Evaluation of the implementation of the pilot ground Pioneer schools

The scope of the contract is defined as evaluation research into the implementation of the “proeftuin Pioniersscholen” in Flemish compulsory education. Such as: designing a theory‑based, causally oriented evaluation; handling diverse project types and contexts (different levels, locations in regular or special schools, various types and forms of special education, different degrees of prior cooperation and inclusion experience, very diverse pupil populations). The place of performance is within the Flemish education context, under the supervision of the Departement Onderwijs en Vorming. The period runs from the day after the offer deadline in 2026 until 30 April 2029, with specific required deliverables: an initial and second interim report (expected November 2027 and November 2028) and a final report, management summary and valorisation products by April 2029, including policy‑oriented presentation, practice‑oriented synthesis, project feedback and confidential school feedback. The contract is for a global price, within a mandatory price band between €392,214.16 and €507,571.26 (incl. VAT), and payments are staged (30%/30%/40%) following approval of the successive reports.

Award criteria and weighting are described extensively. Such as: 40/100 points for “kwaliteit van de offerte”, broken down into causaal design (15), onderzoeksopzet en plan van aanpak (15), hergebruik van bestaande data en beperking van planlast (5), and the relevance and policy usability of the outputs (5). A further 20/100 points are allocated to “kwaliteit van de expertise van de uitvoerders”, looking at experience with similar evaluations, methodological expertise, knowledge of the Flemish compulsory and inclusive education landscape, school development and interprofessional collaboration, and guarantees of objectivity toward the institutions being evaluated, supported by team CVs. Price counts for 40/100 points; scores are computed by the formula (lowest regular offer price / examined offer price) × 40, based on prices including VAT, within the fixed price band. To be ranked, an offer must reach at least 75% of the total points.

Risks and special conditions concern, among others, penalties, guarantees, subcontracting, validity period, data protection, and communications. Such as: no performance bond (borgtocht) is required; all communication in the procedure and during performance must be electronic and in Dutch, via e‑Procurement and email, with specific exceptions only for bailiff writs and registered letters; the offer must be signed with a qualified electronic signature on the e‑Procurement “indieningsrapport”, by persons duly authorised, with supporting documents; the binding period of the offer is 120 calendar days from the day after the submission deadline; subcontractors and capacity‑providing entities must not fall under exclusion grounds and, in case of capacity reliance, must sign a “Verbintenis terbeschikkingstelling middelen” including joint and several liability where economic/financial criteria are concerned. General sanctions and daily penalties apply for defective performance; delay fines apply for late delivery of each report, treating each part as a separate assignment, following KB Uitvoering formulas. Price revision is possible per report based on the Belgian health index (≥3% change), on request by the contractor at least three months before the report deadline. Data protection and confidentiality are strictly regulated under GDPR and Belgian rules; there are explicit non‑discrimination obligations and references to EU sanctions against Russia (article 5 duodecies Reg. 833/2014), with mandatory bidder declarations and limits on Russian‑linked participation above 10% of the contract value.

Contradictions or corrections are addressed mainly through the hierarchy of documents and clarifications from the infosessie. Such as: the bestek states that KB Uitvoering deviations are “nihil”, so its own specific provisions supplement but do not contradict the general rules; answers to questions, published as “terrechtwijzend bericht” in e‑Procurement and the EU Supplement, are explicitly declared part of the contractual conditions and must be taken into account when drafting offers, meaning they prevail over any earlier ambiguous reading. The infosessie materials refine, but do not override, the core selection and award criteria: for example, they specify what counts as “vergelijkbaar evaluatieonderzoek”, clarify the required thematic expertise, elaborate on the interpretation and mitigation of potential belangenconflicten for higher education institutions linked to pioniersscholen projects, and detail practical aspects of budgeting (e.g. 10% overhead cap for higher education institutions, avoidance of double funding) and invoicing (e‑invoicing via PEPPOL/Mercurius, use of IO‑numbers, deadlines for draft invoices and performance statements). Where the same rule appears in both bestek and offerteformulier (e.g. Russian sanctions declaration, document overview), the bestek’s normative provisions form the primary reference, while the offerteformulier functions as an operational template that must be completed consistently with those rules.