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ANNEX II: TERMS OF REFERENCE

Land transport safety and security

1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ............................................................................................ 3

1.1. Beneficiary country ....................................................................................................... 3

1.2. Contracting Authority .................................................................................................... 3

1.3. Relevant regional background ...................................................................................... 3

1.4. Current state of affairs in the relevant sector ................................................................ 4

1.5. Related programmes and other donor activities ........................................................... 4

2. OBJ ECTIVE, PURPOSE & EXPECTED RESULTS ............................................................... 5

2.1. Overall objective ........................................................................................................... 5 2.2. Purpose ......................................................................................................................... 5

2.3. Results to be achieved by the Consultant .................................................................... 5

3. ASSUMPTIONS & RISKS ....................................................................................................... 6

3.1. Assumptions underlying the project intervention .......................................................... 6

3.2. Risks ............................................................................................................................. 6

4. SCOPE OF THE WORK .......................................................................................................... 6

4.1. General ......................................................................................................................... 6

4.1.1. Project description .............................................................................................. 6

4.1.2. Geographical area to be covered: ...................................................................... 7

4.1.3 Target groups ...................................................................................................... 7

4.2. Specific activities ........................................................................................................... 7

4.3. Project management ..................................................................................................... 9

4.3.1. Responsible body ............................................................................................... 9

4.3.2. Management structure ................................................................................... 9

It has also to be noted that in the course of the project implementation,frequent travelling will be required to all TRACECA countries,Brussels and other locations as appropriate and agreed with theProject Manager, based on the project needs. The cost for thistravelling will be provided from the incidental expenditure budget. ............... 9

4.3.3 Facilities to be provided by the Beneficiary Authorities ....................................... 9

5. LOGISTICS AND TIMING ..................................................................................................... 10

5.1. Location ...................................................................................................................... 10

5.2. Commencement date & Period of execution .............................................................. 10


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Terms of Reference Feasibility Study for International Logistical Centres in Caucasus & Black Sea region countries

6. REQUIREMENTS .................................................................................................................. 10

6.1. Personnel .................................................................................................................... 10

6.1.2. Other experts .................................................................................................... 12

6.2. Office accommodation ................................................................................................ 12

6.3. Facilities to be provided by the Consultant ................................................................. 13

6.4. Equipment ................................................................................................................... 13

6.5. Incidental expenditure ................................................................................................. 13

6.6. Expenditure verification .............................................................................................. 14

7. REPORTS ............................................................................................................................. 14

7.1. Submission & approval of progress reports................................................................ 15

8. MONITORING AND EVALUATION ....................................................................................... 15

8.1. Definition of indicators ................................................................................................ 15

8.2. Special requirements .................................................................................................. 16 8.3. 16


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Terms of Reference Feasibility Study for International Logistical Centres in Caucasus & Black Sea region countriesPage 3

1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

1.1. Beneficiary country

The beneficiary countries are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic,

Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. The other TRACECA countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey should be closely associated to the project's horizontal activities such as regionalworkshops and symposiums.

1.2. Contracting Authority

The contracting Authority will be the European Commission EuropeAid Cooperation Office inBrussels.

1.3. Relevant regional background

The TRACECA programme (Transport Corridor Europe Central Asia) was established in 1993 bythe Baku Agreement. At present it includes 13 nations consisting of the above mentioned beneficiary states together with Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Turkmenistan. The aims of TRACECA are to improve trade and transport along the Europe - Caucasus - Asia corridor through:- Stimulating the co-operation among the participating states for trade development in the region;

- Promoting optimal integration of the international transport corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia"TRACECA" into Trans-European Networks (TENs);- Identifying factors hindering the development of trade and transport systems;-Promoting TRACECA projects as means to attract loans from International Financial Institutions

(IFIs) and private investors;

Signed in 1998 at a Baku Summit and presently ratified by 12 countries, the TRACECAMultilateral Agreement is aimed at:- Development of economic relations, trade and transport communications in the regions of Europe,Black Sea area, Caucasus, Caspian Sea region and Asia;-Facilitation of access to the international market of road, air and railway transport and alsocommercial maritime navigation;-Promotion of international transport of goods and passengers and international transport of hydrocarbons;-Ensuring of traffic safety, security of goods and environment protection;-Creation of equal conditions of competition between different types of transport.

