Frequently asked questions
Q: Could you please signpost me to the link by which I can let potential Lead Bidders know of the contribution I can offer.
A: The Collaborator Search facility can be accessed via the dropdown menu on the ESF webpage, or at the link here.
Q: Is is possible to make a direct tendering request to SEEDA?
A: No. SEEDA is set up as a Co-financing organisation and all its tendering rounds follow the Open and Competitive Tendering (OCT) requirements.
Q: Participants have to be in work 6 months after leaving the project. Does this 6-month period end whent the project ends or up to 6 months after the end of the project?
A: Yes to both questions. Participants will need to be monitored and reported in work 6 months after the end of their involvement with the project. This can be within the proejct life or 6 months after the project has ended.
Q: Priority 1 states that 492 economically inactive will be engaged with the project, but only 99 are listed in the Target section.
A: 492 economically inactive participants will have to be engaged with the project. 99 is a mistake.
Q: The Priority 2 specifications state that 'activity at Level 4 will be targeted at small enterprises with fewer than 50 employees'. Would an organisation with several care homes across the South East, each of which would individually employ less than 50 employees but collectively would employ more, would not be eligible for support?
A: Organisations with more than 50 employees would not be eligible for support under this specification.
Q: Would a Korean Company be able to tender and take part in the ESF?
A: The prospectus (s4.3) states "All legally constituted organisations, partnerships or collaborations that are actively working in areas covered by the specification are eligible unless stated otherwise in the specification. However, ESF Regulations prevent sole traders and individuals from delivering ESF co-financed activity."
Q: As we are not deliverers of training, we will be identifying training provider partners. With this in mind, can I assume that Annex 2 or 3 must be completed by the provider partner? If we envisage working with more than 1 training provider, we will need to have each provider completing Annex 2 or 3. Is that correct?
A: As a lead partner you will be asked to provide details of your organisation's quality assurance system and that of your partners. Lead partners are responsible for the quality assurance of the provision which they have contracted. Please note that we only require a single copy of the annexes for each tender proposal, rather than one copy for each organisation.
Q: Whilst we will be the accountable body and project manager, we will not deliver, therefore do not have quality assurance processes mapped against the Common Inspection Framework. We will be asking all our delivery partners to complete Annex 2 or 3 as appropriate to be submitted with the tender, but will not be completing said annexes ourselves - will this either invalidate our tender or cause it to be looked on less favourably during assessment?
A: As you know, all ESF funded training provision is now in scope for inspection. SEEDA is committed, in line with the regional ESF Framework requirements, to guarantee consistent quality standards for provision procured. To this end lead providers must demonstrate their commitment to ensuring quality of provision, which is either delivered by themselves or by collaborating organisations. We therefore require, as a minimum, information of the quality assurance processes in place with the lead provider and will seek information on those of delivery collaborators as part of the PTN process. Annexes 2 and 3 differ in order to take account of the potential to engage with a lead partner or a collaborator which has not undergone an inspection or which has currently delivered non-inspected activity.
Q: Annex 2 of the Guidance Notes refers to a State Aid calculation but this is not included. Where can I find this?
A: This is an error. Projects in this tendering round will be delivered under the de minimis State Aid regulation, not the Training Block Exemption regulation. The contributions relating to NVQ's are separate from State Aid issues.
Q: Would ESF pay for an output which included a grant as part of the support?
Our Scotland branch actually received ESF monies for grants that we had given business start-ups, is there a way to confirm that EU does allow for this so that Social Enterprise supporters would also be able to tender under Priority 1?
A: ESF rules do not prohibit this, but there are certain restrictions in both ESF and de minimis regulations regarding the use of this form of support. The usual ESF eligible expenditure rules also apply e.g. no capital expenditure in excess of £1000, and the rules governing De Minimis State Aid in general are also followed. Please use the Guidance provided when completing the tendering documentation and ensure that all the activities you are funding at a minimum meet the specification.
Q: We are interested in putting in a tender to deliver this training and have asked our partner (who we already work with very closely) to supply details (names, location etc) of companies in these priority sectors with under 50 employees.
If they do not have this information to hand, could you advise where we could access this list?
A: Unfortunately, we do not have this sort of information within SEEDA and are not sure where this could be found.
