The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS): Campus for Advanced Nuclear Skills and Innovation: Pilot Programme

UK-London: Research and development services and related consultancy services.

Preliminary Questions
   This notice is published by:
   Directive 2014/24/EU

Section I: Contracting authority/entity

I.1) Name and addresses
       The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
       1 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0ET, United Kingdom
       Tel. +44 2072155000, Email: zara.hodgson@beis.gov.uk
       Main Address: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-energy-and-industrial-strategy
       NUTS Code: UK

I.4) Type of the contracting authority (in the case of a notice published by a contracting authority)
      Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisions

I.5) Main Activity (in the case of a notice published by a contracting authority)
      General public services


Section II: Object

II.1) Scope of the procurement
   
   II.1.1) Title: Campus for Advanced Nuclear Skills and Innovation: Pilot Programme.
      Reference number: Not Provided
      
   II.1.2) Main CPV code:
      73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services.
   
   II.1.3) Type of contract: SERVICES
   
   II.1.4) Short Description: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) intends to appoint the National Nuclear Laboratory for The Advanced Nuclear Campus Pilot Programme, that will establish a 9 month pilot for an advanced nuclear skills and innovation campus. The Pilot will:
•demonstrate how collaborative Innovation and Research projects can be successfully carried out on a civil Nuclear Licensed Site, and how best to remove barriers and facilitate access to those sites;
•demonstrate and evaluate different approaches to providing skills, training, and experience on a civil Nuclear Licensed Site, for a range of ages and educational backgrounds;
•establish the scope and specification of future Campuses, including, location considerations, access arrangements and infrastructure requirements; and
•develop robust evidence base and propose suitable delivery models and funding levels for full-scale Campuses and identifying what level of user demand exists across the sector.
   
   II.1.6) Information about lots
      This contract is divided into lots: No

   II.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
      Value: 2,045,000      
      Currency: GBP


II.2) Description

   II.2.2) Additional CPV codes:
      Not provided

   II.2.3) Place of performance:
      UK UNITED KINGDOM
   
   
   II.2.4) Description of the procurement:
    The core requirement for the pilot project is to trial approaches or arrangements for overcoming the barrier to technology development in a nuclear environment; in other words, the pilot will identify how best to provide reasonable site access to the wider market. This requirement means that a delivery partner must have ready access to R&D facilities on a civil nuclear licensed site from the start of the 9-month programme (i.e. from June 2021). Only NNL have access to extensive R&D facilities on a nuclear licensed site, and thus can provide the services required by this procurement.

Our initial estimated budget of £1.745m has moved to a £2.045m finalised budget, after continued development of project requirements and scoping of costs, since the market engagement and related PIN.    
   
   II.2.5) Award criteria
   (Directive 2014/24/EU / Directive 2014/25/EU)
               
    Not provided       
      
      
   II.2.11) Information about options:
      Options:    No       
   
   II.2.13) Information about European Union funds:
      The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:    No

   II.2.14) Additional information:
    Our initial estimated budget of £1.745m has moved to a £2.045m finalised budget, after continued development of project requirements and scoping of costs, since the market engagement and related PIN.    
      
Section IV: Procedure

IV.1) Description
   
   IV.1.1) Type of procedure: Negotiated procedure without prior publication (in accordance with Article 32 of Directive 2014/24/EU)          
   
   IV.1.3) Information about framework agreement
         The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement: No    
   
   IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
         The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:Yes
         
IV.2)Administrative Information

   IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure:
      Notice number in OJ S: Not provided       
   
Section V: Award Of Contract/Concession
      
Award of Contract/Concession No: 1
Contract No: Not Provided    Lot Number: Not Provided    Title: Not Provided

V.2) Award of contract/concession
      
      V.2.1) Date of contract award decision: 10/05/2021.
      
      V.2.2) Information about tenders
      The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No .