Unfortunately, transport safety, security and environmental (SSE) issues in the CIS countriescontinue to hamper transport development. The degree of concern for a number of nationalauthorities is underlined in the beneficiaries 'Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and NationalTransport Strategies'. In particular, they highlight the priorities related to the harmonization of their transport legislation and regulations with the European standard, and the integration of their transport network into regional transport corridors. These priorities are one of the priority issuesidentified by the EC and the beneficiary countries during the "Baku initiative" working groups.They were adopted at Ministerial level, in May 2006 during the Second Ministerial Conference onTransport Cooperation between the EU, Black Sea and Caspian Sea littoral States and their

Neighbors, by Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,Moldova, Romania, the Russian Federation (as an observer), Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan with representatives of the European Commission.


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In the field of railway security, the European Commission adopted in 2006 a series of measures tosupport the revitalisation of the railway sector by removing obstacles to the circulation of trainsthroughout the European rail network. The measures include a Communication on thesimplification of certification of railway vehicles, a proposal to recast the existing RailwayInteroperability Directives and to modify the Regulation establishing a European Railway Agencyand the Railway Safety Directive.

In the field of road transport, the Community policy objectives for road transport are to promoteefficient road freight and passengers transport services, to create fair conditions for competition, to

promote and harmonise safer and more environmental friendly technical standards, to ensure aminimum fiscal and social harmonisation and to make sure that the rules in road transport areeffectively applied without discrimination. The existing legislation applying to road transportservices establishes common rules on access to the market and to the profession, sets minimalstandards for working time, driving and rest periods (including enforcement and the use of tachograph), sets minimal annual vehicle taxes and common rules for tolls and user charges.

1.4. Current state of affairs in the relevant sector

At present the different members of the TRACECA area are at different levels and stages of adhering, adopting and implementing international conventions regarding the road and railwaystransportation sector, especially dangerous goods and international standards on noise and emissionreductions.

Technical standards are a major issue, as there is still a predominance of Russian standards. Alsothe law enforcement represents a big challenge to the majority of TRACECA members. Aharmonization throughout the TRACECA area would certainly have a considerable positive impacton reaching the ambitious goals on security and safety.

As some administrations dealing with transportation issues are still very young, awareness,guidance and capacity building remain a high priority. This being said, the structures and institutions need to be adapted in order to meet the challenges of the future contributing to thesustainable development of the national economies, but also to improve and ease the trade withinthe TRACECA member areas as well as with their international trade partners.

The member countries should be encouraged to benchmark and exchange expertise on an internallevel enabling them to put into place international best practices meeting the specific country needsregarding transport strategies and policy making, standards to put in place and facilitate theimplementation and monitoring, i.e. law enforcement of the decisions taken.

1.5. Related programmes and other donor activities

The priority of Transport safety and security was discussed and approved by all representatives of the beneficiary Ministries of Transport (TRACECA National Secretaries) in the framework of TRACECA and Baku initiative working groups. During the identification and formulation phases,coordination meetings were organised with international organisations dealing with transport safetyand security, and in particular with the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) which isimplementing a Joint UNECEUNESCAP Project on developing Euro-Asian transport links - PhaseII; the International Financial Institutions, including the EIB, EBRD, ADB and World Bankscurrent and future infrastructure development projects in the region

In addition, during the preparation of the project, coordination will be maintained with other ECfinanced transport projects, such as those implemented under national, regional, thematic action


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programmes, etc., and other donors transport programmes and initiatives in the TRACECA region,such as the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA); the UN Economicand Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP); Central Asian Regional EconomicCooperation (CAREC), created by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) with participation of theCentral Asian States, including Azerbaijan and China.

2. OBJECTIVE, PURPOSE & EXPECTED RESULTS

2.1. Overall objective

The overall objective of the project is to improve transport safety and security environments in theEC neighbouring and Central Asian countries in line with European standards in the field of land transport.

