Tender specifications

Framework Service Contract

Contract notice

Contract award notice

Additional contract notice

Invitation to tender

Question and answers

Regarding Lot 1

The first paragraph reads: “The objective of Lot 1 is to provide detailed results on the validation of a serological method and subsequent assessment of the true incidence of Salmonella and Campylobacter infections in the general population ….. The deliverable is a protocol that would allow any country and reference level laboratory to perform the validation ….. “

Question: Please clarify if you expect any actual studies to be executed as part of lot 1 (providing results) or if you expect only the protocols for additional studies as the output of lot 1.

Answer: The Lot 1 delivery refers to a written laboratory protocol, which includes instructions to the mathematical background calculation. The detailed results imply the detailed instructions to perform all appropriate validation activities for the laboratory work. Lot 1 includes also a proposal to validate the protocol both for Salmonella and Campylobacter infections, taking into account asymptomatic and symptomatic infections.

2. Regarding Lot 2

In the second paragraph you request that “The proposal should clearly indicate the participating countries and laboratories …”

It is very difficult to identify 3-5 interested countries and laboratories and to obtain their firm commitment within the given time frame for proposal submission, in particular because it is the summer holiday season.

Question: Would it be acceptable for ECDC that only 2 countries/laboratories are named in the proposal, while additional countries/laboratories will be identified during execution of lot 1?

Answer: Yes, this would be acceptable.

3. Regarding Lot 3

The cross-sectional studies to be executed in lot 3 will likely require quite a long preparation phase, including ethical approval in each participating country. Although the studies will be cross-sectional in nature, the collection of suitable sera should extend over several months to account for seasonal fluctuations in the incidence of (reported) gastrointestinal infections. Therefore the time frame of 18 months appears short.

Question: Would it be acceptable for ECDC to execute parts of lots 2 and 3 simultaneously, in particular start preparations for the multinational studies during lot 2 already ?

Answer: Yes, this would be acceptable.

4. Regarding authorship

The last paragraph of each lot description reads: “The tenderer(s) should indicate what scientific publications he/she would prepare based on the work performed in Lot (x) and which collaborators would be co-authors with ECDC.”

Is this to be understood that “ECDC” as an organization wishes to be a co-author? It is not clear, however, what the scientific contribution of ECDC will be that would qualify ECDC as a co-author according to Vancouver criteria.

Question: We kindly ask for clarification.

Answer: ECDC will contribute to the concept and design, provide critical internal reviewers to review the intellectual content and will be responsible for the final approval of the version to be published. Therefore, ECDC fulfills the criteria of authorship credit according to the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication, last updated in October 2008 (http://www.icmje.org/).

5. Costs of meetings at ECDC

Question: Please indicate if any costs other than the costs of travel and subsistence for non-ECDC participants in such meetings have to be included in the budget. Has ECDC published indicative costs of hotel accommodation in Solna?

Answer: No other costs related to the meetings at ECDC are foreseen. ECDC has not published any indicative costs of hotel accommodation in Solna.

6. Question: What level of detail is expected in the proposal?

Answer: The application should follow the requirements of the Call but not go into too detailed level as this is a framework contract. The proposal should give enough details to show the understanding of the applicant how to organise an interlaboratory study. Any reference to ISO standard(s) is advantageous.