International Expert for Groundwater Monitoring System

Tender document for the direct award

International Expert for Groundwater Monitoring System

6532-00/2023 SUB 02/2025

1. Introduction and background

Austrian Development Agency (ADA), as the Operational Unit of the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC), has been delegated by the European Union (EU) to implement the “EU4RIVERS” project in Albania from October 2023 to September 2028. The lead Beneficiary is the Albanian Water Resources Management Agency (AMBU). 

The general objective is to enhance the implementation of the National Water Reform and Albania progress towards meeting EU water legislation requirements, resulting in increased capacities for managing the sector in line with EU policies. The specific objective is to increase Albania’s approximation with the EU water acquis.

The project Outputs are: 

• Output 1: The overarching Integrated Water Management legal and institutional framework is substantially enhanced in accordance with the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) and other water-related directives.
• Output 2: The Implementation of River Basin Management (RBM) is increased in all river basins in line with the requirements of the WFD.
• Output 3: Water monitoring, reporting and enforcement are sustainably enhanced in line with the requirements of water-related EU Directives.

• Terms of Reference

1. Objective and description of the assignment

This objective is to support the development of a tailor-made national groundwater monitoring programme (which includes groundwater chemical and quantitative status and the assessment of significant pollutants) and to contribute to the capacity building process of the Albanian water monitoring institutions for the implementation of the River Basin Management Plans (RBMP).

This assignment shall build on the existing and available assessments / methodologies / reports, both past and ongoing. The assignment will contribute toward the achievements of project Output 2 and 3.

• Approach and Methodology

The Contractor shall operate under the overall guidance of the EU4Rivers project Team Leader (TL).

The WFD requires the establishment of a comprehensive monitoring programme including surveillance, operational and investigative monitoring. The identification/selection of monitoring sites needs to be carefully carried out in order to generate data (biological/chemical/hydrological/hydro-morphological) for all identified groundwater bodies within a river basin (RB). Particularly the lists of priority substances and RB specific pollutants (particularly those resulting from human activity) need to be included in this programme. In Albania, there are 5 (five) RBMPs under implementation, which were prepared in different timelines, and a few of them are not fully compliant with the EU WFD requirements (e.g. regarding delineation, characterization of waterbodies and monitoring).

The Contractor shall support the beneficiary(s) in taking full ownership of the process of preparing and implementing the WFD compliant RBMPs through the development of a tailor-made groundwater monitoring programme and delivering continued (on-the-job) training sessions, with training and provision of desk and/or field work demonstration related to preparatory work related to ecological assessment, monitoring campaigns, etc.

The work will be performed in coordination and close cooperation with a group of international and national experts, with the EU4Rivers Project Management Team (PMT) and key staff from relevant monitoring institutions, particularly Albanian Geological Survey (AGS). Existing documents / reports / assessments /studies conducted under previous projects in the sector shall all be taken into consideration for this assignment. 

Task 1 – Input to the characterization process

The work under this Task shall be performed in consecutive phases as described below:

During Phase I, the Contractor shall support the process of characterization of Mat, Ishem, Erzen[1] RBs based on the EU WFD guidance documents, to get ready for the second cycle of these RBMPs. In particular,the Contractor shall be involved in:

• Identification and initial characterization of groundwater bodies or groups of bodies with similar hydrogeological characteristics;
• Revision of the impact of human activity on the status of groundwater bodies.
• Proposing representative sampling sites to perform monitoring (physico-chemical, quantitative) for each groundwater body or groups of bodies;
• On-site sampling, samples collection and lab analysis;
• Performing an initial status assessment of groundwater bodies.

During Phase II, the Contractor shall supervise/guide agroup of contracted experts on the overall process of groundwater status assessment and selection of the representative monitoring sites. A pilot RB shall be selected in consultation with EU4Rivers PMT for this specific task, additional to the three RBs specified in Phase I. 

