Administrative Coordinator: National Farming Systems Network (FS-Net)

Request for Tender

Administrative Coordinator: National Farming Systems Network (FS-Net)

GRDC are seeking an Administrative Coordinator for National Farming Systems Network (to be referred to as FS-Net) meetings. Meetings comprise of both face-to-face (F2F) and virtual meetings every year, over a period of three years.

Reference No.

PROC-9177036

Release Date

Monday 25th of March 2024

Closing Time

Tuesday 30th of April 2024, at 05:00 PM ACT local time

Offer Period

Offers will remain open for acceptance by the GRDC for a period of 6 months after the closing time.

Enquiry Deadline

Tuesday 23rd of April 2024, at 05:00 PM ACT local time

Document Contact and Enquiries

Attention: Brianna Oram

Grains Research and Development Corporation

Email: tenders@grdc.com.au

All requests for further information or clarification in relation to this investment should be made in writing (email) prior to Tuesday 23rd of April 2024, 05:00 PM ACT local time

All requests and responses to requests will be published on the GRDC website under Questions and Answers at the bottom of this webpage.

Consortia response

GRDC will not accept Tenders from Consortia.

Lodgement

Tenderers must submit their responses electronically through the Grains Investment Portal at: https://access.grdc.com.au - Please read this entire page before lodging an application in the Grains Investment Portal

AusTender View on AusTender

N/A

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) is a statutory corporation established under the Primary Industries Research and Development Act 1989. It is subject to accountability and reporting obligations set out in the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013. It is responsible for planning, investing in and overseeing research and development, and delivering improvements in production, sustainability and profitability across the Australian grains industry. Learn more about what GRDC does.

Description

Duties of the Administrative Coordinator will include:

travel, accommodation and car hire arrangements for in-person meetings,
ensuring FS-Net participants have access to suitable video conference facilities prior to scheduled virtual conference meetings,
drafting agendas for meetings in collaboration with FS-Net participants,
collation and submission of FS-Net meeting outcomes and actions to GRDC.

The Administrative Coordinator will be provided with the list of FS-Net participants from organisations conducting GRDC farming systems related research projects. The FS-Net participants will operate under a separate participation agreement with GRDC. The Administrative Coordinator will not be involved in that contracting process, but the Administrative Coordinator will be provided with copies of the Participation Agreement to ensure the effective and efficient coordination of meetings.

Outcome

Outputs

Output	Description
Output 1: Administering the National Farming Systems Network (FS-Net) Face to Face Event	The FS-Net Administrative Coordinator is required to organise logistics required for a maximum of 15 participants to attend 1 x 3 day face-to-face (F2F) FS-Net event per year in conjunction with the local host organisation in each GRDC region (northern, southern and western) over three years. Logistics include: Economy class return flight and reasonable car hire arrangements. Accommodation (including meals where possible) arrangements for all participants (4 nights maximum mid-level)* Collation, verification and reimbursement of additional meal costs, where needed, based on substantiated documentation provided by FS-Net participants. Arrangement of meeting facilities during the event, if required. Tracking proof of logistical expenditure and submitting for reimbursement by GRDC The Administrative Coordinator does not need to be in attendance for meetings Accommodation and travelling costs of participants is not to be included in the budget template. GRDC will reimburse costs of accommodation and travel based on actual expenditure. The FS-Net Administrative Coordinator must provide support for F2F Meetings including: Agenda for the F2F meeting, developed in collaboration with FS-Net representatives from participating organisations. Itinerary for annual F2F FS-Net, developed in collaboration with participating organisations. Agenda circulated to participants one week prior to the meeting. One week subsequent to the meeting, collate minutes, actions and list of accountable persons at meetings and events in collaboration with FS-Net participants. The Administrative Coordinator does not need to be in attendance for meetings.
Output 2: Administering the National Farming Systems Network (FS-Net) Virtual Meetings	The FS-Net Administrative Coordinator is required to organise logistics required for a maximum of 25 participants to participate in 2 x half day Virtual FS-Net meetings per year, over three years. Logistics include: Access to video conferencing with breakout rooms and recording functionality. The FS-Net Administrative Coordinator must provide support for VC Meetings including: Creation of Outlook Calendar Invite & video conferencing link Agenda for the virtual meeting, developed in collaboration with representatives from each participating Organisation circulated to participants one week prior to the meeting. Agenda circulated to participants pre meeting. Collate minutes, actions and accountable persons at the meeting in collaboration with FS-Net participants.

Output

Description

Output 1: Administering the National Farming Systems Network (FS-Net) Face to Face Event

The FS-Net Administrative Coordinator is required to organise logistics required for a maximum of 15 participants to attend 1 x 3 day face-to-face (F2F) FS-Net event per year in conjunction with the local host organisation in each GRDC region (northern, southern and western) over three years.

Logistics include:

Economy class return flight and reasonable car hire arrangements.
Accommodation (including meals where possible) arrangements for all participants (4 nights maximum mid-level)*
Collation, verification and reimbursement of additional meal costs, where needed, based on substantiated documentation provided by FS-Net participants.
Arrangement of meeting facilities during the event, if required.
Tracking proof of logistical expenditure and submitting for reimbursement by GRDC
The Administrative Coordinator does not need to be in attendance for meetings

*Accommodation and travelling costs of participants is not to be included in the budget template.

