for participation in a criminal organisation, corruption, fraud or any other exclusion ground listed in the ESPD. If an exclusion ground applies, the bidder may submit evidence of self-cleaning measures where permitted. The bidder must be able to provide proof of payment of taxes and social security contributions, or allow the contracting authority to verify this information from a free database. The exact exclusion grounds and all confirmations must be checked in the ESPD and the tender documents.
Qualification criteria and exclusion grounds
The bidder must submit a free-form service description. The description must cover at least the evaluation context, purpose and scope, evaluation tasks and expected results, the approach to carrying out the evaluation, data collection and analysis methods, possible limitations and risks, the process for reaching conclusions and recommendations and quality control, reporting to the contracting authority, the schedule and work plan, work organisation, team division of tasks and project management, possible added-value proposals, and the use of artificial intelligence or other text-generating tools if planned. The bidder must assemble at least a four-member expert team consisting of the team leader and at least 3 evaluation experts. A list of team members and their responsibilities must be provided, and the CVs must include a written confirmation that they are not involved in implementing EU structural funds for the 2021–2027 programming period or in planning for the 2028+ period. The team leader must have managed at least 2 similar assignments within the last 72 months; similar work means an evaluation, analysis or study of the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact or sustainability of measures, operational programmes, development plans, programmes, policy areas, or the implementation of different funding sources and funds. Project selection evaluations and project audits are not considered equivalent experience. The projects must be completed. In the case of a joint tender, a power of attorney from the joint bidders must be included. The tender must comply with all tender document requirements, and conditional tenders are not allowed.