TERM OF REFERENCE Cluster Excellence Expert(s) Recruitment for Cluster Training 874137 - EXTRATEX - COS-CLUSTER-2018-03-02 - EU-VRi
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874137 — EXTRATEX - COS-CLUSTER-2018-03-02
TERM OF REFERENCE
Cluster Excellence Expert(s) Recruitment
for Cluster Training
Publication date: 17/07/2020
TERMS OF REFERENCE: Cluster Excellence Expert(s) - Recruitment for cluster training 1
Terms of Reference (Tender)
Reference EXTRATEX/TRAINING/02/2020
Subject Expert(s) Recruitment for Cluster Training
Location of the activity Madrid, Spain
Countries involved Italy, Spain, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany
Description of Assignment Training Programme for Capacity Building (6 Clusters, 12 Participants)
Project title European TEXtile-TRAnsport-Sustainability paradigm for industrial
clustersEXcellence in cross-sector innovation (EXTRATEX)
Period of Assignment October 2020
The Proposal must be submitted by email to enrico.venturini@tecnotex.it. This tender opens on
July 17th 2020 and closes on August 31th 2020 included. Applications received before or after these
dates will be disregarded.
Hard copies, with original signatures of the candidate in all pages, must be sent via express mail or
courier to the project coordinator address, only from August 24, 2020 included to September 04,
2020 included: Next Technology Tecnotessile – Società Nazionale di Ricerca r.l., Mr. Enrico
Venturini, Via del Gelso, 13 – 59100 Prato, Italy. Hard version applications received after
September 4, 2020 will be excluded from the selection process.
Any request for clarification must be sent by standard electronic communication to the e-mail
addresses indicated above. Next technology Tecnotessile (NTT), coordinator of the project, in
cooperation with Asociación de Empresas del Metal de Madrid (AECIM), leader of the “Enhancing
cluster manager’s skills” work package, will respond in writing by uploading the answers on the
EXTRATEX project website (www.extratex.eu-vri.eu/). The requestor will receive a notification email
directing him/her to the website, where an explanation of the query will be published without
identifying then source of inquiry.
TERMS OF REFERENCE: Cluster Excellence Expert(s) - Recruitment for cluster training 2Index
Sommario
1. BACKGROUND and CONTEXT .............................................................................................................. 4
2. OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE OF THE ASSIGNMENT ................................................................................... 5
3. DELIVERABLES (including duties and responsibilities) ....................................................................... 7
4. TIMEFRAME OF THE WORK ................................................................................................................ 8
5. LOCATION ............................................................................................................................................ 8
6. CONTRACTING AUTHORITY ................................................................................................................. 8
7. TERMS AND PAYMENT ........................................................................................................................ 9
8. QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS .............................................................................................................. 9
9. EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS. ........................................................................................................ 9
10. APPLICATION PROCEDURE .............................................................................................................. 10
11. PRICE PROPOSAL GUIDELINE .......................................................................................................... 11
TERMS OF REFERENCE: Cluster Excellence Expert(s) - Recruitment for cluster training 31. BACKGROUND and CONTEXT
Nowadays the textile, automobile, plastic & machinery industries faces an unprecedented
challenge regarding global competition for every single market across the world. Clusters are a
response to those challenges and are able to link cross-border complementarities and
geographical proximity of SMEs in the same production area, which can stimulate diversity of
production and increase creativity of new products. EXTRATEX intend to address these issues and
to help the replication of this process to nearby areas in Europe.
European production still has a strong value when sold abroad. It is inevitable that textile and
machinery industries and their supporting organizations within the EU should achieve a set of
competences and strategies without disregarding a local action focus, aiming at the success of
common entrepreneurial, technological or marketing strategies. EXTRATEX tries to give a concrete
contribution to achieve such goals, as it brings together relevant organizations within the textile
and clothing EU scenery and namely from the most active and important countries operating in
textile and machinery building: Italy, UK, Spain and Turkey.