All the other details related to this Task shall be specified and agreeduponin consultation with EU4Rivers PMT and key international experts.

Task 2 – Selection of monitoring sites and definition of a monitoring schedule 

The Contractor shall be directly involved in the process of selecting the surveillance and operational monitoring sites for the assessment of chemical status and quantitative status for groundwater bodies, for Mat, Ishem, Erzen RBs.

The Contractor shall define and propose a pilot schedule/timeline for conducting monitoring campaigns in representative sites necessary to feed the status assessment for groundwater bodies in the above mentioned RBs. The specific sites for sampling shall be selected in discussion and cooperation with a group of experts contracted under the EU4Rivers project and close collaboration with AGS.

Task 3 – Elaborate a tailor-made national monitoring programme

The Contractor shall provide overall assistance to the design of a tailor-made programme for water monitoring for groundwater bodies for Mat, Ishem, Erzen RBs, ensuring that adequate monitoring will be performed and the results are fed into the RBMPs to get ready for the second cycle.

The Contractor shall be directly involved in conducting the following activities:

• Proposing the (i) key monitoring parameters, (ii) monitoring sites, (iii) monitoring period and (iv) monitoring frequency, based on existing documentation/ assessment reports, etc, and in close consultation with staff from relevant monitoring institutions.
• Supporting the initial establishment of reference conditions based on the existing high status of groundwater waterbodies.
• Supporting institutional staff with training and provision of desk and/or fieldwork demonstration with the implementation of the tailor-made monitoring programme.
• Participating in sampling campaign(s) and data collection for groundwater in cooperation with key staff from relevant institutions.

Task 4 – Elaborate an investment planning for groundwater management

The Contractor shall be involved and provide support to the preparation of an implementation Report in response to the requirements of EU legislation (aka. EU Groundwater Directive[2]). This implementation Report shall feed the development of policy/strategic documents to be developed under EU4Rivers project support and shall include information on the following:

• Legal developments in the sector covering the groundwater management and protection;
• Identification of gaps and issues based on technical requirements of the EU WFD and Groundwater Directive.

Tentative Plan of measures/investments in various periods for groundwater management and monitoring (e.g. short-term, mid-term and long-term).

• Deliverables

The Contractor shall provide the respective deliverables as per the timelines given below:

• Location and Duration of the assignment

The assignment is planned to commence in May 2025. The duration of the assignment is 100 working days over a period of 15 months.

A detailed draft of the work plan for the assignment shall be prepared.

In case of changes in the overall project implementation and changes to the work plan in line with project needs/requested by the TL, this will not affect the total number of working days for the assignment.  

• Reporting

A draft work plan shall be submitted for approval to the TL within two weeks of the contract’s entry into force. The work plan describes the tasks, activities, meetings/workshops, reports/deliverables, and any other inputs to be performed during the assignment. All the tasks shall be discussed and agreed upon in advance with the TL.

Progress Report(s) will be prepared monthly and submitted to the TL, which describe the accomplished work, and the progress achieved towards the agreed tasks/outputs, and any risks that may compromise the project implementation. Each report should also include the number of working days performed in the preceding month.

A Final report shall be submitted at the latest two weeks after the end date of implementation of the services as defined in the Service Contract. The report includes a description of the delivered outputs, all tasks carried out as well as recommendations / observations made related to the project implementation.

All reports and any other documentation to be produced as part of this assignment shall be submitted in English.

• Procurement and contracting modalities

For the procurement of these services, the Austrian Public Procurement Law (Austrian Federal Public Procurement Act, PPA2018) is applied, and a direct award procedure (single tender) is conducted. ADA acts as the Contracting Authority.

The estimated contract value for this assignment is less than EUR 80,000.00.

ADA will enter into a service contract with the selected best bidder. For this purpose, an ADA standard contract will be concluded (Interested experts who wish to receive a draft standard contract can request it by sending an email to eu4rivers@ada.gv.at).

