SHAPE-0028 Provision Operational Acceptance Support to SHAPE (NS) - THU 22 Oct

Job title: SHAPE-0028 Provision Operational Acceptance Support to SHAPE (NS) - THU 22 Oct

Deadline Date: Thursday 22 October 2026

Requirement: Provision of Operational Acceptance Support to SHAPE

Location: Brussels, BE

Full Time On-Site: See 7.2.2 Below

Total Scope of the request (hours): 1620

2028 Option: 1620 hrs

Period of Performance: Base Period: 1st January 2027 to 31st December 2027 with the possibility for the contracting authority to exercise up to one additional one-year option period.

Evaluation Methodology: Best Value.

1. The scoring will be conducted by SHAPE based on the RFQ responses received from the bidders following a best value approach where the price factors and non-price factors are both accountable for 50% of the overall evaluation score. Each resource will be subject to a separate evaluation; the modalities set out below therefore apply to each evaluation.

The Best Value Final Score (FS) will be the sum of the weighted Technical Score (TS) plus the weighted Price Score (PS) according to the following formula: FS = 0.5 x PS + 0.5 x TS

All mathematical calculations will be rounded up to the fourth decimal.

2. The first stage of the evaluation process will consist of assessing the administrative and technical compliance of the bidder’s proposal with the mandatory requirements set forth in the RFQ (Pass / Fail). Only proposals deemed compliant will proceed to the second stage of the evaluation process.

3. The second stage will consist of the scoring of the non- price/technical factors (TS) in accordance with the following criteria and points :

Extent and relevance of experience in CIS project and services analysis, monitoring and reporting, in particular within the domain of Core communications and IT infrastructure. [Max. Achievable Points = 40]

Extent and relevance of experience in planning and execution of acceptance testing activities. [Max. Achievable Points = 40]

Extent and relevance of experience with ITIL v3. [Max. Achievable Points = 20]

Extent and relevance ofknowledge and qualifications in software/system/service life cycle management and quality management. [Max. Achievable Points = 20]

Knowledge of NATO environment. [Max. Achievable Points = 10]

TOTAL Max. Achievable Points = 130

Bidders whose RFQ response achieve an overall technical score below a minimum of 65 out of 130 will be “technically non-compliant” and will not proceed to the next stage.

4. The third stage will consist of the scoring of the price factor (PS) in accordance with the following formula: PS = Lowest bid price for resource / Bidder’s price for resource x 130

Where the bid price is the overall value of the unit prices proposed by the bidder for the base period + the option year.

5. The bidders will then be assigned a Final Score by applying the formula set out in point 1 above. The RFQ response having the highest Best Value Final Score (FS) will be selected as the successful one unless there is a statistical tie. A statistical tie is deemed to exist when the final scores of the highest scoring RFQ responses are within 1 (one) percent (%) of each other. In such case the RFQ response with the best cost/technical ratio – defined as the lowest cost per technical score, i.e. Bid Price / TS – will be selected as the successful one for a task order award. In the remote event that this last calculation (Bid Price / TS) would produce an even result for the bidders with highest scoring RFQ responses then SHAPE will hold negotiation session(s) with those bidders until the best price is finally identified for the task order award (best & final procedure).

Required Security Clearance: NATO SECRET

SPECIAL PROVISIONS

1 DEFINITIONS

1.1 As used throughout this RFQ and/or any task order awarded as a result of this RFQ, the following terms shall have the meanings as set forth below:

ACO – Allied Command Operations

CIS – Communications and Information Systems

COTR – Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative

HQ – Headquarters

IKM – Information and Knowledge Management

IT – Information Technology

NIMP – NATO Information Management Policy

SACT – Supreme Headquarters Allied Command Transformation

SHAPE – Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe

SME – Subject Matter Expert

TDY – Temporary Duty

2 INTRODUCTION

ACO requires contractual support for Operational Acceptance Criteria (OAC) definition, correlation between OAC, Test cases/ Use Cases, Test results, reports, use objective assessment of OAC fulfillment based on KPIs and performance metrics.

For 2027, these ACO tasks for acceptance are translated in the following activities required in order to fill shortfalls in ACOs ability to plan, manage, execute and report on user and operational acceptance tasks / activities on priority projects, to include the upcoming Digital Backbone developments. The key activities that must be executed include:

Mapping projects' Operational acceptance criteria to test cases based on the Requirements traceability matrix;

Establishing current baseline for all services under development;

Reviewing the comprehensive set of tests (validation, pre-migration, post migration, site acceptance);

Testing performance, availability, failover;

Service based testing – utility – test if service delivers the required functionality;

Main test process /activities – planning, specification, execution, recording and ensuring test completion;

Test Document Package and Test Plan, readiness review;

Test cases review, test execution, quality based testing;

Site acceptance, user acceptance;

Operational life testing.

3 TASK ORDER MANAGEMENT

3.1 All correspondence pertaining to the Task Order (if any awarded by SHAPE as a result of this RFQ) shall be submitted in first instance to:

SHAPE FINANCE AND ACQUISITION DIRECTORATE

ACO Acquisition Management Branch

Contracting Officer

3.2 Technical and operational issues:

For his direct official control and coordination requirements, the Contracting Officer designates a Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COTR) as the staff element that has the authority to coordinate, monitor, and control Contractor’s performance from the technical standpoint, as detailed below. The COTR’s contact details will be provided upon task order award.

