Humanitarian Emergency Response Operations and Stabilisation Programme (HEROS)

CPV: Foreign economic-aid-related services

Procedure method

Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition

Legal basis

CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)

Procurement category

Services

Notice status

Awarded without competition

Procurement threshold

Unspecified in notice

Regulatory regime

Standard

Commercial structure

Stand-alone contract (no framework)

Competition type

Direct award (no call for competition)

GPA / WTO covered

Unspecified in notice

Recurring procurement

Unspecified in notice

First published

21 Feb 2025, 13:09 GMT

Last source update

21 Feb 2025, 13:09 GMT

Authority reference

DFID PO7900 / ECM_3844

FTS notice number

2025/S 000-006725

Classification (CPV)

Foreign economic-aid-related services

Delivery area

UK

Official registry OCID

ocds-h6vhtk-04e67a Find a Tender

Why no open competition

The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive

Published justification

Extension of the contract beyond the advertised scope without prior publication of a call for competition

PCR 2015 Regulation 72 allows the contracting authority to modify public contracts where the relevant criteria are met, and FCDO meets the following criteria for Regulation 72 (1) (b) to apply:

Additional services by the original contractor have become necessary and were not included in the initial procurement, and a change of contractor -

(i) cannot be made for economic or technical reasons such as requirements of interchangeability or interoperability with existing equipment, services or installations procured under the initial procurement, and

(ii) would cause significant inconvenience or substantial duplication of costs for the contracting authority.

Specifically,

The services provided under the HEROS contract are fully interoperable with FCDO systems and processes for crisis and conflict response and a change of contractor cannot be made for economic or technical reasons. It has become increasingly clear that the services are so closely integrated into FCDO structures, in the manner described below, that further time is needed to clarify and distinguish them. For this reason, no supplier would currently be able to deliver the services other than the incumbent. The work to clearly define the distinction between, and the roles and responsibilities of, the FCDO and a Supplier in relation to the services to be delivered will also minimise incumbent advantage by ensuring the right information is fully available to competitors when the contract is in due course re-procured.

The Management Information system, required for the running of the services, has been jointly developed between the current contractor and the authority. The Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are split between multiple parties. The contractor also operates leases and licenses on FCDO’s behalf that are critical for the delivery of Core Relief Items (CRIs) to a humanitarian response. A change of contractor at this stage would cause significant inconvenience and a substantial increase in costs.

It is anticipated that a further period of up to 2 years would be needed to undertake the work to distinguish services to the level necessary to commence an effective procurement process and then undertake that process.

Given the complexity of the services and the interoperability of contractor systems with FCDO systems, a further period of approximately 12 months is also expected to be needed to transition to a successful incoming contractor. This is an increase to the originally predicted timeline of around 6 months but will ensure the incoming contractor has sufficient time to mobilise the services effectively.

The FCDO is therefore modifying the contract under Regulation 72 (1) (b) to extend the contract for a period of up to 3 years. This modification does not increase the total value of the contract and is a time-only extension. Whilst the extension of the contract is required, the result will be that FCDO gains the necessary time to minimise incumbent advantage, and to prepare a requirement that maximises the attractiveness of the contract, following Procurement Act 2023 requirements.

As we work through the new Ministerial priorities in a context where we continue to respond to multiple concurrent crises, we will engage with the market on the future of HEROS. A Prior Information Note (PIN) will shortly be released with details of the next market engagement event.

Publisher note: Extension of the contract beyond the advertised scope without prior publication of a call for competition PCR 2015 Regulation 72 allows the contracting authority to modify public contracts where the relevant criteria are met, and FCDO meets the following criteria for Regulation 72 (1) (b) to apply: Additional services by the original contractor have become necessary and were not included in the initial procurement, and a change of contractor - (i) cannot be made for economic or technical reasons such as requirements of interchangeability or interoperability with existing equipment, services or installations procured under the initial procurement, and (ii) would cause significant inconvenience or substantial duplication of costs for the contracting authority. Specifically, The services provided under the HEROS contract are fully interoperable with FCDO systems and processes for crisis and conflict response and a change of contractor cannot be made for economic or technical reasons. It has become increasingly clear that the services are so closely integrated into FCDO structures, in the manner described below, that further time is needed to clarify and distinguish them. For this reason, no supplier would currently be able to deliver the services other than the incumbent. The work to clearly define the distinction between, and the roles and responsibilities of, the FCDO and a Supplier in relation to the services to be delivered will also minimise incumbent advantage by ensuring the right information is fully available to competitors when the contract is in due course re-procured. The Management Information system, required for the running of the services, has been jointly developed between the current contractor and the authority. The Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are split between multiple parties. The contractor also operates leases and licenses on FCDO’s behalf that are critical for the delivery of Core Relief Items (CRIs) to a humanitarian response. A change of contractor at this stage would cause significant inconvenience and a substantial increase in costs. It is anticipated that a further period of up to 2 years would be needed to undertake the work to distinguish services to the level necessary to commence an effective procurement process and then undertake that process. Given the complexity of the services and the interoperability of contractor systems with FCDO systems, a further period of approximately 12 months is also expected to be needed to transition to a successful incoming contractor. This is an increase to the originally predicted timeline of around 6 months but will ensure the incoming contractor has sufficient time to mobilise the services effectively. The FCDO is therefore modifying the contract under Regulation 72 (1) (b) to extend the contract for a period of up to 3 years. This modification does not increase the total value of the contract and is a time-only extension. Whilst the extension of the contract is required, the result will be that FCDO gains the necessary time to minimise incumbent advantage, and to prepare a requirement that maximises the attractiveness of the contract, following Procurement Act 2023 requirements. As we work through the new Ministerial priorities in a context where we continue to respond to multiple concurrent crises, we will engage with the market on the future of HEROS. A Prior Information Note (PIN) will shortly be released with details of the next market engagement event.

• Palladium InternationalAwarded supplier London, UK

No document links were published on the notice.