Evaluation of the ‘Every Child Language Hero’ plan

Regarding what bidders must submit and the minimum qualification requirements, the text specifies the required pieces in a numbered “Overzicht documenten”. Such as: an official offerteformulier (Stuk 1) where bidders fill in identity, price (excl./incl. VAT) and basic company data; any “Verbintenis draagkracht” (Stuk 2) for each other entrepreneur whose capacities are used to meet selection criteria; proof of signing authority (Stuk 3) via statutes extracts or powers of attorney for each person who signs electronically; and the “Documenten voor beoordeling op basis van de gunningscriteria” (Stuk 4), including CVs of the research team and methodological descriptions. In addition, the UEA (Uniform Europees Aanbestedingsdocument) must be completed within the e‑Procurement platform for the tenderer, all members of a combination, and entrepreneurs whose capacities are relied upon. Minimum economic and financial capacity is defined as an average annual turnover of at least EUR 150,000 over the last three years, proven by annual accounts (for Belgian bidders retrieved via Telemarc). Minimum technical and professional capacity requires at least two comparable evaluation‑research references not older than three years, described in the UEA and supporting documents if requested. There are no explicit insurance or certificate requirements beyond the standard exclusion grounds (e.g. fiscal and social compliance, no exclusion grounds under Belgian law) and the Russia‑sanctions declaration in the offerteformulier.

The scope of the contract (what, how much, where, when) is defined as an evaluation study of the plan “Ieder Kind Taalheld” in the Flemish education system. Such as: the technical prescriptions list detailed “kennisvragen” on how schools identify pupils for measures, implementation conditions, professionalisation, impacts on Dutch language proficiency and learning outcomes, and alignment with frameworks like the Taalunie’s Raamwerk Nederlands. The place of performance is within the Flemish educational context, with communication with the authority based in Brussels (Koning Albert II‑laan; Martelaarsplein for bailiff documents). The period runs from end‑December 2026 (start of contract) to 1 December 2029 (final report and school feedback reports). Intermediate deliverables are tied to fixed dates: a first interim report by 1 December 2027, a second by 1 December 2028, a “geïntegreerd beleidsrapport” by 1 March 2029, and then the overall final report and school feedback reports by 1 December 2029. Quantities are expressed in terms of deliverables rather than numeric volumes; the price must be a global (lump‑sum) price, inclusive of all cost elements listed (administration, travel, documentation, intellectual property costs, etc.), and must fall within a specified price range of EUR 556,702.26 to EUR 720,438.22 including 21% VAT.

Award criteria and weighting are set out both in the bestek and in the infosessie presentation and match each other. Such as: three main criteria totalling 100 points—(1) Kwaliteit van de offerte (40/100), (2) Kwaliteit van de expertise van de uitvoerders (20/100), and (3) Prijs van het voorstel (40/100). The “kwaliteit van de offerte” is broken down into subcriteria: causaal design (15 points), onderzoeksopzet en plan van aanpak including datamanagement (15 points), hergebruik van bestaande data en beperking van de planlast for schools (5 points), and relevance and usability of outputs for policy (5 points). Expertise of the team is judged on experience in similar evaluations, familiarity with the Flemish education and language‑education context, methodological expertise, guarantees of objectivity, and team management skills; CVs of the proposed team must be annexed, and changes during execution need prior approval. The price criterion is absolute: the cheapest bid within the defined price range receives the maximum 40 points, and other bids are scored via the formula (price of cheapest bid / price of bid) * 40 on the basis of prices inclusive of VAT. To be ranked for award, a bid must obtain at least 75% of the total points.

Risks and special conditions are mainly addressed in the execution section, referring systematically to the KB Uitvoering. Such as: general “straffen” (sanctions) for defective performance (art. 45, 46/1 KB Uitvoering) calculated as a daily or one‑off penalty on the contract amount; vertragingsboetes (delay penalties) for missed partial deadlines, where each deliverable is treated as a separate part for penalty purposes (art. 154 KB Uitvoering); and the possibility of contract revision or termination in case of unforeseeable circumstances or fault by either party (arts. 38/9–38/11 KB Uitvoering), with “zeer belangrijk nadeel/voordeel” defined as at least 15% of the initial contract value. The tender foresees a standard borgtocht (performance guarantee) under Belgian rules, electronic communication only, strict confidentiality obligations, and a mandatory Dutch language use in all interactions. Subcontracting is allowed but: no exclusion grounds may apply to subcontractors; if the bidder relies on another entrepreneur’s capacity for selection criteria, that entity must sign a “Verbintenis terbeschikkingstelling middelen” and is jointly and severally liable for execution where financial capacity is concerned; and substituting such capacity‑providers requires prior consent. The validity period (verbintenistermijn) of the tender is 120 calendar days from the day after the submission deadline. Financial conditions include phased payments (30/30/20/20%) upon approval of reports, mandatory e‑invoicing (Peppol/Mercurius), and the possibility for SMEs to request a 20% advance payment, which must be explicitly indicated in the offer and is settled against the final invoice. Questions on finances go to a dedicated email, and any legal actions or bailiff notifications must follow specified procedures. There is no physical site visit requirement mentioned; instead, information is provided via the infosessie and e‑procurement.

On contradictions or corrections within the documents, the tender documents largely confirm each other and specify that published Q&A and corrigenda via e‑procurement form an integral part of the contract and must be taken into account by bidders. Such as: the infosessie clarifies that the bidder itself does not sign a “verbintenis terbeschikkingstelling middelen”; that form is only for other entrepreneurs whose capacities are used (confirming bestek point 2.3.3). The infosessie also explains how potential conflicts of interest are treated as facultative exclusion grounds under article 69 of the Belgian law, mirroring the formal text in 2.3.1 of the bestek. The price range and weighting of award criteria are consistent between the presentation and the bestek; where wording differs, the detailed article 2.4 of the bestek is the binding reference, as the bestek is the primary contractual document and any later “terechtwijzend bericht” (correction notice) published via e‑procurement prevails over earlier versions. Thus, when in doubt, the statements in the bestek, as amended by any officially published corrections and Q&A, are the ones that apply.