The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is carrying out a project entitled “What’s the Problem’ supported by the European Commission through budget-line 04030303, which requires an expert in quantitative industrial relations research to co-design a 50 question questionnaire on the experiences of European Works Councils and to process up to 9000 responses. The project requires that an expert be contracted to discharge the following tasks over a period of 12 months:

Attending two steering committee meetings and one publicity event in Brussels for presentation of results in Brussels (working language - English).
Drafting a 50 question questionnaire in cooperation with the project steering committee
Signing off questionnaires (checking the layout and translations)
Receiving all returned questionnaires
Coding all returned questionnaires
Data input of up to 9000 questionnaires into reputable statistical analysis software
Cleaning data
Producing an ‘all frequencies output’ report
Producing a report with at least 20 tabulated responses requested by select committee

It is important to note that the questionnaire will focus on issues in European industrial relations. It must be drafted in English or French and it will be translated into 10 languages. Tenders should not include costs for translation of the questionnaire, which will be undertaken separately, but must show capacity to process all the responses without additional translation costs. Travel tickets and accommodation for the expert to attend the three meetings will also be provided separately and should not be costed into bids.

The contract will be awarded to the tender offering the best value for money, taking into account the following criteria:

The total cost of the bid;
The extent to which the tender demonstrates relevant experience of similar survey work in the European industrial relations field
The extent to which the tender otherwise demonstrates capacity to carry out the tasks required to a high standard
The extent to which the tender demonstrates capacity to meet the timetable of the project;
The extent to which the tender guarantees maximum cost limits (in all events);
The extent to which the tender allows for lower final costs in the event that the amount of work is less than anticipated.

The ETUC undertakes to respect the principles of transparency and equal treatment with a view to avoiding any conflicts of interest.

The ETUC will draw up a contract with the successful bidder which will specify:

Details of the remuneration and the conditions of payment;
Other technical details required for the smooth implementation of the service contract in question.
Commitment from the contractee to accept checks or audits by the European Commission under the conditions set out for budget-line 04030303.

Offers must be received within four weeks of 28 September 2004, the date of publication of this call for tenders on the website of the European Trade Union Confederation. All candidates must either deliver their bid by hand or submit them by registered letter in an envelope marked “Design and Processing of Questionnaires 2004”. Tenders should be addressed to Mr Michel Mortelette, Project Manager at the following address: ETUC, Bd du roi Albert II, 5, B-1210 Brussels.

For tenders sent by registered mail, the postmark will serve as proof of the date of dispatch.
For tenders submitted by private courier service and hand-delivered requests, a receipt signed by ETUC’s Mail Department, stamped on the date of the deadline for submission (18 October 2004 for this call for tenders) if not before, will serve as proof of delivery (submissions must be received by 4 p.m. at the latest).