4 CONTRACTING OFFICER’S TECHNICAL REPRESENTATIVE

4.1 The COTR is appointed by the Contracting Officer for the purpose of determining compliance with the technical requirements for services delivered under the contract.

4.2 By this designation the COTR is authorized to take the following actions:

4.2.1 Verify that the Contractor performs the technical requirements of the contract/task order in accordance with the contract/task order terms, conditions, and specifications by:

4.2.1.1 Monitoring the Contractor’s performance and notifying the Contracting Officer of deficiencies observed during surveillance. Recording and reporting to the Contracting Officer incidents of faulty or non-conforming supplies, delays, or problems.

4.2.1.2 Submitting to the Contracting Officer the Contractor's Performance Evaluation Report, regarding services rendered under this contract, at the end of each evaluation period and/or at the completion of every contract/task order. This information will be regularly reported to NCIA as the primary Purchaser responsible for the framework contract for advisory and assistance services (AAS+).

4.2.2 Maintain liaison and direct communication with the Contractor. The COTR will sign written communications with the Contractor and other documents pertaining to the contract as “Contracting Officer’s Representative” and will furnish a copy furnished to the Contracting Office and NCIA as required.

4.3 The COTR is not authorized to:

4.3.1 Award, agree, or sign any contract (including delivery orders) or modifications thereto, or in any way to obligate the payment of money by SHAPE.

4.3.2 Take any action that may impact on the contract or delivery terms, funds, or scope. Only the Contracting Officer shall make these.

4.3.3 Interpret the contract and settle any potential claim; instead, he shall promptly refer any potential claim or inquiry to the Contracting Officer.

4.4 This designation as a COTR remains in effect through the life of the contract, unless sooner revoked/terminated by the Contracting Officer.

4.5 Should there be any uncertainty regarding a request from the COTR, the Contractor shall immediately contact the Contracting Officer to confirm the proper course of action.

[Section 5 Omitted by NATO]

6 PERSONNEL REPLACEMENT DURING PERFORMANCE

6.1 The provisions of the NCIA awarded CO-115786-AAS+ shall apply.

7 AVAILABILITY OF SERVICES

7.1 Availability: The target start date for the services is set for 1ST January 2027. The Contractor shall be able to start the services within 8 weeks from receipt of the Task Order from SHAPE.

7.2 Services are expected to be performed on-site at SHAPE. The Contractor may be requested to work at any ACO site since many tests/acceptance activities are executed at ACO HQs. In such cases, the on-site rate applies as well as Clause 11 below where necessary. The Contractor may be authorized or requested to perform services off-site, as per the following definitions :

7.2.1 On-site is defined as SHAPE’s Belgium-based facility or other ACO locations.

7.2.2 Off-site is defined as the Contractor designated business address, as recognized by the relevant national tax authorities, for the provision of contracted off-site support services to SHAPE J6 through the Contractor’s resource proposed in response to this RFQ and as declared using the format at Annex A to this RFQ (Declaration of Designated Location for the Provision of Contracted Off-Site Support Services). Such designated off-site address must be within one of the NATO member states. The Contractor shall respect SHAPE J6 hours of operations (see para. 7.4 below) while performing services off-site.

7.3 In/Out Processing: The Contractor’s resource is required to complete all on-site in-processing and out-processing procedures at the commencement and conclusion of the services.

7.4 Hours of Operations: The standard hours of operations for the Contractor’s performance of work is 8 hours on Monday through Thursday and 6 hours on Friday, within the period of 0700 to 1900 Central European Time (CET). Specific working hours within that range will be specified by the COTR. If mutually agreed between the CO and the Contractor and under exceptional circumstances, work can be performed outside of the standard business hours of operation, however, the contracted business hours rate shall apply.

7.5 Recognized Holidays. SHAPE official holidays are excluded from the standard hours of operations. The SHAPE official holiday schedule, determined at the sole discretion of SHAPE, applies and will be provided upon request.

7.6 The Contractor will not charge SHAPE, and SHAPE will not pay, for any time the Contractor’s personnel are not working including due to holidays, standard vacation leave, or sick leave.

7.7 Based on the following estimated requirement for off-site and on-site hours to perform deliverables for the service as described in this SOR; each Contractor shall be able to ensure the availability of estimated 1 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) equivalent qualified resource in 2027, If required by SHAPE, Task Order will be extended for 1 option year (2028) thereafter. The following are the estimated volume of hours that SHAPE anticipates for the execution of requirement stated in this SOR for each resource; the COTR shall agree on the actual assignment of hours on a month- to-month basis within the maximum limits of the overall contracted hours for the Task Order awarded as a result of this RFQ, though available hours of one type maybe used for the other bearing in mind that the rates may be different:

2027 Hrs: 1620

2028 Option Hrs:1629

Total Hrs per Resource (Inc Options): 3240

8 PERFORMANCE EVALUATION SYSTEM

8.1 Contractor’s performance of the RFQ’s tasks shall be subject to SHAPE’s