2.2. Purpose

In particular, the project will provide technical and capacity-building assistance to the beneficiarycountries transport administrations in order to support and strengthen:- Legal, institutional and organizational structures related to land transport safety and security;- Rule-making and legal standards for safety practice, institutional capacity and awareness in linewith requirements of international and European standards;- National security authorities and main security operators in the sector of land transport,establishment of security guidelines and customs-related guidelines for operators carrying or handling dangerous goods;- Inspection, training programmes and certification structures in charge of implementing the safetyand security legislation.

2.3. Results to be achieved by the Consultant

The results to be achieved by the Consultant of this assignment are the following:

Result 1 - Legal, institutional and organizational assessment of the situation in land transport safetyand security in the beneficiary countries and definition of a related regional Action Plan incoordination with specialised EU agencies;

Result 2- Support to rule-making and to the establishment of legal standards for safety practice(including for freight services and the transport of dangerous goods), institutional capacity buildingand awareness raising activities in line with requirements of European standards; support to thecreation of working links with the related European agencies (EAR);

Result 3- Technical assistance to the national security authorities and main security operators in thesector of land transport in order to establish Road and Rail Transport Security Guidelines and customs-related guidelines for drivers and operators carrying or handling dangerous goods;

Result 4- Provision of technical expertise and on-the-job training for the development of inspection,training programmes and certification structures to ensure implementation of the safety and securitylegislation.

Result 5: Implementation of a safety, security and environment awareness programme.


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3. ASSUMPTIONS & RISKS

3.1. Assumptions underlying the project intervention

The principal assumption is that the main beneficiaries and other project counterparts are able toactively support the project and participate in project implementation by providing necessary

manpower, equipment and facilities.

The Ministries of Transport and TRACECA National Secretariats are expected to support the project in all its phases. In particular, access to necessary and relevant information and data should not be prevented.

Furthermore, political continuity and stability in the countries is a key factor to the success of the project and that the beneficiary countries are fully committed pursuing their policy of regionalintegration and of establishing a viable, secure and safe land transport sector.

3.2. Risks

Major risks, which might affect the objectives of this project, are:

Political instability in some of the beneficiary countries Lack of co-operation between the beneficiary countries on the cross-regional level No commitment to address the different legal and organisational bases of the beneficiaries

authorities involved

Rules and regulations are subject to variations and interpretations

The risks linked to regional cooperation are to be minimised by the use of some already functioningcoordination mechanisms between TRACECA countries.

4. SCOPE OF THE WORK

4.1. General

4.1.1. Project description

In the field of road transport, the EC policy objectives for road transport are to promote efficientroad freight and passengers transport services, to create fair conditions for competition, to promoteand harmonise safer and more environmental friendly technical standards, to ensure a minimumfiscal and social harmonisation and to make sure that the rules in road transport are effectivelyapplied without discrimination. The existing legislation applying to road transport servicesestablishes common rules on access to the market and to the profession, sets minimal standards for working time, driving and rest periods (including enforcement and the use of tachograph), setsminimal annual vehicle taxes and common rules for tolls and user charges.

In the field of railway security, the EC adopted in 2006 a series of measures to support therevitalisation of the railway sector by removing obstacles to the circulation of trains throughout theEuropean rail network. The measures include a Communication on the simplification of certification of railway vehicles, a proposal to recast the existing Railway InteroperabilityDirectives and to modify the Regulation establishing a European Railway Agency and the RailwaySafety Directive.


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This project is expected to improve transport safety and security environments in the ECneighbouring and Central Asian countries in line with international and European standards in thefields of land transport.Accordingly, the project will develop six main components to provide technical assistance to the

beneficiary countries in order to:- Define regional Action Plans in the field of road and railway safety and security in coordination

with the European Commission and its specialised EU agencies, based on a legal, institutional and organisational assessment of the existing situation of land transport safety and recommendations onkey improvements to be implemented;- Improve land transport safety, security and environmental rules and procedures improved inaccordance with requirements of international and EU conventions, awareness on Europeanstandards is raised, links with the related European agencies are strengthened;- Strengthen regulatory authorities, authorities in charge of safety/license and accidentinvestigation, as well as main security operators and independent certification authorities;- Improve legal standards for land transport safety practice (including the ones for the transport of dangerous goods) and minimal standards for working time, driving and rest periods (includingenforcement and the use of tachograph), minimal annual vehicle taxes and common rules for tollsand user charges.

