Frequently Asked Questions
This document contains Frequently Asked Questions collected during the iProcure Security PCP Open Market Consultation (OMC), online webinar events, as well as all the questions submitted to office@iprocuresecurity.eu or the contact form on the website (https://pcp.iprocuresecurity.eu/contact/). The answers provided represent the joint position of the iProcureSecurity PCP procurers to their best knowledge at this point in time. In some cases, questions may have been merged and generalised to avoid duplications.
In order to ask a question, please contact:
office@iprocuresecurity.eu for technical problems with the tender submission or general inquiries
ipspcp-procurement@kemea-research.gr for tender documents and tender procedures.
Your question will be collected, answered and published by the consortium in short.
Q&A Deadline!
Questions on the tender documents or the tender procedure are now closed.
Questions received after the 30th of July 2022 24:00 will not be answered.
1. iProcureSecurity PCP Solution - Questions
Drones are not a specific requirement in the PCP, but tenderers are free to suggest such elements as part of an innovative solution. It is the tenderer’s obligation to discuss the feasibility of the proposed approach and propose a solution that can be implemented (tested in phase III of the PCP) and complies with requirements imposed by national/regional laws and regulations. Please note that the feasibility of the proposed approach is expected to be one of the award criteria for the tender.
The Call for Tenders (TD1) provides all the necessary information about the existing systems and standards used by the procurers in the project. Tenderers will have to make proposals in their offers as to how to ensure interoperability of their proposed solutions with those systems. Specifically for Health Information Systems of the procurers, during the PCP process (especially in Phase II), such opportunities will be explored, so that the systems are aligned. However, full HIS integration is not a primary requirement in Phase I of the project.
The Tender Documents are available here https://innovationprocurement.com/tenders/7/show/pre-commercial-procurement-of-innovative-triage-management-systems-strengthening-resilience-and-interoperability-of-emergency-medical-services
A system that truly has an impact on the work of the emergency teams should connect the EMS practitioners with the other stakeholders in the EMS ecosystem enabling continuous and reliable communication with the EMCC and the hospital where the casualty is going to be transferred to, as well as a quick access to the casualty’s medical history. The aforementioned necessity implies that the triage system must exchange data directly with the other information systems of the EMS organisations involved. The Call for Tender provides further details about the existing systems and standards used by the procurers in the project. Tenderers will have to make proposals in their offers as to how to ensure interoperability of their proposed solutions with those systems.
The Tender Documents are available here https://innovationprocurement.com/tenders/7/show/pre-commercial-procurement-of-innovative-triage-management-systems-strengthening-resilience-and-interoperability-of-emergency-medical-services
During the preparation phase of the PCP, potential tenderers who have existing solutions at different stages technology readiness, which could be integrated as part of the envisaged iProcureSecurity PCP solutions, and who are looking for partnering with other organisations, are encouraged to share their solutions via the Innovation Procurement Platform: https://pcp.iprocuresecurity.eu/procurementplatform/
We would like to have a sensor located on the casualty, which, for example, will record her/his posture and, thus, categorize the casualty and his/her injuries. This would allow the rescuer to decide on the casualty status and how to proceed.
The technical requirements explicitly request that a hardware device (triage tag) is provided as part of the solution (either own development or use of existing devices adapted for the purpose of the project) in order to enable the monitoring of key vital parameters. The specific requirements relating to the tag are provided in the Tender Documents (TD1), e.g., requiring the tag to be of small size and be cost-effective.
The Tender Documents are available here https://innovationprocurement.com/tenders/7/show/pre-commercial-procurement-of-innovative-triage-management-systems-strengthening-resilience-and-interoperability-of-emergency-medical-services
The minimum requirement is that a standalone solution shall be developed in each country in their official language. The envisaged solution can include a common backend infrastructure but should in this case allow countries which do not wish to participate to opt-out from this common backend.
During the PCP process (especially in Phase II), such opportunities will be explored, so that the systems are aligned with, for example, Hospital Information Systems. However, full integration is not a primary requirement in Phase I of the project.