Clusters have the ability to make a connection between these sectors in order to generate
strategic synergies and make SMEs more competitive. Though, it has been shown that these
companies have the need to transform their production into technology based systems with the
use of digital enablers.
EXTRATEX intend to address these challenges and to help the replication of this process to nearby
areas in Europe.
European production has a strong value when sold abroad. It is inevitable that textile, fashion,
automobile and plastic industries and their supporting organizations within the EU should achieve
a set of competences and strategies without disregarding a local action focus, aiming at the
success of common entrepreneurial, technological or marketing strategies. EXTRATEX tries to give
a concrete contribution to achieve such goals, as it brings together relevant organizations within
the auto and plastic EU scenery and namely from the most active and important countries
operating these sectors such as Germany, Italy and Slovakia.
The activity of clusters is vital for supporting international competitiveness of the European SMEs,
through building of collaboration and sharing of added value. Clusters also play a crucial role in
supporting exit strategies for SMEs out of the crisis emerged with the latest pandemic worldwide
and in Europe in particular.
The EXTRATEX project is supported by the Cluster Excellence Programme Call (COS-CLUSTER-
2018-03-02), which aims at the improvement of the policy in the field on cluster management. A
better management and organization can address some of the key factors affecting
competitiveness in plastic, automotive, textile and machinery clusters in Europe. Within this
project, activities specifically addressed at industrial textile, plastic and automotive clusters will be
TERMS OF REFERENCE: Cluster Excellence Expert(s) - Recruitment for cluster training 4performed, with the final goal of sharing experiences and know-how and create cross-sector and
corss-region opportunities for SMEs.
Project results will be shared with companies within the clusters and will give the possibility to
design new services for SMEs. The specific objectives of the project are: reinforcement and
improvement of the cluster management capacities of the partners, through benchmarking,
training, study visits; establishment of a strategic collaboration between sectors, especially
advanced plastic and textile products, and automotive sectors, which is the main source of
innovation for textile SMEs; transfer of knowledge and experiences developed in other clusters for
the provision of high quality services to SMEs, increasing the level of innovation capacity and
introducing new creative-based ideas for the realization of new products, facilitating
internationalization of SMEs, better exploiting and diffusing Key Enabling Technologies, assisting
SMEs in further addressing resource efficiency issues as well as obtaining a higher level of
certification through cluster labeling.
This set of goals will be achieved through the implementation of diverse actions: this TOR referes
specifically to a specialist training action for cluster managers.
For further information about the project, please visit: www.extratex.eu-vri.eu.
2. OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
Next Technology Tecnotessile (NTT) is the coordinator of the project, Asociación De Empresarios
Del Metal De Madrid (AECIM) is the leading organization of the specific action of EXTRATEX project
regarding leader of the “Enhancing cluster manager’s skills” work package. This training intends to
achieve the following objectives:
To design, bespoke and deliver specific case-based training about cluster excellence to the
6 partners (2 trainees per partner, forming a group of 12 attendees).
To report on the training performed and the achieved level of learning.
To draw recommendations for the future delivery of effective services to SMEs, the
creation of dedicated Exchange opportunities (for cluster members or other
organisations), the definition of individual and joint strategies and the organisation of
future Joint Learning events and Study Visits.
To draw recommendations for facilitating cluster members better use of advanced
technologies, productivity, resource efficiency, innovation, creativity and
internationalization.
This will include the preparation of a capacity building programme specific for the EXTRATEX
partners, defining specific objectives and methodologies and topics.
As regards training topics, that have to always reflect the excellence in cluster management, the
following structure has to be considered.
TERMS OF REFERENCE: Cluster Excellence Expert(s) - Recruitment for cluster training 5Day 1 – Needs analysis and planning
Cluster Diagnosis techniques, based on real cases, and use of tools such as design thinking
Innovation push techniques among cluster members
Provision of specialised and customised business support
Relevant sources for European/local financial aid programs
Strategic planning, with special cross-sector focus
Refining budgeting and internal organisation
Day 2 – Strategic cross-sector trends
Industry 4.0 innovative trends and projects.