4.1.2. Geographical area to be covered:

The project should cover Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic,Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

4.1.3 Target groups

The project's main stakeholders will be the Ministries of Transport, responsible for the sustainabledevelopment of the transport policy and the transport infrastructure in their countries.

The target groups will include personnel from:- Land Transport Departments (Road & Rail) in the Ministries of Transport;- Road and Rail Agencies concerned with Regulation, Safety Oversight and Accident Investigation;- other Ministries involved in safety and security issues like Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Interior;- Law enforcement agencies (customs authorities and police forces);- Technical agencies;- Pedagogical and administrative departments of training centres, academies, schools that areconcerned with land transport disciplines.

4.2. Specific activities The Consultant will perform the following tasks:

Component 1: Legal, institutional and organizational assessment of the situation in land transportsafety and security in the beneficiary countries and definition of a related regional Action Plan incoordination with specialized EU agencies.- Analysis of the legal framework in place regarding the road and railways sub-sector - Assessment of roles and mandates of the Ministries in charge of the transport sector and agenciesin place- Assessment of organizational structures in line with international best practices and specific needsof the beneficiary countries- Formulation of recommendations to improve the general safety and security standards


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- Development of a realistic regional action plan with time-lines and indicators, to be discussed within a dedicated regional working group.

Component 2: Support to rule-making and to the establishment of legal standards for safety practice (including for freight services and the transport of dangerous goods), institutional capacity building and awareness raising activities in line with requirements of European standards.

- After assessment of the situation recommend and propose a working plan on topics to be dealtwith, as well as setting the priorities;- Propose a realistic road map of initiatives to implement;- Training and capacity-building on relevant legal standards and practice in line with requirementof international and European standards (including the ones for the transport of dangerous goods)and minimal standards for working time, driving and rest periods (including enforcement and theuse of tachograph), minimal annual vehicle taxes and common rules for tolls and user charges;- Awareness raising activities on legal standards and practice in line with requirement of international and European standards;- Support establishment of working links with relevant European Agencies and professionalinstitutions; ensure sustainability of the established working links;- Organize possible study tours, follow-up feedback of study tours participants and formulate

lessons learnt from the study tours;

Component 3: Technical assistance to the national security authorities and main security operatorsin the sector of land transport in order to establish Road and Rail Transport Security Guidelines and customs-related guidelines for drivers and operators carrying or handling dangerous goods.- Through panels with the beneficiary institutions and agencies discuss and agree on thedevelopment of relevant security guidelines;- Support the implementation of the guidelines;- Organize information sessions to the public and private sector;- Organize possible study tours, follow-up feedback of study tours participants and formulatelessons learnt from the study tours;

Component 4: Provision of technical expertise and on-the-job training for the development of inspection, training programmes and certification structures to ensure implementation of the safetyand security legislation.Through assessment of training needs with the beneficiary institutions develop a training plan and implement training sessions for the development of inspection, training programmes and certification structures to ensure implementation of the safety and security legislation.In the end phase of the project, a Report shall make recommendations for possible future

programmes that would build on the successes of this project or provide extra activities in areasthat were either not so successful or not covered. Emphasis should be put on sustainabilitymeasures beyond the duration of this project

Component 5: A safety, security and environment awareness programme. Develop a web-based awareness programme in cooperation with the TRACECA Permanent

Secretariat; Propose and implement awareness raising measures in the beneficiary countries.

During the project, communication and visibility actions should be undertaken upon agreement of the Contracting authority. A Communication Plan should be implemented, including a website and newsletters, possibly press releases, press conferences, leaflets, banners and promotional itemsrelated to the project activities. In particular, regular update on the project should be sent to theTRACECA Permanent Secretariat for their quarterly newsletter. EC templates and guidelinesshould be respected for any communication action. At the end of the project, a summary of the


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achieved project's results should be provided along with the final report, as a basis for further communication and visibility actions.

