Clarifications

CCS confirm that suppliers can request to participate for the RM6018 Research Marketplace DPS at any point 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.

There is no estimation of the value of work that may, or may not, be awarded under the Research Marketplace DPS agreement. Once you are appointed as a supplier to the Research Marketplace DPS agreement it allows you to be invited to participate in call-off competitions as published by public sector customers, however you will only be invited to bid if your service offering (as selected by you) matches the filters the customers choose. Being shortlisted and invited to bid does not guarantee you a contract, you will have to participate in the competition and score as the most advantageous tender in order to be awarded the work.

Suppliers are not required to complete a document to find your credit score. CCS use the score as listed against your DUNS number on the Dun & Bradstreet website to determine if you meet the financial threshold. Please note that if an organisation happens to fail the financial threshold we follow the processes specified in the DPS Needs document at Part 3 - Economic & Financial Standing which may involve a request for a guarantor.

CCS can confirm the minimum financial threshold credit score is 51 or above, as detailed in the DPS Need document at point 24.

During the current Covid-19 pandemic situation it has been agreed that CCS will progress an application to join the RM6018 Research Marketplace DPS without a wet signature being held on the Letters of Confirmation of Work (LoCoW). We will accept it as a true example and request an email from the customer when possible as validation.

Please refer to the RM6018 Research Marketplace DPS Needs document held within the Bid Pack. Section 36 details questions which are not applicable to this DPS and states as follows: Selection Questionnaire - Not Applicable questions: 36. There are questions in the Selection Questionnaire and corresponding Evidence Submission' stage that are not applicable for this RM6018 Research Marketplace procurement, therefore bidders must please note, a response is NOT required to the questions as detailed below: • Part 2: (Contract Example 3) - Q135 • Part 3: (Steel) Q147 - Q149 • Part 3: (Supply Chain) Q150 - Q154 • Part 3 (NHS Requirements) Q158 - Q161 Evidence Submission stage for the following questions: • Q166 - Q172, Q176 and Q179 - Q185.

Yes, they can still apply for the DPS absolutely. However, they should be aware of the questions that will be asked of them during the application process. For instance, they will have their financial stability checked using Dun and Bradstreet and if (due to being a sole trader) their risk score falls below the necessary threshold they will be asked to produce their latest full year accounts for our commercial finance team to review. Also, they should be mindful that we ask for examples of previous work and those examples must be backed up by letters of confirmation signed by the named customer, so would be prudent to choose examples that have available customers to sign off on them.

Where the customer organisation does not have a company number or date of registration, please input N/A or 00000001 in the fields that aren't applicable.

If in light of the current situation, you cannot obtain a wet signature then if you pass on the customer contact details for each example to our DPS team (who review your application) they will contact the customer directly to get confirmation that your example is accurate

CCS can confirm that, providing no issues arise during the assessment process, in which CCS and the bidder have a maximum of fifteen (15) working days to resolve said issues, a decision can be reached the same day application is submitted

Evidenced examples must not be older than 3 years prior to the OJEU publication date, i.e. from no earlier than January 2015, but more recent than the publication date would be fine, as suppliers can join at any time in the life of the agreement.

During the current Covid-19 pandemic situation it has been agreed that CCS will progress an application to join the RM6018 Research Marketplace DPS without a wet signature being held on the Letters of Confirmation of Work (LoCoW). We will accept it as a true example and request an email from the customer when possible as validation.

The CPV codes for the agreement include "Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security", and within the marketplace filters, there is an option for customers to select Consultancy as a Research Method. You may wish to register to be included in any opportunities that customers issue for consultancy services within the Research Marketplace, then consider whether you can meet the specific customer's requirement.

Can you please confirm if you have a copy of proof of your exemption e.g. exemption certificate? Additionally and in response to the appropriate Employers liability insurance questions in the selection questionnaire, please select 'No' to this question and CCS will retain your confirmation below and a proof of your exemption.

CCS can confirm organisations who don't hold Employers Liability Insurance as they don't have any employees, will be expected to provide a self cleaning response to CCS if selecting 'No' to this question as part of their DPS submission, which will then be retained for audit and contractual purposes.

Please refer to the RM6018 Research Marketplace DPS Needs Bid Back Part 3 - Economic and Financial Standing section 23 where the financial threshold score of 51 is referenced. CCS undertake the financial checks when the application is submitted as detailed in the DPS Needs document at Part 3 - Economic & Financial Standing. Please note that if an organisation happens to fail the financial threshold we follow the processes specified in the DPS Needs document at Part 3 - Economic & Financial Standing which may involve a request for a guarantor.

Q129 - CCS undertake the financial checks when the application is submitted as detailed in the DPS Needs document at Part 3 - Economic & Financial Standing. Please note that if an organisation happens to fail the financial threshold we follow the processes specified in the DPS Needs document at Part 3 - Economic & Financial Standing which may involve a request for a guarantor. Q130 - If you do not have a parent company then you can select No to this question. Q131 - If you do not have a parent company then you should answer No to this question.

CCS can confirm that the Customer organisation can be an overseas company but the supporting Attachments 1a and 1b - Letters of Confirmation of Works must be signed (wet signature) by the customer organisation.

CCS can confirm that the Customer organisation can be an overseas company but the supporting Attachments 1a and 1b - Letters of Confirmation of Works must be signed (wet signature) by the customer organisation.

CCS can confirm that the RM6018 DPS is suitable for management consultancies, if the management consultancy organisation is contracting for research and not consultancy services.