Please note from the specification that: The successful tender will not include direct marketing activity but will work in collaboration with the Business Link providers and Train to gain, in line with the Business Support Simplification model (BSSP) to ensure that businesses are not faced with multiple access channels, delivery arrangements and products/services. In order to preserve an Open and Competitive Tendering process for all organisations eligible to tender, it is not a requirement to have collaboration declarations from these organisations included in the tender proposal documentation submitted to SEEDA. Please note: working with these organisations will be a requirement for the successful tenderer.
Q: We are drawing up a tender under Priority 1 and would like to make grants available to clients to assist in the cost of business start up. Would this be eligible as a beneficiary cost?
A: The answer is yes, but has the same rules governing eligbility of expenditure, i.e. the costs have to be eligible, no item above £1,000 will be allowed. Please check the rules governing eligible costs and the De Minimis state aid rules for more clarity and ensure that all activities that you are funding match the specification
Q: We are interested in seeking funding for our work from ESF. We work two days a week providing training in performing arts and life skills, and performance opportunities.
Please point me in the right direction. Having looked at your website but I could not find a funding stream for us that is currently open.
A: We are currently out to tender and I am including the link to our website for you to access the specification which will give you all the information you need.
Q: We have completed PQQ for both London and South East and successfully received PQQ status for London. However in checking your website we have not been identified in achieving PQQ status for SE.
Please clarify this since we have been advised that on the basis of successful PQQ for London as long as we have identified South East in our completed PQQ, we should automatically qualify for PQQ in SE too. The website needs to be amended since partnership search takes place through website and we are currently being disadvantaged.
A: Your PQQ status only relates to Learning & Skills Council (LSC) - SEEDA does not operate a PQQ.
Q:
1. Under Track Record on the form do you require just the track record for the lead partner if it is a consortia bid?
2. Do we need to provide any supporting documentation when we submit the bid (ie Policies, financial accounts etc) or do you want it supplying only if we are successful?
A: 1. Yes, the tender document requires the information of the lead partners’ track record; please check the guidance notes for better clarification.
2. No, supporting documentation will be requested at Post Tender Negotiation (PTN) stage.
Q:
The tender proposal form financial calculation table includes a box for State Aid contribution and directs the reader to the Guidance which sets out the De Minimis approach. Are there State Aid contributions to be entered into this box?
A: SEEDA's specifications are governed by De Minimis and therefore there are no State Aid contributions sought from companies. Company contributions should be treated separately.
Q: Do I need to complete a PQQ in order to submit a tender for SEEDA ESF Co-financing?
A: No. SEEDA does not require a PQQ for ESF Co-financing.
Q: Can I request hard copies of the documentation?
A: Yes, although please note that hard copies can only be supplied in exceptional cases e.g. if the tenderer is unable to access them online. Tenderers should note that, if successful, access to a computer and the internet will be necessary for delivery of the project
Q: Why do we have to use the tender label supplied?
A: The tender label supplied ensures that the tender is identified as a tender and relates it to this specific Invitation to Tender when it reaches the SEEDA offices. Failure to be able to identify it as a tender, and to which Invitation to Tender it relates, could result in it being opened ahead of schedule. This would invalidate it from the tender round, since all tenders must be opened together once the deadline has been reached.
Q: What are the counties in the South East Region?
A: Surrey, Berkshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Milton Keynes, East and West Sussex, Kent, Buckinghamshire and Hampshire
Q: Is a partnership/venture by a South-East firm with an institution/firm that originates from outside the South East region allowable?
A: All organisations or partnerships that are actively working in education, training or learning for persons aged 16 and above; or providing business support are eligible unless specified otherwise in the tender. Organisations submitting a tender proposal must be legally constituted. However, ESF regulations prevent sole traders and individuals delivering co-financed activity (see page 9 of the Prospectus).
Organisations or partners which are outside of the South East region are not precluded from tendering for or delivering ESF Co-financed activity in the South East.
Q: Will you accept faxed copies of Declarations of Collaboration?
A: The Prospectus states: "Where the project is to be delivered by a collaboration, Collaboration Declaration Forms (CDF's) for each partner (template contained within the tender proposal form) need to be signed and submitted with the completed Tender Proposal Form. Faxed copies of the CDF's are acceptable at the submission stage but originals are required if the Tender is successful."