Circular economy: eco-design, recycling, Resource-efficiency decarboinsation for cross-
sector dimension
Creative economies (link with the interactive and art industries).
Day 3 – Market exploration
Innovative marketing/promotional tools and public relations to promote and give visibility
to cluster organisations and increase companies membership
Cross-sector market: opportunities scouting
Servitisation and new business models
Exchange opportunities to build new partnerships and innovation opportunities
At the end of the training, cluster staff members will have increased ability to perceive own sector
needs and opportunities, as well as as cross-sectoral ones, to propose new innovations in I4.0 and
circular economy, and to better promote and involve companies. This in all fields of partners
automotive, textile, plastic production.
Given the training structure on 3 days, the maximum number of trainers that can be contracted by
NTT is 3. One expert can cover the total of the three days or less, provided he/she has to cover at
least one full day. No fractions of days are admitted.
Additionally, the recruited expert(s) is (are) required to guide, support and supervise the
participants in the implementation of at least three exchange activity in the future dedicated
phase of the project dedicated to the Cluster Xchange Programme (in case of three experts
contracted, one exchange activity each).
For the basic structure of the project and the related activities:
https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/cosme/cos-cluster-2018-03-02-european-cluster-excellence-
programme.
TERMS OF REFERENCE: Cluster Excellence Expert(s) - Recruitment for cluster training 63. DELIVERABLES (including duties and responsibilities)
The deliverables, duties and responsibilities consist of, but are not limited to, the following:
To facilitate the trainer task, upon his/her request, the contractor will recover and provide
the basic information about the 6 clusters specific needs, before the training sessions.
The contractor reserve the right to require a refining of the capacity building programme
submitted along with the application, after the contract signature; should this be the case,
the refining will be agreed by both parties and the final version has to be approved by the
coordinator; the delivery of training has to follow the final approved version of the
capacity building programme.
The training will be in English and include the topics listed at art. 2, that will be delivered
by the expert(s) according to the methodologies defined in the capacity building
programme.
The expert(s) will deliver the training in the area of the Municipality of Madrid, Spain; the
exact location that will be communicated at a later stage.
The expert(s) are requested to autonomously arrange their travel to the training location.
The contractor reserves the right to arrange the training in virtual modality, by using an e-platform
of his choice, if the sanitary conditions will not allow to travel and/or new travel restrictions will be
enforced.
The expert(s) must provide the contractor, on completion of the task, with the following
deliverables:
1. The approved capacity building programme.
2. The training material, including presentations used.
3. A report on the training performed and the assessment of the achieved level of learning.
4. A recommendation paper for the future delivery of effective services to SMEs, the creation
of dedicated Exchange opportunities (for cluster members or other organisations), the
definition of individual and joint strategies and the organisation of future Joint Learning
events.
5. A proposal for three Exchange activities to be implemented by EXTRATEX affiliates, as
defined in art. 2, specifying the host and the subjects that will be learnt during the visit (in
case of three experts selected, one proposal of exchange per expert is expected)1.
All of the deliverables are subject to the approval of NTT (the project coordinator) before finalising
the payment. All deliverables must be in English language.
On completion of the training the expert(s) will recommend and assist in the implementation, of
three Exchange activities, as defined in art. 2. Should this will occur after the completion date, the
expert(s) will be available for the remote assistance.
1
For the definition and organisation of the Exchange activities: https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/cosme/cos-cluster-
2018-03-02-european-cluster-excellence-programme.
TERMS OF REFERENCE: Cluster Excellence Expert(s) - Recruitment for cluster training 74. TIMEFRAME OF THE WORK
The duration of the assignment will be 2 months in total upon the signature of the Contract.
Expected contract signature/start date – October 1, 2020
Expected contract completion date – November 30, 2020.
Indicatively, the 3 days physical training will take place in the second half of October. The
contractor will confirm the exact dates at the contract signature.
This timeframe includes any preparatory requirements prior to training and allows for assistance
for the exchanges implementation, that may occur after the completion date.
