Public service contract for the implementation and operation of an LXP-oriented training management platform

✓Regarding the scope of the contract, the market is structured in posts: Poste 1 (implementation and paramétrage LMS), Poste 2 (exploitation/redevance logicielle, including cloud hosting and maintenance), Poste 3 (support, consultance and client follow‑up); plus two mandatory options: Poste 4 (LXP implementation and exploitation with licence brackets) and Poste 5 (assistance and support for migration and end‑of‑contract reversibility).

✓The solution must at least support the current EAP training context and processes, cover LMS and optional LXP, host data (users, formations, contents, catalogues, etc.), and integrate with external systems (e.g.

✓Ulis, Cornerstone, Microsoft 365, SSO).

✓The duration is up to 96 months, and the financial envelope is 1,185,284.52 EUR HTVA (1,434,194.26 EUR TVAC).

✓Price structure is mixed: global prices for implementations and monthly redevances; unit prices (“bordereau”) for on‑demand consultance, support, and migration/reversibility.

✓As for award criteria and weighting, the offers are evaluated on cost (60 points) and quality (40 points).

✓The cost score is calculated from the total TVAC of the inventory over the 96‑month scenario, using a proportional formula where the lowest total gets 60/60.

✓The inventory simulates complete implementation, recurring LMS and mandatory LXP licence fees (for a pivot range of 30,001–35,000 active users), estimated assistance and consultance, and migration/reversibility.

✓Quality (40 points) is split as follows: 30 points for functional requirements (24 for prioritary functionalities assessed via demo scenarios and usability; 6 for desired functionalities evaluated on a test environment) and 10 points for collaboration and non‑functional requirements (6 points for project methodology, governance, guarantees, maintenance, support, data migration, services at request, migration and reversibility; 4 points for non‑functional and technical architecture, general requirements, SLA, system requirements).

✓Offers scoring less than 28/40 on quality are discarded.

✓Demonstrations (seven scenarios) and a two‑month access to a test platform are mandatory for regular offers.

✓The economically most advantageous offer is the one with the highest combined score.

❓Concerning risks and special conditions, the market includes: a 5% financial cautionnement (guarantee) to be constituted within 30 days of contract conclusion, covering good execution and extended automatically in case of reconduction; possible advances of 20% on implementation posts, with repayment mechanisms in case of measures of office or termination; strict confidentiality obligations with a contractual indemnity of 20% of the contract amount in case of breach and possible 3‑year exclusion; RGPD and NIS2 obligations and data‑processing contracts for sub‑processors; strong requirements on digital accessibility (WCAG 2.2 AAA, EN 301 549), with mandatory external audit and remediation at the bidder’s expense; penalties for non‑respect of SLA (0.1% of initial contract amount per calendar day of delay, 350 EUR per week for missing quarterly SLA reporting, 750 EUR per 0.1% unavailability tranche); and detailed reception procedures (provisional and definitive) derogating from art. 156 RGE, with reporting obligations and guarantee periods.

✓Subcontracting is allowed without chain limitation but the adjudicator remains solely responsible; subcontractors proposed in the offer should be used unless authorised changes, and if third‑party capacities are used for minimum requirements, the corresponding part of the contract must be subcontracted to that entity.

✓The validity period of the offer is 270 calendar days from the submission deadline; questions must be asked via the e‑Procurement forum in time to allow a response at least six working days before the offer deadline.

❓No site visit is mentioned; interactions occur through demos, tests, and meetings.

✓On contradictions or corrections, the text sets a clear rule: if the bidder finds errors or omissions in the price inventory (quantities forfaitaires or presumed quantities), they may correct them but must annex a justification note to their offer.

✓If errors or omissions in the CSC make it impossible to price or to compare offers, the bidder must notify the contracting authority via the e‑Procurement forum at the latest 10 days before the final date for receipt of offers; the authority may then rectify the CSC and extend the deadline.

✓For reception, any contrary provisions in the bidder’s offer are deemed null, and requests for reception must be sent by email as specified.

⚠It is also explicitly stated that the market does not derogate from the AR 14 January 2013 RGE (despite a table mention “Dérogation(s) … Oui (art. 156)”, the body clarifies there is no derogation overall, while the reception modalities themselves constitute a specific derogation to art. 156), and that by submitting an offer the bidder waives its own general or special conditions.

✓Thus, in case of conflicting statements, the CSC and its annexes, together with the applicable Belgian legislation, prevail over the bidder’s documents.

Answers on the required criteria

Must securities be provided (bid bond, performance or warranty guarantee)? If so: which, in what amount and by when?

