(Call for expression of interest)

by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on behalf of the Republic of Bulgaria under the framework of the SAPARD Programme

1. Contract description: Conducting a mid-term evaluation of SAPARD implementation in Bulgaria including analysis of the basic elements of SAPARD programming, evaluation of mid-term implementation results and possible impacts, review of the quality of implementation and monitoring procedures, institutional impact due to SAPARD implementation.

2. Tender procedure: Restricted

3. Financing: Technical assistance measure of the Bulgarian National Agriculture and Rural Development Program (2000 – 2006) under SAPARD

4. Maximum budget: 500 000 Euro

5. Conditions of participation: Participation is open on equal terms to all natural and legal persons or groupings of such persons (consortia) of the Member States and the countries covered by Regulation (EC) 1268/1999 (as amended by Regulation 2251/2001).

A consortium may be a permanent, legally established grouping or a grouping which has been constituted informally for a specific tender procedure.  All members of a consortium (i.e., the leader and all other partners) are jointly and severally liable to the Contracting Authority.

The participation of an ineligible natural or legal person will result in the automatic exclusion of that person.  In particular, if that ineligible person belongs to a consortium, the whole consortium will be excluded.

Sub-contracting under the contract is possible to the maximum extent of 30% of the total contract value.

Candidates (including firms within the same legal group, other members of the same consortium, and sub-contractors) should submit only one application for the current contract whatever the form of participation (as an individual candidate, or as leader or partner of a consortium candidate).  In the event that a natural and legal person submits more than one application, all applications in which that person has participated will be excluded.

Any tenders received from tenderers comprising firms other than those mentioned in the short-listed application forms will be excluded from this restricted tender procedure.  Short-listed candidates may not form alliances or subcontract to each other for the contract in question.

As part of the application form, candidates must declare that they do not fall into any of the categories listed in Section 2.3 of the Manual of Instructions for External relations contracts (available from following Internet address: http://europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/index_en.htm.

6. Criteria for selection of short-list candidates

• Total annual turnover of candidate/leader organization must have exceeded Euro 500 000 in each of the last three years of operation;
• At least ten permanent employees working for the candidates currently work in fields related to this contract;
• The candidate(s) have participated in the implementation of at least two projects involving evaluation of rural development programs under the EU Structural Funds and/or Pre-accession instruments during the last 5 years.

The contract award criteria shall be specified in the tender dossier annexed to the letter of invitation to tender, which will be sent to short-listed candidates.

7. Timetable

• Provisional date of invitation to tender - November 2002
• Provisional start date of the contract - March 2003
• Initial contract duration and possible extension - Indicative contract duration of six months: March – September 2003; possible extension till December 31^st 2003 for further elaboration of the evaluation report.

8. Application format and details to be provided

Applications must be submitted using the standard application form (available from the following Internet address: http://europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/index_en.htm), whose format and instructions must be strictly observed.

Any application, which does not observe these provisions will be automatically eliminated. Any additional documentation (brochure, letter, etc) sent with an application will not be taken into consideration.

9. Address and deadlines for application submission

 Applications must be submitted by recorded delivery (official postal service or courier services in return for a signed and dated receipt) exclusively to the Contracting Authority at the following address:

To the Attn of: Deputy Minister Mrs. Andriana Sukova – Tosheva,
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
55 Hristo Botev blvd., Sofia 1040, Bulgaria
Tel: (+359 2) 985 11 201; Fax: (+359 2) 981 71 67.

The Contract title and the Publication reference of the Service Procurement Notice in the Official Journal of the European Communities must be clearly marked on the envelope containing the application and must always be mentioned in all subsequent correspondence with the Contracting Authority.

Applications submitted by any other means will not be considered.

Applications must be received no later than 17:00 Local Time on October 18^th 2002.

Any application received after this deadline will not be considered.

10. Legal basis: Multi-Annual Financing Agreement between the European Commission and the Republic of Bulgaria; Regulation (EC) 1268 / 1999 (as amended by Regulation 2251/2001).

* The Contract Forecast has been published in the Official Journal of the European Communities under reference EUROPEAID/114283/D/SV/BG. The Service Procurement Notice has also been published in the Official Journal of the European Communities.