On 1.11.2017 a contract notice was published by UMC Utrecht to purchase R&D services from a number of R&D providers in parallel. The aim was to compare competing alternative solution approaches to address the Nightingale challenge. The procurement was announced to be in the form of a pre-commercial procurement (PCP) with a phased approach, i.e. a framework agreement covering 3 R&D phases: solution design, prototyping, original development and validation and testing of a limited set of first products or services. The contractors with the best-value-for-money solutions were offered a specific contract for phase 1.
A total budget of EUR 200 000,- was earmarked for awarding the contracts to a minimum of 8 contractors for Phase 1. UMC Utrecht has signed contracts with 9 contractors to start phase 1.The abstracts of the winning tenders are available on www.nightingale-h2020.eu. The PCP is expected to start 20.2.2018 and end in 11.2020.
The procurement will take the form of a pre-commercial procurement (PCP) under which R&D service contracts will be awarded to a number of R&D providers in parallel in a phased approach. This will make it possible to compare competing alternative solutions.
Each selected operator will be awarded a framework agreement that covers 3 R&D phases.
The 3 phases are:
— R&D up to solution design,
— R&D up to a prototype,
— R&D up to original development, validation and testing of a limited set of first products or services.
After each phase, intermediate evaluations will be carried out to progressively select the best of the competing solutions. The contractors with the best-value-for-money solutions will be offered a specific contract for the next phase.
The procurement will start on the 20.2.2018 and will end in 11.2020 [the expected completion date of this PCP).
The selected operators will retain ownership of the intellectual property rights (IPRs) that they generate during the PCP and will be able to use them to exploit the full market potential of the developed solutions i.e. beyond the procurers.
This procurement is exempted from the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), the EU public procurement directives and the national laws that implement them. This is because it concerns the procurement of R&D services where the benefits do not accrue exclusively to the contracting authority for its use in the conduct of its own affairs.