Decrease Capacity Monitor 2027

✓Such as: the contract is awarded to the economically most advantageous tender based on best price-quality ratio.

✓The main award criterion “Kwaliteit van het voorstel en deskundigheid van de uitvoerders” weighs 60/100 points, split into 40 points for the quality of the proposal (research design, methods, data collection, processing and analysis, planning, deliverables, project management, risk management, conflict of interest handling, and a detailed datamanagementplan that covers data types, storage, documentation, security, confidentiality, integrity, quality assurance and possibilities for secondary analysis) and 20 points for the expertise of the team (experience with similar scientific research, methodological and statistical expertise, familiarity with capacity measurement frameworks, project governance skills, stakeholder engagement, and demonstrable independence).

✓The price criterion weighs 40/100 points and is an absolute criterion: the price must fall within a given range (133,601.91 EUR to 172,896.59 EUR including VAT); points are awarded by the formula (lowest price / offered price) * 40. Proposals must reach at least 75% of the total possible points to be ranked.

✓The contracting authority may negotiate based on these criteria and can organise negotiations in phases, reducing the number of bidders; also, it may award without negotiation, in which case the initial offer is final.

✓Risks and special conditions are extensively regulated.

✓Such as: the tender uses a global fixed price that must include all ancillary elements (administration, travel, insurance, documentation, training, safety measures, intellectual property licence fees).

✓There is no borgtocht (performance bond) required.

✓However, general and daily penalties apply for deficient performance, calculated under art. 45 KB Uitvoering, and vertragingsboetes (delay penalties) under art. 46 and 154 KB Uitvoering, with each part of the assignment treated as a separate contract for delay purposes.

✓The contract allows revisions for changes in Belgian taxes (heffingen), unforeseeable circumstances affecting the contractual balance, and faults by either party, subject to conditions and thresholds (e.g.

✓“zeer belangrijk nadeel/voordeel” when ≥ 15% of initial contract value).

❓The bidder’s offer is binding for 120 calendar days from the day after the deadline for receipt of tenders; each updated offer during negotiations resets this period.

✓Subcontracting is allowed but subject to conditions: no exclusion grounds may apply to subcontractors, and where capacity of third parties is invoked, those entities must perform the relevant part of the services and are subject to prior approval if replaced by other subcontractors.

✓Confidentiality obligations are strict, especially regarding the sensitive education data and results; GDPR (AVG) applies with a detailed processing agreement annex, and personal data must be handled within the EU law framework.

✓Payments are split into three instalments (20% – 20% – 60%) tied to approval of deliverables and subject to a 30-day verification and payment period; payments are allocated first to principal, then to interest, and the contractor’s own payment terms are expressly excluded.

✓All communication must be in Dutch and electronically, with the exception of bailiff acts and registered mail.

✓Offers must be submitted via e-Procurement by 1 December 2026 at 12:00, signed with a qualified electronic signature compliant with eIDAS (using Belgian eID or recognised certificates), placed on the e-Procurement submission report, by authorised persons whose power must be evidenced; combinations without legal personality result in joint and several liability.

✓An information meeting via Teams is scheduled for 9 November 2026; questions on tender documents are allowed up to eight days before the submission deadline and must be sent to specific email addresses, with answers published via e-Procurement and becoming part of the contract.

✓Such as: the bestek states that there are no deviations from the KB Uitvoering (“Nihil”), except where expressly indicated (e.g. specific deviation from art. 5.210 Burgerlijk Wetboek on allocation of payments), so general Belgian public procurement rules apply unless explicitly overridden.

✓It explicitly forbids variants and options, so any statements that might suggest flexibility in scope must be interpreted within the fixed framework and the possibility of fine-tuning the supply survey scope without increasing the total workload.

✓Where there is potential tension between the initial assumption of a full aanbodbevraging and later fine-tuning, the text resolves it by stating the contracting authority may add or remove schools from the survey, but this may not increase the total workload estimated in the offer.

✓In case of any remaining ambiguity, the lead official (leidende ambtenaar) is mandated to issue instructions, and all disputes must be brought before a Dutch-language Belgian court, ensuring that the interpretation of conflicting statements will follow Belgian public procurement and contract law.