Subcontracting: Persons who are not employed by the bidder / by a member of a bidding consortium are to be considered as subcontractors (persons working e.g. on the basis of service contracts, free employment contracts or the like). Subcontracting parts of the services is permitted insofar as the subcontractor provides of the necessary eligibility (legal authorization, professional reliability, and capacity) for the execution of its part of the service. The bidder shall specify in its offer all parts of the services which it intends to subcontract and name the subcontractors.

• Eligibility criteria

The bidder must meet the following eligibility criteria:

4.1. Legal authorization: The bidder must be authorized (according to the law of its country of origin) to provide the services.

Required proof: business license or certified excerpt from the register of companies or other documents as foreseen by the laws of the country of its origin. If the laws of the bidder´s country of origin do not require an authorization for the services to be provided, the bidder has to submit a respective written confirmation.

4.2. Professional reliability: The bidder is professionally reliable if there is no reason for exclusion pursuant to § 78 para of the PPA.

Required proofs:

1. extract from the Register of Companies (not older than three months) or equivalent certificate issued by a court or an administrative authority of the bidder’s country of origin;
2. most recent debit advice by the competent tax authority or an equivalent document of the bidder´s country of origin;
3. most recent debit advice of the competent social security authority or an equivalent document of the bidder´s country of origin;
4. excerpt from the Criminal Records that shows that the persons responsible for managing (including authorized representatives) have not been criminally convicted (excerpt not older than six months) or an equivalent document issued by a Court or an Administrative Authority of the bidder’s country of origin).

4.3. Financial and economic capacity[3]: The financial and economic capacity of the bidder is fulfilled if the following minimum requirements are met.

Required proof:  minimum EUR 30,000 total turnover during the last three financial years.

4.4 Technical capacity[4]: The bidder’s technical capacity is fulfilled if the following minimum requirements are met:

Required proof:  Minimum of 1 reference for the bidder and/or the expert delivering services in similar projects within the last 3 years

To prove the eligibility, the bidder may submit the required proof with the offer. Alternatively, the bidder may fill out and sign the attached self-declaration form (see Annex 2). The actual eligibility proofs must then promptly be provided upon ADA´s request. In any case, proof will be requested from the best bidder before the contract is awarded.

• Award criteria and selection process

The contract is awarded to the technically and economically most favorable bidder (best value for money). The submitted offers will be evaluated according to the following criteria and weighting.

Quality 80%

Qualifications and skills

• Master’s degree in environmental sciences, hydrogeology or equivalent or five (5) years above the General Professional Experience required.
•  Fluency in written and spoken English;
•  Excellent communication skills;
•  Excellent problem-solving, negotiation, and influencing skills.

General Professional Experience

• Ideally, ten (10) years of general professional experience in the water / environmental management sector under the EU WFD principles.
• Good understanding of the South Eastern European aquatic ecosystems and, ideally, of the Albanian one.
• Knowledge of EU WFD and its provisions related to water quality assessment and monitoring.

Specific professional experience

• Demonstrated knowledge of the EU WFD implementation regarding groundwater monitoring. 
• Experience in water quality monitoring as per EU WFD requirements.
• Experience in designing and implementing training courses with regard to RBM assessment of aquatic ecosystems, field data collection, and water quality data-processing classification methods assessment/development.   

Price 20%

Proofs: the following proofs serve as basis for the evaluation and shall be submitted with the offer

• CV(s) of Expert(s) Proposed for the Assignment (no more than two CV’s);
• Short Description of the Methodology and Approach;
• Work Plan: A detailed project plan or work plan outlining how the proposed expert(s) intend to execute the assignment, including timelines, milestones, and resource allocation.
• Financial Offer

Calculation method

An Evaluation Commission consisting of three members will evaluate the offer on the basis of the quality-related award criteria. For each quality criterion, a score of 0/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10 can be achieved.