✓Regarding securities, such as, performance guarantees, the contract explicitly requires a **cautionnement** (performance security) and provides for **advances**.

✓The contractor must constitute a cautionnement equal to **5% of the estimated contract amount** (rounded up to the next ten euros), within **30 days from the conclusion of the contract**; it is released only after full and definitive execution and is automatically prolonged if the contract is reconducted.

❓There is no separate bid bond mentioned.

✓Advances of **20%** are granted for implementation posts if the contractor issues an advance invoice within **15 calendar days** from contract conclusion (for LMS implementation and corresponding orders for implementation options); the advance is settled on the final invoice.

❓A specific “warranty guarantee” as a separate security is not foreseen, but there is a **minimum 30‑day guarantee period** after provisional acceptance before definitive acceptance is granted.

Is subcontracting allowed? If so: with which limits and which disclosure duties?

✓On subcontracting, such as, IT hosting or specialist services, **subcontracting is allowed** and the subcontracting chain is **not limited**, but there are clear constraints and disclosure duties.

✓The contractor remains solely responsible to the contracting authority; the authority has no direct contractual link with subcontractors.

✓The contractor must use the **subcontractors proposed in its offer**, unless the authority approves a change.

✓A subcontractor may **not** re‑subcontract the **entire** portion entrusted to it nor keep only coordination.

✓If the contractor relies on the **technical/professional capacity of a third entity** to meet minimum requirements, it **must subcontract** to that entity the part of the contract requiring that capacity.

✓In terms of disclosure, the offer must include a **list of subcontractors** (name, address, company number, DPO/contact, activities and location) as part of the data‑processing agreement; any “sub‑processor” under the RGPD must be bound by a contract mirroring the same data‑protection obligations as between EAP and the main contractor.

Is there a site visit, and is attendance mandatory? If so: when?

❓Concerning site visits, the procedure does not provide a classical “site visit” of premises.

✓Instead, there is an **“organisation de la journée de démo”** (Annexe 18), that is, a **demo day** where shortlisted tenderers are **invited to present their solution** based on seven scenarios, and access to a **test environment for two months** is also required.

✓The text states that, after selection and initial regularity checks, “les soumissionnaires restants seront invités à la journée de démo et à donner accès à un environnement de test” and the demos are scheduled **during the first three weeks of March 2027**; evaluations on the test platform occur **from 1 March to 30 April 2027**.

In which language must the tender and the supporting documents be submitted, and are documents in other languages accepted?

✓As to language requirements, such as, the language of the offer, the **language of the contract is French**.

✓The text states that **the offer and all annexed documents must be written in French**, and all written and oral relations between the contracting authority and the contractor are **exclusively in French**.

✓It does not provide any acceptance regime for documents in other languages, so documents in another language are not foreseen as admissible; any supporting documentation must be in French (or, at minimum, accompanied by French versions consistent with this requirement).

How long is the bidder bound by the tender (validity period), and is there a deadline for bidder questions? If so: until when?

✓Regarding tender validity and bidder questions, such as, clarification requests, the **validity period** is clearly set: the bidder is bound by its offer for **270 calendar days from the tender submission deadline** (i.e. 270 days from 20 January 2027).

✓Negotiations and the submission of the Best And Final Offer (BAFO) must occur **within this validity period**.

✓For questions, the CSC specifies that all questions must be submitted **via the e‑Procurement forum**, and the authority will publish answers progressively **and at the latest six working days before the ultimate deadline for submission**, provided the questions were asked “en temps utile.” Separately, if a bidder identifies errors or omissions in the CSC that prevent pricing or comparison of offers, it must notify the contracting authority through the e‑Procurement forum **no later than 10 days before the deadline for receipt of offers**, so at the latest **10 days before 20 January 2027**; the authority may then correct the CSC and extend the submission deadline.

Further details

✓Public service contract for an LXP-oriented training management platform (EAP Wallonie-Bruxelles)

✓The input text is a Belgian public procurement “cahier spécial des charges” for a services contract (implementation and operation of an LMS/LXP training platform) launched by the École d’administration publique Wallonie‑Bruxelles (EAP).

✓It is governed explicitly by Belgian law (loi du 17 juin 2016, AR 18 avril 2017, AR 14 janvier 2013, etc.), so all rules and procedures described reflect the legal and administrative framework of Belgium.

✓As background, the contract is a competitive procedure with negotiation for a long‑term LMS/LXP solution (initial 48 months, reconductible up to 96 months).

✓The tender must be submitted electronically via the Belgian e‑Procurement platform by 20 January 2027 at 12:00, and the award is based on the economically most advantageous offer, combining cost and quality criteria, with functional demonstrations and a test environment.