Invitation to Tender for the Provision of Legal Services

Invitation to Tender

for the

Provision of Legal Services

to the

Chartered Institute

Ecology and Environmental Management

1 August 2013

Introduction

Who we are and what we do

The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) is the professional membership body for applied practitioners of the science of ecology. Its objects are to advance the understanding and the standards of practice of ecology and environmental management for the benefit of the natural environment and the public good; and to further the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity and the maintenance of ecological processes and life support systems essential to a fully functional biosphere. The profession has a key role to play in the understanding, conservation and management of the natural world and promoting responsible usage of its resources.

CIEEM is an international organisation with members primarily residing and working in England, the island of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. However, many members do work elsewhere in the world and CIEEM has a small number of overseas members. Membership of CIEEM is a recognised benchmark of professionalism within the field of ecology and environmental management. CIEEM sets high standards of entry, which it requires to be maintained through continuing professional development by its members.

CIEEM is a body incorporated by Royal Charter and regulated by Government through the Privy Council (although this is ‘light touch’ regulation). CIEEM maintains the Register of, and awards, chartered accreditation, that of Chartered Ecologist. It is governed by its members in accordance with the provisions laid down in its Royal Charter and By-laws. At the highest level, governance is undertaken through the work of the elected Governing Board acting on behalf of the membership. The Governing Board forms sub-committees, as it requires, to assist it in the delivery of its strategic governance role. Standing Committees provide strategic advice to the Governing Board on request together with operational advice and support to the Chief Executive Officer; an Advisory Forum acts as a consultative body, but does not have decision-making powers.

A Code of Professional Conduct outlines the behaviours expected of members for the benefit and stewardship of the natural environment; Disciplinary Procedures set out the manner in which alleged breaches of the Code are assessed. These have both been revised and reissued with an effective date of 1 June 2013.

Principal activities

CIEEM:

regulates its members through the application of the Disciplinary Procedures, where alleged breaches of the Code of Professional Conduct are brought to its notice;

has established Geographic Sections across Britain and the island of Ireland, which are run through volunteer committees, elected by Section members. They promote CIEEM and its work; promote membership to eligible individuals and organisations; arrange a programme of events, meetings and activities for the benefit of members and organise regional and national conferences;

is licensed by the Society of the Environment to award Chartered Environmentalist;

produces a range of guidance for members and non-members, much of which is recognised as the industry standard (e.g. Guidelines on Ecological Impact Assessment), as well as contributing to information produced by the statutory nature conservation agencies in the UK and other non-statutory conservation organisations;

provides an annualprogramme of training and professional development activities for practitioners to continually develop their skills and understanding of our complex area of expertise;

has published a generic Competency Framework to support career planning and career progression and has recently helped Natural England develop its own internal competency framework for its staff;

offers a scheme for the accreditation of degree courses, whose learning outcomes relate specifically to the knowledge and skills identified by employers as needed by those seeking to enter the profession of ecology and environmental management;

responds to consultations released by the UK and Irish Governments and statutory nature conservation organisations (SNCOs) and provides advice on matters of policy and practice;and

responds to requests to comment on guidance and regulations and currently sits on Natural England’s Development Industry Group along with the Royal Town Planning Institute. In the wider European context we are members of the European Network of Environmental Professionals (ENEP) and the Society for the Environment (SocEnv).

Purpose of Contract

Background

In seeking providers for legal servicesCIEEM would expect as a minimum a good understanding of the role and function of professional bodies and of environmental law. Any provider will need to have detailed knowledge of the governance and voluntary regulatory (disciplinary) responsibilities of a professional body.

In addition, or by separate contract CIEEM is seeking legal services in relation to employment and human resource management, property services and management and leasing and sub-letting.

Contract

CIEEM intends to appoint a provider, or providers, of legal services through a call off contract(s) for a period of three years initially, subject to review after one year.

Services Required

Service

The following list sets out the areas of expertise that CIEEM would expect a provider to offer. The list is not exhaustive and is not a guarantee of actual workload. The provider must be able to provide expert advice on:

Corporate Governance: governance (constitution and procedures), powers and duties of a chartered body.

Disciplinary Regulations: the assessment of complaints against members including:review, interpretation and implementation of the Code of Professional Conduct and Disciplinary Process.

Property Services: leasing, sub-letting and property management.

Information: issues in relation to the Data Protection Act; Human Rights Act; data sharing and data security.

Defamation: how to avoid challenges on the grounds of defamation and on defending CIEEM against such challenges.

Intellectual property: CIEEM interests in relation to product liability and intellectual property, copyright and trademark.

Environmental Law: interpretation and implementation of environmental law.

Employment Law: employment contracts, policy and procedures and dispute resolution and keep CIEEM up-to-date with relevant changes.

Personal Injury: defence of CIEEM in relation to employer and public liability claims (subject to direct instruction).

Health and Safety Law: implications and application of Health and Safety legislation and keep CIEEM up-to-date with relevant changes.