      V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire, No. 1:
          National Nuclear Laboratory LImited, 03857752
       Chadwick House, Warrington Road, Birchwood Park, Warrington, WA3 6AE, United Kingdom
       NUTS Code: UK
   The contractor/concessionaire will be an SME: No    
   
         
      V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession:
         Initial estimated total value of the contract: 2,045,000          
         Total value of the contract/lot/concession 2,045,000         
         Currency: GBP

      V.2.5) Information about subcontracting:
         The contract is likely to be subcontracted: No          


Section VI: Complementary Information

   VI.3) Additional Information:
      To view this notice, please click here:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=594087836
GO-2021520-PRO-18270858 TKR-2021520-PRO-18270857   
   VI.4) Procedures for review
   
      VI.4.1) Review Body
          Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
       1 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0ET, United Kingdom
   
      V1.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures:
         Not Provided .

      VI.4.3) Review procedure
      Not Provided    
      
      VI.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
         Not Provided
   
   VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice: 20/05/2021


Annex D1 - General Procurement
Justification for the award of the contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the Official Journal of the European Union
Directive 2014/24/EU

1. Justification for the choice of the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a call for competition in accordance with Article 32 of Directive 2014/24/EU

   No tenders or no suitable tenders/requests to participate in response to: Not provided

   
   
   The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason: absence of competition for technical reasons
   
   Extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable for the contracting authority and in accordance with the strict conditions stated in the directive: No
   
   Additional deliveries by the original supplier ordered under the strict conditions stated in the directive: No

   New works/services, constituting a repetition of existing works/services and ordered in accordance with the strict conditions stated in the directive: No

   Service contract to be awarded to the winner or one of winners under the rules of a design contest: No

   

   Purchase of supplies or services on particularly advantageous terms: Not Provided



3. Explanation

   Please explain in a clear and comprehensive manner why the award of the contract without prior publication in the Official Journal of the European Union is
   lawful, by stating the relevant facts and, as appropriate, the conclusions of law in accordance with the directive: (500 words maximum)
   The NNL is a Government-owned body (the Secretary of State for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is the sole shareholder) and as such has a remit to support Government in nuclear technical matters.

For this pilot programme, market engagement was held with industry organisations, academia and consultancies to determine the viability of a competitive procurement procedure. Feedback gathered has caused BEIS to discount a competition as a viable route for the campus pilot. This is based on the following factors:

• It is not feasible currently to provide the wider market with fair and reasonable access to R&D facilities on a civil nuclear licensed site, therefore a fair competition cannot be held.
• Any potential competitive option would require complex consortia structures, which go against the pilot objectives - all consortia partners would need to partner with a site licencee or enter into lengthy new site licence negotiations with the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR). The pilot is not intended to trial and assess the delivery partner, but instead trial the process, learning and outcomes of pilot projects and training enabled by the delivery partner.
• Only a single organisation (NNL) currently have access to extensive R&D facilities on a nuclear licensed site.

The core requirement for the pilot project is to trial approaches or arrangements for overcoming the barrier to technology development in a nuclear environment; in other words, the pilot will identify how best to provide reasonable site access to the wider market. This requirement means that a delivery partner must have ready access to R&D facilities on a civil licensed site from the start of the 9-month programme (i.e. from June 2021). As mentioned, only a single organisation (NNL) already having access to extensive R&D facilities on a nuclear licensed site and can currently offer this service.

Whilst the single source route is appropriate for this pilot, it is vital to create an environment where a fair and open competition is possible for future campus phases. Any future open competition is predicated on the pilot not giving any unfair advantage to the delivery partner or licensed site. During this pilot programme NNL must look toward the next phase and the importance of opening up the market. Opening up the market requires:

• Future Multiple Site Options – NNL will be tasked with identifying future campus location(s), the benefits they could bring and the necessary interventions to enable them to do so.
• Future Multiple Delivery Partners – NNL will be tasked with identifying effective processes and opportunities for organisations to become tenants on nuclear licensed sites, along with associated challenges and requirements.
• Industrial Innovation. NNL will be tasked with identifying campus features (working model and timelines) to enable campus innovation from the market and drive toward Value for Money (ROI) with the Research and Development conducted.