* GRDC will reimburse costs of accommodation and travel based on actual expenditure.

The FS-Net Administrative Coordinator must provide support for F2F Meetings including:

Agenda for the F2F meeting, developed in collaboration with FS-Net representatives from participating organisations.
Itinerary for annual F2F FS-Net, developed in collaboration with participating organisations.
Agenda circulated to participants one week prior to the meeting.
One week subsequent to the meeting, collate minutes, actions and list of accountable persons at meetings and events in collaboration with FS-Net participants.
The Administrative Coordinator does not need to be in attendance for meetings.

Output 2: Administering the National Farming Systems Network (FS-Net) Virtual Meetings

The FS-Net Administrative Coordinator is required to organise logistics required for a maximum of 25 participants to participate in 2 x half day Virtual FS-Net meetings per year, over three years.

Logistics include:

Access to video conferencing with breakout rooms and recording functionality.

The FS-Net Administrative Coordinator must provide support for VC Meetings including:

Creation of Outlook Calendar Invite & video conferencing link
Agenda for the virtual meeting, developed in collaboration with representatives from each participating Organisation circulated to participants one week prior to the meeting.
Agenda circulated to participants pre meeting.
Collate minutes, actions and accountable persons at the meeting in collaboration with FS-Net participants.

Proposed Budget

Proposed Contract & Term

GRDC will contract under the terms of the Services Contract.

The schedule(s) attached to the contract will detail the project details: the outcomes, outputs, milestones, budget, participating personnel and required intellectual property.

The template Contract containing the proposed terms and conditions is available from the GRDC website on the Contracts and templates page.

It is anticipated that any resultant contract in relation to this procurement will commence with a proposed term of 36 months commencing July 2024.

Conditions for Participation

The following are mandatory conditions with which a Tenderer must comply to participate in this procurement process:

The Tenderer must be a single legal entity or recognised firm of partners.
The Tenderer and any proposed subcontractor must be compliant with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, the Modern Slavery Act 2018 and any other applicable labour laws and standards in the jurisdiction in which they operate.
The Tenderer and any subcontractor must not have a judicial decision against it (not including decisions under appeal) relating to employee entitlements and who have not paid the claim.
The Tenderer and any subcontractor must not be named on the Consolidated List, being the list of persons and entities who are subject to targeted financial sanctions or travel bans under Australian sanction laws, as maintained by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Minimum Form and Content Requirements

The following are the mandatory content and format requirements that the Tenderer must complete and provide to participate in this procurement process:

Submit Tenders using the Grains Investment Portal.
Write Tenders in English and express any measurements in Australian legal units of measurement.
Budget details must be submitted on the ‘GRDC Budget Template’ provided in the Grains Investment Portal.

Evaluation Criteria

In the table below are the Evaluation Criteria that the Tender Evaluation Team will use to assess the value for money of all Tenders.

No	Type	Weighting
1	Technical – Qualitative evaluation criteria related to non-price factors such as methodology, project plan, track record, experience.
1a	A summary of the organisation's capability to effectively deliver the tendered work, including: Evidence of experience providing administrative support and collaborating with scientific networks or similar groups. Capability to arrange video conferencing meetings. Capability to make travel, accommodation, and car hire arrangements for groups of researchers nationally.	60%
1b	A list of all key personnel detailing: Experience of administering similar networks or groups	40%
2	Price - The tendered budget.	N/A
3	Risk - Risks inherent in the application including the degree of compliance with the draft contract and any actual or perceived conflict of interest.	N/A

Lodging a Tender

Questions and Answers

Q1. Please provide details (based on previous years) on expected work hours per event:

1 x 3 day face to face event
2 x ½ day virtual events
Weekly or monthly general administrative requirements.

A1.

1 x 3 day face to face event: GRDC anticipate up to three weeks would be required to make the necessary arrangements, collate the group response documents, and finalise expenses.
2 x ½ day virtual events: GRDC anticipate up to one week per event would be required to make the necessary arrangements and collate the group response documents.
Weekly or monthly general administrative requirements: GRDC anticipate up to approximately one month in a year would be required for general administration.

Q2. Is this requesting details of a suitable candidate at this time or whether you are looking for an agency partner to supply a proposal outlining our recruitment process and pricing?

A2. GRDC expects an application to be submitted from a Provider that can deliver the services required to deliver the RFT Outcome/ Outputs.

Q3. Can we confirm the preferred location out of the range provided?

A3. GRDC has no preferred location.

Q4. In output 1 “The FS-Net Administrative Coordinator is required to organise logistics required for a maximum of 15 participants to attend 1 x 3 day face-to-face (F2F) FS-Net event per year in conjunction with the local host organisation in each GRDC region (northern, southern and western) over three years.”

We have interpreted this as 1 x 3-day face-to-face event per year, rather than one per year per region (i.e. a northern, southern and western event per year totalling three events per year)

A4. The interpretation is correct. There will only be 1 x 3-day face-to-face event per year. This annual event will be rotated in the three GRDC regions over a period of three years so that each region hosts one event over the duration of the project.

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