The requirements specify that the iProcureSecurity PCP solution shall operate on mobile network technology. It shall, however, be designed in a way that it can operate independently from public mobile networks which are prone to failure in case of large-scale disasters. For example, in Germany and Austria state-owned mobile networks are in place or planned (so called “Behördenfunk”). The project will investigate how far the solution can couple with these networks and what certification requirements need to be addressed.
Yes, the requirements ask for appropriate training material for EMS staff and implementation guidelines for the procuring organisations. The solution shall enable regular staff training and support the use of the solution in exercises in a dedicated “training environment” within it.
The iProcureSecurity PCP project is looking for suppliers to develop a solution that meets the broader range of requirements as possible. The proposed solution shall encompass both hardware and software components. The evaluation will take into consideration that some requirements may not be fully covered. Thus, the consortium has prioritised the specifications which the proposed solution must cover.
As Phase III is called original development of limited volume of first test products, this corresponds to TRL levels around 7-9. Most PCP projects end with solutions that are tested extensively (in the case of our project due to the nature of the topics this can only be done through exercises) and are close to the market or even already available on the market at the end of the project.
See also questions ID 1.6 and ID 1.11. The final requirements, which include criteria for hardware and software, are available on the Tender Document 1 (TD1).
Phase III will involve pilot testing in each procurer’s country. The solutions shall be tested in concert with the procurer’s existing systems as well as additional organisation’s systems (e.g., EMCC) in a simulated emergency exercise.
The training module is one of the key components of the iProcureSecurity PCP solution(s). Suppliers should propose a solution which includes – among others – an evaluation and training component.
More information on the structure and functionalities of the evaluation and training component, are described in the Call for Tenders.
Following the overall scopes of the Pre-Commercial Procurements, the iProcureSecurity PCP keeps the description of the requirements open, so that innovation and creativity from the suppliers’ side can be promoted. It is therefore up to the supplier(s) to decide how this specific requirement should fit the proposed solution, taking into account the prioritization level of each requirement.
The Call for Tenders includes an overview of the project’s scope and defines which scenarios the solution shall support.The treatment phase begins as soon as the casualty is brought to the Advanced Medical Site (after being triaged) and it applies only in case a treatment is needed. The treatment phase may continue – if needed – in the ambulance, while the casualty is being transported to the hospital. The treatment phase ends as soon as the casualty is handed over to the hospital.
Scope Document Link https://pcp.iprocuresecurity.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/iProcureSecurity-PCP-Scope-Document-1.0.pdf
See Question Nr. 1.16. It is desirable to have a solution which covers all the languages, however, it is up to the supplier(s) to decide the level of the specifications of the requirements, depending on their prioritization.
2. Call for Tender-related questions
The Call for Tenders has been officially launched on the 15th of June 2022 and will run until the 31st of August 2022. The Contract Notice can be found here: https://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:321835-2022:TEXT:EN:HTML.
The submission procedure runs through the Innovation Procurement Platform only: https://innovationprocurement.com/
No, pre-financing is envisaged in the PCP mechanism, but more milestones could be defined on order to couple financing to specific outputs.
Generally in pre-commercial procurements, participation in the tendering procedure is open on equal terms to all types of operators from any country, regardless of their geographic location, size or governance structure. The iProcureSecurity PCP will adhere to these principles.
In general, in case of joint tenders there can be no change in the composition of a group that tendered at the beginning of the PCP procedure in the later PCP phases. Exceptions may be applied, in which case they are clearly detailed in the iProcureSecurity PCP Call for Tender.
The Tender Documents are available here https://innovationprocurement.com/tenders/7/show/pre-commercial-procurement-of-innovative-triage-management-systems-strengthening-resilience-and-interoperability-of-emergency-medical-services
See also Q 2.4. In addition to that, there are some requirements for PCPs related to the place of performance of the R&D services. At least 50% of the total value of activities covered by the framework agreement must be performed in the EU Member States or H2020 associated countries. The principal R&D staff working on the PCP must be located in the EU Member States or H2020 associated countries.