By the completion date the expert(s) must submit to the coordinator all the deliverables of art. 3.
The contractor reserves the right to request deliverable modifications or adjustments, by the
completion date, or in exceptional circumstances, by 3 months from the completion date. The
contractor will finalise the payment of the balance only after its formal approval of the service
performed and the deliverables submitted.
5. LOCATION
The expert(s) will deliver the training in the area of the Municipality of Madrid, Spain; the exact
location will be selected by the responsible partner AECIM, and will be communicated at a later
stage. All 6 cluster staff members (trainees) will convene to the selected training location to
physically take part.
The contractor reserves the right to arrange the training in virtual modality, by using an e-platform
of his choice, if the sanitary conditions will not allow to travel and/or new travel restrictions will be
enforced. Should this be the case, the part of the lump sum for travel, accommodation and
subsistence will not be paid to the expert(s).
In case of unexpected events or force majeure, the coordinator reserves the right to change
location of the training; should this be necessary, the new location will be communicated to the
expert(s) no later than 15 days before the commencement date.
6. CONTRACTING AUTHORITY
Before the commencement date, the awarded expert(s) will sign a contract with the contracting
authority regulating all the conditions of the service provision. The contracting authority for the
recruited expert(s) is EXTRATEX coordinator, Next Technology Tecnotessile S.r.l., via del Gelso 13
Prato, Italy, www.tecnotex.it.
TERMS OF REFERENCE: Cluster Excellence Expert(s) - Recruitment for cluster training 87. TERMS AND PAYMENT
An advance payment, equal to 40% (forty percent) of the contract amount, will be paid to the
expert(s) upon signature of the contract. The balance, as lump sum payment, will be made upon
approval of all deliverables.
The payment will be in the form of a lump sum for all the activities performed by the contracted
expert(s), and will include all costs incurred, including travel and accommodation if necessary.
Payments will be made in Euros. The amount paid to the expert(s) shall be gross and inclusive of
all associated costs such as social security, income tax, VAT, travel and accomodation costs and
any other expenditure.
8. QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS
General Qualifications:
University degree in, social/environmental/political/technical/engineering sciences or
scientific disciplines
Evidence of being trained about cluster excellence, cluster management and cluster
strategy planning, or other cluster related subjects, to become a senior expert.
Fully proficient in reading, writing and understanding English.
Excellent command of office software including word, excel and power point.
Advanced university degree (i.e. Master and PhD.) is an asset.
Professional Experience and Qualifications:
A minimum of three (3) years professional experience in cluster management, or training,
or cluster strategy planning, or cluster ecosystems, or other cluster related subjects is
required.
Experience in technical topics, as defined at art. 2, of minimum 3 years (only for
applications referred to Day 2 of the training scope
Soft skills and public relations ability
Expertise on empowerment of cluster managers
Previous experience in the reference sectors of EXTRATEX is an asset
Previous experience on raising public and private funding is an asset.
9. EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS
The selection of the expert(s) will be based on the following criteria:
TERMS OF REFERENCE: Cluster Excellence Expert(s) - Recruitment for cluster training 9 Best value for money for the delivery of the objectives.
Qualifications and professional experience.
Previous training examples of assisting industrial clusters to achieve excellence.
The evaluation will be based on cumulative analysis from all the six partners and will be weighted
on the following criteria:
1. General qualifications: max 10 points
2. Professional qualifications and experience: max 15 points
3. Technical proposal, including the capacity building programme: max 30 points
4. Price proposal: max 40 points
5. Applications including the full three days training: 5 points (group of experts eligible).
Total max score per applicant: 100 points.
Applicants who obtain a minimum of 60 points out of a maximum 100 points will be considered
for the assignment. Applicants who do not meet this minimum requirement will not be
considered.
The Applicants will be selected on the basis of the highest score obtained. In the case of a tie, the
Applicant with a lower price offer will prevail.
Applications received after the limit date, or not reaching the minimum points, or missing one of
the documents listed at art. 10 of this TOR will be excluded from the evaluation.
