GOVERNMENT OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 

DEVELOPMENT OF A NATIONAL QUALITY POLICY FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

1. Background

The Government of Trinidad and Tobago (GOTT) has applied for financing by way of a grant from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) pursuant to the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) Standby Facility for Capacity Building under the 10^th European Development Fund (EDF) in an amount not exceeding the equivalent of two hundred and fifty thousand, nine hundred and fifty United States dollars (USD250,950)  towards the cost of the Development of a National Quality Policy for Trinidad and Tobago. The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), the Applicant for the Project, intends to apply a portion of the proceeds of this financing to eligible payments under a contract for which this invitation is issued, pursuant to the Financing Agreement between CDB and GOTT. The project will be executed by the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (TTBS)

Payments by CDB will be made only at the request of GOTT and upon approval by CDB, and will be subject in all respects to the terms and conditions of the Financing Agreement.  The Financing Agreement prohibits withdrawal from the financing account for the purpose of any payment to persons or entities, or for any import of goods, if such payment or import, to the knowledge of CDB, is prohibited by a decision of the United Nations Security Council taken under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.  No party other than GOTT shall derive any rights from the Financing Agreement or have any claim to the proceeds of the Financing.

2. Scope of Consultancy and Eligibility Criteria

The GOTT now intends to procure consultancy services for National Quality Policy Development.

The objective of this assignment is to establish a National Quality Policy (NQP) and Implementation Plan to define and strengthen the quality infrastructure in Trinidad and Tobago. This should result in increased competitiveness of Trinidad and Tobago’s products and services on national and international markets. The duration of the assignment is one hundred and twenty (120) person days over a period of six months (6) calendar months.

GOTT now invites interested eligible consulting firms to submit Expressions of Interest for the provision of these consultancy services.

Consultants shall be eligible to participate if:

(a) in the case of a body corporate: it is legally incorporated or otherwise organised in an eligible country, has its principal place of business in an eligible country and is more than 50 per cent beneficially owned by citizen(s) and/or bona fide resident(s) of eligible country(ies) or by a body(ies) corporate meeting these requirements;

(b) in the case of unincorporated firms, the persons are citizens or bona fide residents of an eligible country; and

(c) in all cases, the consultant(s):

(i) has no arrangement and undertakes not to make any arrangements, whereby any substantial part of the net profits or other tangible benefits of the contract will accrue or be paid to a person not a citizen or bona fide resident of an eligible country;

(ii) is not bankrupt or insolvent or in the process of either, or having their affairs administered by the Courts, has not entered into an arrangement with creditors,, or is in any analogous situation arising from similar procedure provide for in their national legislation or regulations;

(iii) has not been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgment which has the force of res judicata;

(iv) has not been the subject of a judgment which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organization or any other illegal activity detrimental to the EU’s financial interest;

(v) is not guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required as a condition of the participation in the procedure or if they fail to supply this information; and

(vi) does not expose a conflict of interest.

Consultants from Trinidad and Tobago and other member countries of CDB, as well as EU Member Countries, which are not CDB Member Countries, and other countries which are eligible under EU procurement provisions, will be eligible to participate in these procurement opportunities[1].

3. Selection Criteria

In the assessment of submissions, consideration will be given to firms demonstrating the following:

Resources with technical competence, qualifications, including:

• At least a Master’s degree in Quality Management, Natural Sciences, Applied Sciences, Engineering, Management, Law, Economics or any other related field.
• Good communications, facilitation and change management skills.
• Excellent technical and report-writing skills. Fluency in written and spoken English.

Relevant experience including:

• At least 10 years’ work/consulting experience in a standardisation or quality infrastructure related field inclusive of metrology, standardisation, testing, inspection, accreditation and quality management and significant hands-on experience in developing national quality policies and strategies.
• Sound knowledge of the linkages between the various components of a NQI and international best practices of NQIs.

4. Submission of Expressions of Interest

Expressions of Interest must be submitted in English and electronically by email to nqpinfo@ttbs.org,tt pdf format no later than 1630 hours Trinidad and Tobago time on Friday, September 9, 2016.  The email subject line should state “Expression of Interest – Development of a National Quality Policy Consultancy” and the email body must state the name and address of the applicant. The Expression of Interest will be deemed to have been received at the time that it is received by the Project Coordinator.  The burden of proving receipt of the e-mail will be on the applicant and will not be met solely by a read receipt or sent items report generated by the bidder’s computer.  In addition, three (3) hard copies of the Expressions of Interest must be received at the first address below no later than 1630 hours Trinidad and Tobago time on Friday, September 9, 2016 and one e-copy must be sent simultaneously to CDB at the second address below.  The sealed envelope containing each submission should include the name and address of the applicant and shall be clearly marked “Expression of Interest – Development of a National Quality Policy Consultancy.” GOTT reserves the right to accept or reject late applications or to cancel the present invitation partially or in its entirety.  It will not be bound to assign any reason for not short-listing any applicant and will not defray any costs incurred by any applicant in the preparation and submission of Expressions of Interest.

5. Selection Method

The selection method shall be Fixed Budget Selection (FBS).  Therefore, following the receipt of submissions, firms shall be assessed and compared and a short-list, not less than three (3) and not more than six (6) firms, will be provided with the full Terms of Reference and budget for the assignment and invited to submit technical and financial proposals to undertake the assignment.

6. Request for Information

All information or request for information must be submitted in English. Further information may be obtained from the first address below between 9:00 a.m-4:00 p.m. hours Monday to Friday.