4.3. Project management

4.3.1. Responsible body

The project will be managed by the EuropeAid Co-operation office. The Team Leader will beresponsible for managing the contract.

4.3.2. Management structure

A regional project office is to be established in one of the TRACECA countries. This project officewill be considered as the base of operations. It should be noted that this project will probably bemanaged by the EC Delegation in Georgia (Tbilissi).

Secondary project offices can be established in other beneficiary countries. Changes in the locationof the offices could be considered during the inception phase in close coordination with the EC

delegations in those countries and with prior approval of the Contracting Authority.The location of regional events should be proposed by the Consultant and should be balanced among the different TRACECA regions or take place in an EU member state. The Consultant isrequested to clearly describe the intended activities, which might be adjusted within the inception

phase of the project.

It has also to be noted that in the course of the project implementation, frequent travellingwill be required to all TRACECA countries, Brussels and other locations as appropriateand agreed with the Project Manager, based on the project needs. The cost for thistravelling will be provided from the incidental expenditure budget.

4.3.3 Facilities to be provided by the Beneficiary AuthoritiesThe project partners in the beneficiary countries will assist and facilitate the implementation of the

project, by providing necessary contacts and liaison with local authorities, by free access to allinformation and required documentation (not concerning information considered military and/or classified), by providing the required counterpart staff and by timely decision making procedures asrequired during the contract implementation. The project partners in the respective countries will

provide basic office facilities for the consultants when working for their respective institutions, willassist in obtaining required visas and customs clearances for the eventual contractors imported equipment and will provide any other assistance required for the good implantation of the project.

The project partners shall also ensure that selected candidates for training measures can participatein training measures during the contract execution while paying the regular indemnities. Staff of theProject Partner shall not be paid from project funds. However, additional project related costs suchas travel costs during study tours or training sessions will be taken over by the project incidental

budget.

The Project Partner should also provide all possible assistance to solve unforeseen problems whichthe Contractor may face. The possible failure to solve some of the Contractor's problemsencountered locally will not free the Contractor from meeting its contractual obligations vis--visthe Contracting Authority.


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5. LOGISTICS AND TIMING

5.1. Location

The project area covers Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic,Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, as well as Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey as associated

countries.The main project office will be located in one of the beneficiary countries (it should be noted thatthis project will probably be managed by the EC Delegation in Georgia (Tbilissi). Secondary

project offices can be possibly established in other beneficiary countries. The consultant will propose locations for the project office(s), which will be confirmed during the inception phase inclose coordination with the Contracting Authority.

The location of regional events should be proposed by the Consultant and should be balanced among the different TRACECA regions or take place in an EU member state. The Consultant isrequested to clearly describe the intended activities, which might be adjusted within the inception

phase of the project.

It has also to be noted that in the course of the project implementation, frequent travelling will berequired to all TRACECA countries, Brussels and other locations as appropriate and agreed withthe Project Manager, based on the project needs. The cost for this travelling will be provided fromthe incidental expenditure budget.

5.2. Commencement date & Period of execution

The intended commencement date is November 2008 immediately following signature of thecontract and the period of execution of the contract will be 36 months from this date. Please refer toArticles 4 and 5 of the Special Conditions for the actual commencement date and period of

execution.

6. REQUIREMENTS

6.1. Personnel

6.1.1. Key Experts.

All experts who have a crucial role in implementing the contract are referred to as key experts. Thecontract staff will have relevant and extensive professional experience and will be fluent in English.For each sector of activity, each relevant key expert is expected to lead a team of non-key expertsand consequently have management capacity. The profiles of the key experts for this contract are asfollows:The profiles of the key experts for this contract are as follows:

Key Expert 1: Land transport safety expert (minimum 400 w/days)

Qualifications and skills University degree or equivalent in land transport safety or related fields Proven skills in project management Fluency in English; proficiency in Russian would be considered an advantage

General Professional experience


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Preferably 10 years experience in safety aspects of land transport (rail/road); Experience in international projects;

Specific professional experience At least 5 years specific experience in training/capacity building in safety aspects of land

transport (rail/road).