Suppliers from EU: Invoicing without VAT using the reverse charge procedure.
Suppliers from third countries: VAT is calculated and reported by KEMEA (Lead Procurer, based in Greece).
If the supplier upon import is obliged to report VAT according to the rules of the home country and the invoice contains VAT, that VAT is non-deductible in Greece. Instead, VAT amount is to be considered as a cost of the service. Tenderers to calculate if their net amount + VAT is still under or equal to the ceiling amount, and not higher.
More details on the VAT is included in the tender documents.
The Tender Documents are available here https://innovationprocurement.com/tenders/7/show/pre-commercial-procurement-of-innovative-triage-management-systems-strengthening-resilience-and-interoperability-of-emergency-medical-services
The deadline for receiving the evaluation result is specified in the Tender Document 1 (TD1). It is foreseen by the 23rd of September 2022. The Tender Documents are available here https://innovationprocurement.com/tenders/7/show/pre-commercial-procurement-of-innovative-triage-management-systems-strengthening-resilience-and-interoperability-of-emergency-medical-services
Since phase 0 a set of Use Cases and Process Models, and a document of Requirements will be available and published in the tender call.
See question ID 2.5. Participation in the tendering procedure will be open on equal terms to all types of operators from any country, regardless of their geographic location, size or governance structure.
Participation in the tendering procedure will be open on equal terms to all types of operators from any country, regardless of their geographic location, size or governance structure.
We hope to attract the organisations active in the area and working on solutions and give them the opportunity and funding to help us. Besides, even if a company comes up with the ideal solution in parallel, work will still be needed to integrate it into the systems and environment of all procurers. The project will be carried out until its end with the best offers selected.
The consortium is currently developing the evaluation criteria for Tenders. Information on the type and weighting of criteria are available on the Tender Document 1 (TD1) sections 3.2-3.4. Note that the evaluation will favour quality and is most likely to be a ratio of quality (80%) over price (20%).
It is up to the tenderers to decide on the approach that they believe will be successful in the tender procedure. The Buyers Group has defined requirements they believe are necessary for a comprehensive solution. The weighted award criteria, which will be used in the tender documents, will reflect that through a points system, with minimum thresholds for different award criteria. Only the most economically advantageous tenders will be selected based on the available budget, i.e. those that score the highest points based on quality and price offers following the quality-price formula provided in the OMC consultations.
All the specifics in regard to the selection and award criteria are specifically outlined in the Call for Tenders.
3.General Questions
The Innovation Procurement Platform https://innovationprocurement.com/ allows the submitting of offers and the matchmaking with other suppliers.
Offers can be submitted ONLY through the Innovation Procurement Platform.
To have more information on how to register and on the platform, visit the following link: https://innovationprocurement.com/manual
Databases with patient information exist in the city of Thessaloniki for 14 years and in Athens for 9 years, without including photos of the victims though. GDPR issues need to be discussed in order to explore a legal basis for adding photos of the victims – not for identifying them, but for recording their injuries.
The project consortium highly appreciates swift responses to the OMC questionnaire until mid of April. All inputs have to be internally evaluated in order to be translated into insights for the Call for Tenders.
A matchmaking process is facilitated via the Innovation Procurement Platform (https://innovationprocurement.com/). Suppliers can register on the platform and offer their solution(s) and expertise or request specific areas of expertise to be covered by a potential partner organisation. This way, suppliers are enabled to build strong consortia covering the wide range of topics necessary to submit a competitive Tender. The Innovation Procurement Platform will also serve as tool for submitting the proposals.
After the registration to the Innovation Procurement Platform, suppliers should monitor the status of the Call for Tender. Available here.
In the time period which runs from the end of the OMC and the launch of the Call for Tender, suppliers are encouraged to look for partners (if desirable), using the Innovation Procurement Platform to contact other suppliers, and to offer your solutions and/or request cooperation.
As soon as the Call for Tender is published, suppliers will have at least 60 days to write a proposal (comprehensive of technical, financial and administrative documentations) as single organisation or as consortium.