Quality Criteria: offers are scored in a manner that the offer with the highest score in the criterion obtains the maximum number of points and each next offer the proportionally lower number of points according to the following formula:

Points quality criterion = (Individual score of the offer / score of the offer with the highest score) x weight

Price Criterion: offers are scored depending on the prices offered (Item 1 – remuneration) in the financial offer in the manner that the offer with the lowest Item 1 – remuneration price obtains the maximum number of points, and each next offer the proportionally lower number of points according to the following formula:

Points Price Criterion = (Lowest Item 1 – remuneration price/ Item 1 – remuneration of offer) x weight

Calculation of total points:

Total points = Points Quality Criterion 1 + Points Quality Criterion 2 + Points Quality Criterion 3 + Points Quality Criterion 4 + Points Price Criterion

The best offer is the offer with the highest number of total points. If the number of total points is the same for more than one bidder, the offer with the lowest total price (amongst these bidders) shall be the most favourable offer.

Upon completion of the evaluation ADA reserves the right to negotiate with the bidder with the most favorable offer (highest ranking). ADA may conduct negotiations with more bidders if the outcome of the evaluation procedure did show only minor differences between the offers or the negotiations with the bidder with the highest-ranking lead to no contractual basis within a reasonable period of time.

ADA will notify all bidders of the award decision.

• Processing of Personal Data

During initiation and performance of contracts, ADA may process personal data of natural persons that are collected by ADA or transferred or disclosed to ADA by prospective contractors or third parties under their instruction, e.g., personal data of employees, legal representatives, agents or other partners of the prospective contractors or such third parties.

By submitting information to ADA, you, as a prospective contractor, acknowledge:

• to have taken note of ADA’s Privacy Notice https://www.entwicklung.at/en/media-centre/privacy-notice (’ADA Privacy Notice’);
• to ensure that each direct or indirect transfer or disclosure of personal data to ADA during the initiation or performance of a contract is lawful pursuant to applicable data protection law;
• to ensure that all persons, whose personal data are transferred or disclosed to ADA, were promptly and demonstrably provided the ADA Privacy Notice; and
• that if a contract is concluded and in accordance with its terms, ADA publishes, in particular on the ADA website, information about the contract and the contracting parties.

• Preparation and Submission of offers

Interested bidders are invited to submit an offer. The offer shall consist of the following parts:

7.1 Technical offer (maximum 15 pages)

1. CV of the expert proposed (no more than two experts) for the assignment and information on availability of the proposed expert during the period of assignment. Please highlight in your CV the relevant experiences (qualifications and skills, general professional experience and specific professional experience) to allow an efficient bid evaluation process.

• Short description of the methodology and approach

• Work Plan: A detailed project plan or work plan outlining how the proposed expert(s) intend to execute the assignment, including timelines, milestones, and resource allocation.

7.2 Financial offer

1. Remuneration for the services and estimated international travel costs for the assignment (the remuneration must include costs of per diems and accommodation) as per the attached template Annex 1

7.3 Proofs

1. Proofs of eligibility or self – declaration (see under 4. above)

• Proofs for award criteria (see under 5. above)

• Singed Declaration of Honour (see under Annex 3)

Offers shall be addressed to: eu4rivers@ada.gv.at

Questions can be addressed by E- Mail to eu4rivers@ada.gv.at the latest until 07 May 2025.

The deadline for submission of offers is 14 May 2025

• Annexes

Annex 1 – Template for Financial Offer

Annex 2 – Self – Declaration Form

Annex 3 – Declaration of Honour

[1]In 2023 the Government of Albania adopted the Mat, Ishem, Erzen RBMPs which were prepared with IPA II support (“EUSIWM” – predecessor project and as well implemented by ADA).

[2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32006L0118

[3]^,2 In the case of bidding consortia, these minimum requirements must be met at least by all members jointly; if subcontractors are involved, at least by bidder and subcontractor(s) jointly. It is not necessary that each individual bidder in a consortium/each subcontractor fulfills these minimum requirements.