The evaluation of offers will be performed by the “BOP – Board of Partners” of the EXTRATEX
project by the following members:
NTT - Enrico Venturini Degli Esposti
FOMENTEX - Julia Vercher Alemany
CLUTEX - Petra Dufkova
AECIM - Jesus Yague
SPK – Darina Machovicova
EU-VRi - Bastien Caillard
Each member will rank the 5 components of the cumulative analysis, assigning his/her personal
score to the each of the 4 areas. The final score assigned to each Applicant will be the average of
the 5 rankings given by the BOP representatives.
10. APPLICATION PROCEDURE
TERMS OF REFERENCE: Cluster Excellence Expert(s) - Recruitment for cluster training 10Interested applicants must submit the following application documents by stating the reference of
this TOR as subject of the e-mail, from July 17, 2020 included to August 31, 2020 included. All
documents and information provided must be in English.
1. A one-page Letter of Interest, containing personal contact details of the expert (Full Name,
Address, Mobile Telephone No, e-mail address, Tax code and VAT number, if applicable),
explaining why they, he/she is the most suitable for the work.
2. Technical proposal indicating methodology, timing, location and including a specific
proposal for the capacity building programme, broke down according to the days for which
the application is referred (as per art. 2 of this TOR), including all specifications set in art. 2,
3 and 4. The technical proposal must not exceed 2 pages, capacity building programme
excluded. The latter must not exceed 2 pages too. The capacity building programme
proposal must include topics, methodologies and time organisation.
3. Financial Proposal as lump sum including expert fees and all costs for travelling or other
activities related to the performance of the task assigned.
4. A declaration of honour of the trainer(s) regarding personal availability to deliver the
training and associated activities within the deadline indicated in art. 4.
5. CVs of trainers, including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references,
preferably in Europass format.
6. For all the trainers, declarations of honour stating the absence of any convictions.
7. For all the trainers, declarations of honour regarding any conflict of interest with the
organisations of the EXTRATEX project.
The proposal must be submitted by email to enrico.venturini@tecnotex.it by August 31, 2020
included. Hard copies, with original signatures of the applicant on all pages, must be sent via
recorded delivery or courier only from August 24 to September 04, 2020 to: Next Technology
Tecnotessile – Società Nazionale di Ricerca r.l., Mr. Enrico Venturini, Via del Gelso, 13 – 59100
Prato, Italy. Hard version applications received after September 04, 2020 will be excluded from
the selection process. The date stamped on the document/envelope by the post/carrier service
will not be considered as valid for determining the on-time despatching and hence the application
eligibility.
In case of an organisation, only the signatures of the legal representative is required on all pages;
the declarations of honour must always be signed by the candidate trainer.
Costs incurred by the candidate(s) in preparing and submitting the applications will not be
reimbursed.
11. PRICE PROPOSAL GUIDELINE
The expert(s) should take the following explanations into account during submission of price
proposal.
TERMS OF REFERENCE: Cluster Excellence Expert(s) - Recruitment for cluster training 11• The price for the service has to be expressed as a lump sum. A breakdown of the lump sum
is advisable, distinguishing the fee per day from the costs for travel/accommodation. The
lump sum price proposal must be in Euro (€) and has only to refer to the 3 days training;
other cost items are not eligible.
• The price proposal should be Gross and inclusive of costs related to tax, social security
premium, visa (if needed), travel, accommodation, subsistence and any other kind of
expenditure needed to perform the task.
• The contractor will not provide any further clarification on costs related to tax, social
security premium, visa etc. It is the applicants’ responsibility to make the necessary
enquiries on these matters.
_____________________________
“This Term of Reference is part of the project EXTRATEX which has received funding from the European Union’s COSME
Programme (2014-2020).
The content of this Term of Reference represents the views of the author only and his sole responsibility; it cannot be
considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized
Enterprises or any other body of the European Union. The European commission and the agency do not accept any
responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains”.
TERMS OF REFERENCE: Cluster Excellence Expert(s) - Recruitment for cluster training 12You can also read