Q: Can we use other projects as matched funding for a tender?
A: The tenders are for SEEDA ESF Co-financing therefore we provide 100% of the projects costs if the tender is successful. Matched Funding is dealt with at the SEEDA level and projects must not be used as matched funding by the provider.
Q: Do we need to put all the projects the organisation has been involved in into the track record section? It's a very large organisation and this could potentially run into many pages and be very time-consuming
A: All projects should be noted on the track record section. If it is a particularly large organisation and there are an excessive number of projects it may be prudent to do this at a departmental rather than organisational level
Q: In the table of the Project Delivery Plan, what is expected to be entered in the cells i.e. x's, text, figures etc.?
A: We would expect to see the numbers of that output / milestone that will be delivered in the relevant quarter. So if you will be recruiting 3 staff to the project in Q1 then 3 must be entered under MS1 / Q3.
Q: Our project idea doesn't precisely match the specification, should we tender?
A: SEEDA cannot advise people to tender or not to tender. The guidance on 'Why tender fail' discusses pet projects which are squeezed to fit specifications and which are not effective tenders.
Q: Is it necessary to fill out the Form of Offer as it's not part of the tender document?
A: Yes the Form of Offer has to be filled in.
Q: What beneficiary breakdowns should I include under B10?
A: Breakdowns should cover all the beneficiaries described in the specification and must be fully explained in the tender proposal form.
Q: Can individuals counted under the output “Number of participants in work on leaving” also be counted under the output “Number of participants in work six months after leaving” if they remain in employment for the requisite 6 months?
A: Yes
Q: There have been both local discussions and effort to co-ordinate action within one sub-region. The discussions have identified ways of co-operating but have also highlighted concerns about the process.
The bidding round is much harder than in the past and the available funding far reduced. It is anticipated that large companies may have the advantage, which may prevent local engagement. There are also concerns about the administration and delivery requirements were also raised, this may result in a reluctance to lead.
It was noted that LSC, SEEDA and DWP all have different processes and the approach needs to be different. The Partnership should be in a position to provide local delivery and should raise awareness about this with potential large contractors.
A: The tendering rounds being held by the three Co-financing Organisations (CFOs) for the 2007-10 part of the 2007-13 ESF programme will follow the principles set out in the ESF 2007-13 South East Framework 2007-10 as well as Open and Competitive Tendering rules. A key principle for the new programme is "partners delivering fewer, larger, interventions". This is to ensure an efficient and streamlined process which accords with the Business Support Simplification Programme. In addition the Framework set out principles on specifically targeting ESF, geographically where relevant, and providing flexibility and tailored provision. Partnership or collaborative working is crucial to deliver the vision set out in the framework. Larger partnerships permit the involvement of smaller local organisations and potentially include more than one organisation which could act as lead partner.
The CFOs appreciate that different tendering processes are not ideal. However this is the situation with which all regions face. SEEDA has provided a six week Invitation to Tender (ITT) period to give potential tenderers full opportunity to develop tenders and explore partnership opportunities. Indicative activities were released on 11th September to provide organisations with the chance to start thinking around the areas of activity which might go on to form part of tenders. On the SEEDA website, we have provided a Collaborator / Partner Search Facility which can be used to advertise organisations as collaborators and search for collaborators. This facility should enhance the existing network of contacts possessed by organisations interested in individual specifications.
SEEDA does not use the e-tendering route adopted by LSC and DWP, and there is thus no Pre-Qualifying Questionnaire to complete prior to the ITT itself. This means that any legally constituted organisation can tender against the specifications.
If there are any queries on the specifications or the tendering round, the first point of contact should be Nimalini Perera on 01483 501310 or e-mail esfenquiries@seeda.co.uk
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Q: "I have perused the GUIDANCE NOTES TO THE TENDER PROPOSAL form but cannot locate the submission by date. Can you let me have that piece of information please."
A: The information you require will be found in the Prospectus, pages 7 and 10.
Q: Does SEEDA hold the money and do you need to have partners to put in bids?
A: SEEDA, DWP & The learning Skills Council are issuing invitations to tender. This is for ESF Funding which has been allocated to each CFO accordance with the regional priorities set out in the South East ESF Framework. Regarding partners, specifications set out weather a partnership approach will be required.
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