Frequently Asked Questions
NOTE: The FAQ is subject to change including corrections. The final and binding documentation will be released as the Request for Tender.
Is there an overview of the documentation regarding the Request for Tenders?
Information is continuously being developed and will be made available in the sections Call for Tender on this website.
What is procuRE aiming at?
The goal is to jointly tackle the common challenge of achieving 100% Renewable Energy Supply in existing non-residential buildings. The procuRE solutions, developed in competition under the PCP instrument, will fully meet the need for decarbonisation of building stock. The procuRE approach centres on a systemic renovation package comprising advanced components, configurations and services from design to implementation and day-to-day operation. For further detail see section Call for Tender.
What is PCP (Pre-commercial Procurement)?
Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) is an approach to public procurement of research and development (R&D) services. PCP challenges industry from the demand side to develop innovative solutions for public sector needs and provides a first customer reference that enables companies to create a competitive advantage on the market. PCP enables public procurers to compare alternative potential solution approaches and filter out the best possible solutions that the market can deliver to address the public need.
Who is exactly procuRE?
procuRE is a consortium built by a Buyers Group and expert partners. The Buyers Group are organisations bringing together experienced public procurers and relevant other partners from 5 EU Member States (Slovenia, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Italy), Israel and Turkey. All procuring partners are fully committed to large-scale procurement of technologies to achieve a 100% share of renewable energy generated and consumed in existing public buildings, based on the outcomes of procuRE.
Is there a rule for how much of R&D Services must be performed within EU or Associated Countries?
The Contractor, including its subcontractors, shall perform at least 50% of the R&D Services in each Phase within the EU Member States or H2020 Associated Countries, and the principal R&D staff employed by the Contractor and working on each Phase must be located within the EU Member States or the H2020 Associated Countries. The percentage shall be measured in terms of the total price of each Specific Contract allocated to the R&D Services that are performed in the EU Member States or H2020 Associated Countries. The total amount of activities shall include all activities covered by each Specific Contract, including those performed by subcontractors.
Who is responsible for operations in procuRE?
KSSENA is the lead procurer and responsible for facilitating the challenge.
How can I get updates on the project, OMC (Open Market Consultation) events, tender?
Keep an eye on our website and subscribe to our NEWSLETTER, and follow us on TWITTER and LINKEDIN.
We are looking for partners to join a consortium for the procuRE tender.
Check matchmaking form and enter your data, or check the matchmaking table where you can look for interested parties who are searching for the products and services you provide and you can team up with them for the tender.
What are your expectations from Preferred Partners?
To find more about what does it mean to be a Preferred partner, visit Preferred Partners.
Is it preferable that the consortium be from local companies or can we form an international consortium?
There are no rules for the selection of the consortium, as long as a minimum of 50% of the project activities/budget takes place in the EU or Associated countries.
Is there any limitation on adding partners that might be introduced to a joint tender?
In case of joint tenders, the participants must be identified clearly in the tender. There may be no change in the composition of a group that tendered at the beginning of the PCP procedure. Addition of subcontractors may be possible in some circumstances, which will be detailed in the Request for Tenders.
Can the consortium be made of an SME and a Research Institute? Or does it need to be composed of only for-profit companies?
There are no rules for the selection of the consortium.
Can a company or other kind of entity submit a tender alone or are you looking for consortia?
Tenders may be submitted by a single entity or in consortium with others.
Can you preview our company and advise us if we should participate in your tender?
Unfortunately, we cannot advise you if you should participate or not in our Request for Tenders. We suggest you participate in Open Market Consultations and review the documentation.
Is the challenge only open to Europe-based companies or also to companies outside Europe?
The call will be open to all participants, as long as a minimum of 50% of the project activities/budget takes place in the EU or Associated countries.
Is there a platform for the interested suppliers to find and meet other interested suppliers from other countries? How can we communicate with other suppliers?
This matchmaking form serves the same purpose. The profiles of suppliers seeking partnerships are posted on the matchmaking platform. You can also contact them using the contact information they have provided. Some OMC events include opportunities to network.
Will suppliers be able to choose the location of prototype studies?
No. The procurers will decide how regions are allocated to successful suppliers.
Are prototype studies going to be conducted in all procurer regions?
