PS22290 - The Provision of Legal Services - RFP

The final date and time for the submission of bids is Friday 14th October 2022 at 11:00

DO NOT apply directly to the buyer.

All tender information MUST be submitted through the Jaggaer eSourcing Portal.

Brief Description of Requirement

UK Shared Business Services (UK SBS), on behalf of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Medical Research Council (MRC) wishes to establish a Contract for the provision of Legal Services for seven (7) years.

UK SBS is managing this procurement process in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as may be amended from time to time) (the "Regulations").

Introduction

The Medical Research Council (MRC) currently funds its 21 units via legal agreements (Strategic Alliance Agreements) with the University in which the unit is hosted. These legal agreements cover all aspects of the unit operating model. Outside of this arrangement, 4 units are funded directly by the MRC and are managed by a Director reporting to the MRC Management Board.

The MRC Council has approved proposals to establish a new approach to supporting (funding) the units and these changes represent one of the most significant funding policy shifts in the past decade. The changes to the funding models will be made in consultation with the host University (or Research Organisation) and MRC Directors or their equivalent and will require legal advice to manage changes to funding which will include establishing new units, closing existing units and transitioning units from the current funding model to the new model. The contracted legal team will need to highlight areas of risk, propose risk mitigation and provide legal advice to ensure that contractual changes and new legal documents and/or award funding clauses are completed in a timely manner, working with other lawyers, the host University or (Research Organisation) and MRC staff as appropriate.

Please ensure you review all attached information to ensure a full understanding of this requirement. All attachments can be found with the Supplier Attachments tab within the Jaggaer eSourcing Portal.

This contract will be awarded based on the evaluation criteria as set out in the RFP document.

How to Apply

UK Shared Business Services Ltd (UK SBS) will be using the Jaggaer eSourcing Portal for this procurement.

To register on the Jaggaer eSourcing portal please use the link https://beisgroup.ukp.app.jaggaer.com/ and follow the instructions to register as a supplier.

If you are already registered on the Jaggaer eSourcing Portal and wish to participate in this procurement, please use the link: https://beisgroup.ukp.app.jaggaer.com/.

Once you are logged into the system you will be able to locate the Procurement you wish to leave a bid on by clicking the ITTs Open to All Suppliers and searching for the reference number PS22290.

Additional information: DO NOT APPLY DIRECTLY TO BUYER

All submissions will be assessed in accordance with the Public Procurement Regulations that apply to this opportunity.

Responses must be received by the date and time in the tender documentation; responses received outside of the deadline or not sent via the Jaggaer eSourcing portal will not be accepted or considered by the Contracting Authority further for this opportunity, unless a system outage is experienced, to which the Contracting Authority will advise upon accordingly. Interested organisations should ensure that they allow a sufficiency of time, prior to the deadline to allow all sections to be completed in full and any attachments to be uploaded.

As a user of the Jaggaer eSourcing Portal you will have access to the Jaggaer messaging service which facilitates all messages sent to you and from you, as well as other messages and updates in relation to any specific tender event. Please note that any and all information secured outside of the messaging service, shall have no Legal Standing, merit or worth and should not be relied upon by any organisation submitting a tender response.

Please note it is your organisations responsibility to access these messages on a regular basis to ensure you have sight of all relevant information applicable to this opportunity.

The Contracting Authority expressly reserves the right:

i. not to award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by publication of this notice; and

ii. to make whatever changes it may see fit to the content and structure of the procurement; and under no circumstances as part of your organisations participation in this opportunity, will the Contracting Authority be liable for any costs incurred by any organisation as a result. If the Contracting Authority decides to enter into a contract with any successful organisation(s), this does not mean that there is any guarantee of subsequent contracts being awarded. Any expenditure, work or effort undertaken prior to contract award is accordingly a matter solely for the commercial judgement of your organisation in doing so.

About UK Shared Business Services

UK Shared Business Services Ltd (UK SBS) brings a commercial attitude to the public sector; helping our contracting authorities to improve efficiency, generate savings and modernise.

Where UK SBS is not named as the Contracting Authority within the documentation, UK SBS will be acting as an agent on behalf of the Contracting Authority.

Our broad range of expert services is shared by our customers. This allows our customers the freedom to focus resources on core activities; innovating and transforming their own organisations.

For full details of our partner base please review the following link: http://www.uksbs.co.uk/services/procure/contracts/Pages/default.aspx