The contractor(s) will provide telephone advice to the authorised member of staff and written advice in response to letters and/or emails.

4Response from Interested Parties

Response Guidelines

CIEEM will follow the procedures as set out below:

The information must be received by normal post on the dates specified in the Procurement Plan as defined in Appendix A and should be sent:

Marked for the Attention of: Mrs Linda Yost CEnv, MCIEEM

Address43 Southgate Street

Winchester

Hampshire

SO23 7EU

Information received after the mentioned date and time will not be used in the selection process, unless otherwise agreed.

After receipt of the information CIEEM will send a confirmation to the applicant.

General Points for Interested Parties

Parties may submit written or emailed questions to the CIEEM related to this procurement and the CIEEM will respond in writing and circulate its answers to all other known interested parties. No meetings to elicit additional information related to this procurement process will be held before the tenders are submitted.

The contract will be for three years from the date the successful tenderer is notified.

Tenderers may submit a tender for all or part of the services required, although preference may be given to those who can supply all of the services.

By responding to this call for tenders the tenderer accepts that:

they fully bear all costs for preparation of the response, and that CIEEM will not be liable for any associated costs;
there is no contract or obligation, implied or otherwise, between CIEEM and the tenderer;
CIEEM may choose not to evaluate any response submitted later than the target date; and
CIEEM will not disclose the names of other tenderers or any information about their tenders.

Tender Application Content

The intent of this Invitation to Tender is to establish a common basis for evaluating applications from tenderers. For that purpose it is important that the tenderers give a written answer to the questions in this document.

The response should be submitted in hardcopy and in electronic format compatible with Microsoft Office 2013 products. The response should follow the same numbering and sequence as the questions in this tender.

Responses must be detailed and complete.

The tenderer is invited to use the following format for the response bulleted below. In all cases the form provided in Annex B should be completed and accompany the tender proposal.

Executive Summary.
Introduction- including a summary of details of any similar dealings or work undertaken for professional bodies.
Understanding of Requirements (summary of your understanding of the key requirements of this tender).
Assumptions and Dependencies.
Issues and Risks.
The Proposed Approach- a short summary description of how you propose to plan and respond to work requested including: allocation of staff, response times and form of response.
Estimated Costs. Please explain how you would cost the work related to this contract (hourly rates, fixed price, time and materials, etc.), plus VAT if applicable.
Answers to the questions asked.

Procurement Plan

The timeline as defined in the procurement plan (Appendix A) sets out the steps with target dates. CIEEM reserve the right to alter tasks and dates as appropriate. However, the intention of CIEEM is to put into effect this call off contract(s) as soon as possible.

Selection Criteria

The following main factors will be taken into consideration, in no particular order, in assessing tenders:

indicative cost breakdown;
tenderer credibility and experiencein working with professional bodies and environmental law;
credibility and experience of the tenderer staff proposed to be engaged to provide the services under the contract; and
ability to deliver the required specifications;

Questions about the tender

Any related questions or expressions of interest should be submitted by email to: .

5Tenderer Background Information

The applicant should also refer to the Invitation to Tender application form in Appendix B and provide responses to the questions below.

Company Overview

Please provide a high level description of your company, when it was established, its major business functions, major clients, profitability, differentiation etc. Please limit to two pages and focus on items relevant to the consulting task that you are responding to.

Financial Stability

In the quote that you are presenting to CIEEM, details of your last 3 years financial statements should also be enclosed with your proposal (for the relevant company looking to contract with the CIEEM, not the entire group). Please also provide a copy of your current certificate of insurance.

Certification

Has your company any recognised certifications. Do your staff have specific professional skills? Identify other specifics relevant to the staff available to fulfil the contracte.g. memberships of professional bodies.

References

Please provide names of two customers (including contact name and address) that you would identify as references whom the CIEEM could contact either by telephone or in person. Have any customers recently stopped doing business with you? If so, why?

Any Other Information

Please provide any other information that you feel is important to establishing your company’s credibility to execute this assignment and explaining your terms of business.

Do you have any considerations/remarks that are not included in this Invitation to Tender?

6Contract Deliverables

Please detail in full, your ability to meet the requirements set out in Section 3.

7Costs

Any Other Costs

Are there any other costs that would arise? Please detail.

Payment Terms

Please detail the payments terms and the schedules that you would expect CIEEM to satisfy.

Appendix A: Procurement Plan

Stage 1

Advertisement placed on in relevant website/journal/newspaper by 1 August 2013.

Stage 2

Tenders for this contract should be received by 16 September2013.

Stage 3

A decision as to whether presentations toCIEEM will be required will be made during assessment of tenders.

Stage 4

The successful tenderer will be informed by phone/email no later than 1 November 2013.

Stage 6

A contract will be agreed with the successful tenderer.

Appendix B: Invitation to Tender for Legal Services Application Form

General Information

Name of Company
Address
Person preparing the tender on behalf of company
Position in company
Telephone number
Email address