All phases of prototypes, demos, and trials will be conducted in all procurer regions. These are Slovenia regions (Velenje city), wider Barcelona, Nuremberg, Vila Nova de Gaia, Istanbul and Eilat.
In an offer, do suppliers need to describe all the phases or only the first phase?
The exact requirements will be detailed in the Request for Tender and in the accommodating “Challenge Brief”. Offers will have to describe the approach to all three phases. To learn more about the phases go HERE.
How many languages / countries should the prototypes be able to address?
The proposal and project deliverables are to be delivered in English. ICT solutions facing users in buildings (e.g. operators and occupants) and training materials etc. have to be delivered in the procurers’ languages (Slovenian, Turkish, Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, German) and English. In addition to the required languages, the suppliers could also deliver the solutions in additional languages for dissemination or marketing purposes, but this may not necessarily be considered as a superior work if accomplished. Please also check Request for Tender documents for more information.
What bids does procuRE expect?
The procuRE consortium expects bids from traditional suppliers (e.g., construction, planners, developers), ESCOs, disruptive SMEs as well as utilities active in the service domain.
When will you launch the request for tenders?
The project calendar sets the launch of request for tenders as October 2021. It remains to be seen whether this date will be achieved or will have to be postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Please check project website regularly, subscribe to the newsletters, and follow us on social media (TWITTER, LINKEDIN).
Do you prefer to have all the information inserted in the designated forms in Word and Excel or can we enter in the Form for instance “see appendix XX” which refers to another document that we can style as we please and insert, for example, images?
All the information has to be inserted into the designated forms, but images can be used in the forms. Suppliers are not allowed to send unrequired appendices.
Is it possible for suppliers to suggest amendments and/or modifications to the Framework Agreement?
No, this is not possible.
How are suppliers selected from one phase to the next?
Towards the end of Phase I and II suppliers hand in an updated offer which will be largely based on the initial offer and work conducted during the phase and to which further detail might be requested. The evaluation procedure described above is repeated.
Is there any additional material currently available related to the project?
All material is available on the website.
If we have an existing solution, is it possible to participate in the tender or are you looking for new solutions which are not yet existing?
You can participate only with a solution that is not yet on the market. If there is a similar solution already in the market, there must be something discernibly new in your solution compared to existing ones. This does not preclude utilising already existing components or technologies. In the case of procuRE, one of the core challenges is to integrate a wide range of technologies, components and services.
What are the selection and award criteria for each phase? How does the EC participate in the evaluations? What is the evaluation board’s structure like?
For the exclusion, selection, compliance, and award criteria, please refer to the request for tender documents when they are published. The EC does not participate in the evaluations. The evaluations will be conducted by each procurer. The evaluations of all procurers will then be consolidated. The scorecard which will be used in the evaluation of the technical sections of the offers, as well as more information about the evaluation of the offers, will be available in the request for tender documents.
Is it allowed to try out new business models and investigate this during the piloting phase?
Yes, this is allowed.
Can the tenderer get funding from other public sources?
Tenders that receive public funding from other sources will be excluded if this leads to double public financing or an accumulation of different types of public financing that is not permitted by EU legislation, including EU state aid rules. An on/off award criterion related to this point will be part of the Request for Tenders.
Max. budget per phase is defined with a max. budget per supplier. With the term “supplier”, do you mean per consortium member or can subcontractors also be named as suppliers?
The term “supplier” refers to the entire consortium. You are able to divide the budget between your consortium members as you wish.
In case of a consortium: is funding available per ‘project’ or per partner per project?
The funding is for the consortium and the members of the consortium will share the budget.
In case the payment schedule is delayed by the Lead Procurer whereas the supplier has completed his mission, are there any financial interests?
No.
Is the approval of the European Commission needed for the payments for the selected suppliers?
No. As the Leading Procurer KSSENA manages the budget.
If the tender is accepted, when the funding is provided: before or after the phases of the Pre-Commercial Procurement?
Payments corresponding to each Pre-Commercial Procurement phase will be subject to the satisfactory completion of the deliverables and milestones for that phase. Payment schedule can be found in the tender document.
Will there be exchange between suppliers and procurers during the project?
Yes, in multiple form. Information will always be made available to all suppliers. It is likely a forum is going to be developed. Additional, suppliers will have regular exchange with procurers to discuss progress, design etc. Wherever possible, the co-design procedure to be suggested by suppliers can be exercised and tested.
