Clarifications

Please disregard the previous CCS clarification response relating to ISO27001/ Cyber Essentials. The definitive response is: CCS can confirm that ISO27001 WILL be accepted as an equivalent to Cyber Essentials Basic for the Research Marketplace RM6018. This is required as a condition for the award of a supplier's first contract for RM6018. Suppliers should note, a customer may stipulate that advanced cyber security is required for certain projects following a cyber assessment e.g. Cyber Essentials Plus. In this instance the customer will confirm if ISO27001 can be used as equivalent to Cyber Essentials Plus, if it is within the scope of the customer's cyber requirements.

All bidders who complete the SQ will automatically enter in to 'assessing' stage, this will enable CCS to undertake the necessary review of bidder responses to the SQ to ensure they meet the required selection criteria. Where an issue is identified, CCS and the bidder have a maximum of fifteen (15) working days to work jointly to rectify the issue where possible in accordance with Regulation 34 (Dynamic Purchasing Systems) of PCR 2015. In the event that the issue cannot be rectified within the 15 working days, CCS will 'reject' the bidders 'Request to Participate' as an interim measure whilst the necessary further actions are undertaken. The bidder can then reapply to join the DPS within a timescale specified by the CCS via the Supplier Registration (Sid4GOV) platform. When no issues are identified, CCS will aim to appoint suppliers to the DPS asap and within the 15 working day turnaround timescale.

CCS can confirm the customer will determine pricing requirements as part of their project statement of works at call for competition stage. Customer pricing will be developed in line with the DPS Agreement, DPS Schedule Schedule 3 - Charging Structure which forms part of the RM6018 bid pack.

The reference you have stated relates to Q150 in the SQ. This question is N/A as detailed in the DPS Needs document which forms part of the bid pack in the RM6018 marketplace.

CCS confirm that suppliers can request to participate for the RM6018 Research Marketplace DPS at any point during the lifetime of the DPS, there is no deadline for submissions as detailed in the DPS Needs document of the RM6018 bid pack. The opportunity remains open at all times unless the DPS expires or is terminated in accordance with the DPS Agreement. With effect from 16/02/18, customers will have access to the DPS to use to conduct call for competitions based on their individual project requirements.

Please refer to Attachment 5 - Response Guidance for Contract Examples which can be located in the bid pack in the Supplier Registration marketplace for the RM6018 Research Marketplace DPS.

Additional evidence such as insurance documents etc can be uploaded to the DPS after suppliers appointment to the DPS and prior to award of a suppliers first contract.

Please note that Attachments 1a and 1b can now be accessed in word format in the RM6018 bid pack within the Supplier Registration Marketplace.

CCS can confirm the RM6018 Research Marketplace Selection Questionnaire is made up of standard selection questions (Standard Selection Questionnaire) parts 1 - 3, question numbers Q1 - Q161 and the Dynamic Purchasing System Questionnaire (DPSQ) Q1a - Q10. Each of the above questions are contained within the one questionnaire, which the supplier will have visibility to during their SQ journey. Furthermore, please see Attachment 5 - Response Guidance for Contract Examples, which can be located in the bid pack in the Supplier Registration marketplace for the RM6018 Research Marketplace DPS.

Please proceed to the next page where question 1e will be visible and will state the following: You have provided a response to contract example 1 and contract example 2 in questions 1c and 1d. Please download Attachment 1a (Letter of Confirmation - Contract Example 1) and Attachment 1b (Letter of Confirmation - Contract Example 2), complete the highlighted fields and upload Attachments 1a (Letter of Confirmation - Contract Example 1) and 1b (Letter of Confirmation - Contract Example 2) to certify the contract examples you have provided in questions 1c and 1d.

Please refer to the DPS Needs document, point 36 which details all not applicable questions. This can be located in the bid pack in the Supplier Registration marketplace for the RM6018 Research Marketplace DPS. In the event that a supplier organisation does not have a parent company and therefore can not provide parent company accounts, suppliers should select 'no' to the appropriate question(s).

As detailed in Attachment 5 - Response Guidance for Contract Examples which can be located in the bid pack in the Supplier Registration marketplace for the RM6018 Research Marketplace DPS, the character count for each contract example is 4096.

CCS can confirm that the supplier Code of Conduct can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supplier-code-of-conduct

The scope of the Cyber Certification, means the suppliers systems that are exposed to the Internet. Brief bullet points will suffice as a response to this question.

There is no maximum number of sub contractors that can be listed by each individual supplier. The DPS Selection Questionnaire allows for a maximum of twenty (20) suppliers. However if you envisage more than twenty (20) sub-contractors as part of your selection questionnaire response, please contact CCS at researchmarketplace@crowncommercial.gov.uk to confirm and further advice will be provided.

Questions 1-3 - SQ Name / SQ Description / CPV code selection. Part 1 - About your organisation / Bidding model / Declaration - Questions 4-104. Part 2 - Grounds for mandatory exclusion / Grounds for discretionary exclusion - Questions 105-126. Part 3 - Economic and financial standing / Relevant experience / Modern Slavery Act / Insurance / Skills and apprentices / Steel / Past performance / Cyber Essentials - Questions 127-156.

Please refer to the DPS Needs document, point 36 which details all not applicable questions. This can be located in the bid pack in the Supplier Registration marketplace for the RM6018 Research Marketplace DPS.

Please refer to Attachment 5 - Response Guidance for Contract Examples which can be located in the bid pack in the Supplier Registration marketplace for the RM6018 Research Marketplace DPS.

Contract Examples provided must relate to contracts performed during the past 3 years and prior to publication of the OJEU Contract Notice to ensure validity. CCS will be publishing an additional attachment in the bid pack (Attachment 5 - Response Guidance for Contract Examples) and an amended DPS Needs document to support the additional instructions for contract examples and N/A questions in due course. CCS will update all registered suppliers on the RM6018 DPS as soon as the additional attachment and DPS Needs document has been included in the bid pack in the marketplace. However, full response criteria to support contract examples can be accessed via the appropriate link at Q1a and Q1b of the Dynamic Purchasing System Questionnaire (DPSQ), which forms part of the complete RM6018 Selection Questionnaire.

CCS can confirm Q151 - Q154 are not applicable and can therefore be disregarded. CCS will be publishing an amended DPS Needs document in the bid pack in due course which will detail additional N/A questions. CCS will update all registered suppliers on the RM6018 DPS as soon as the revised DPS Needs document has been included in the bid pack in the marketplace.