Excellent command of English is essential and knowledge of the Russian language ishighly desirable. Field experience in the NIS would be an advantage.

Key Expert 2: Land transport security expert (minimum 400 w/days)

Qualifications and skills University degree or equivalent in land transport security or related fields Proven skills in project management Fluency in English; proficiency in Russian would be considered an advantage

General professional experience Preferably 10 years experience in land transport security (road/rail). Experience in international projects;

Specific professional experience At least 5 years specific experience in training/capacity building in the field of security

aspects of land transport (road/rail). Experience with transport of dangerous goods, technical inspection and certification of

vehicles Excellent command of English is essential and knowledge of the Russian language is

highly desirable. Field experience in the NIS would be an advantage.

Key Expert 3: International Transport Law expert (minimum 400 w/days)

Qualifications and skills University degree or equivalent in international transport law or related fields Fluency in English; proficiency in Russian would be considered an advantage

General professional experience Preferably 5 years international experience in international transport law/conventions Experience in international rail / road transport projects

Specific professional experience At least 5 years international experience in the field of harmonization with international

transport law/conventions Experience in NIS countries would be considered an advantage

The Contractor is requested to nominate one member of the team of the key experts as the project'sTeam Leader . For this purpose, the selection should also be in accordance with followingdemonstrated criteria:

Experience in managing a team composed of expatriate and local technical specialists; good understanding of local and regional socio-political aspects; supervising and co-ordinating all aspects of the projects technical work; ensuring good communication with the Project Partners;


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organising and overseeing administrative and logistic support; good reporting and drafting skills.

Additional 100 working days should be provided for the Team Leader.

The Consultant is responsible to ensure that all necessary qualifications for the described tasks arecovered.

The Contractor's proposal must fully describe the key experts to be assigned to the project, their precise domain of expertise applicable to the project, their individual roles in the achievement of the project objectives, the timing, duration and location of their assignments. Time spent in the

beneficiary states and at home office is to be clearly shown and should not be less than 75% of theavailable person-days.

Tenderers must supply an annex of the 'Estimated number of working days' worksheet contained inthe spreadsheet for Annex V to their Organisation and Methodology (Annex III) to demonstrate thecorrespondence between the proposed methodology and the expert inputs.

6.1.2. Other experts

CVs for experts other than the key experts must not be provided in the tender. An indicative list of the specific fields on which these experts will work nevertheless should be attached. TheConsultant will provide an indicative database in the expert selection methodology. All expertsmust be independent and free from conflicts of interest in the responsibilities entrusted to them.

The selection procedures used by the Consultant to select these other experts shall be transparent,and shall be based on pre-defined criteria, including professional qualifications, language skills and work experience. The findings of the selection panel shall be recorded. The other experts shall besubject to prior approval of the European Commission.

The Consultant shall propose the other experts as required according to specific Terms of Reference that will be prepared for each specific mission. These profiles must indicate whether they are to be regarded as long-term/short-term and senior/junior so that it is clear which fee rate inthe budget breakdown will apply to each profile. Prior to each mission the Consultant will providethe Commission with specific Terms of Reference and the CVs for each position of proposed expert. For each assignment the Consultant will provide the necessary background documentation.Short-term experts will also be expected to provide a report at the end of their assignment. Theselection of experts shall be subject to approval by the European Commission.

Note that civil servants and other staff of the public administration of the beneficiary countrycannot be recruited as experts.

6.1.3. Support staff & backstopping

It is mandatory to have a backstopping available for this contract. Backstopping costs areconsidered to be included in the fee rates.

6.2. Office accommodation

Project Office: Office accommodation of a reasonable standard and of approximately 10 squaremetres for each expert working on the contract is to be provided by the Consultant. The costs of theProject Offices are to be covered by the provision for incidental expenditure. The cost per square


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meter must be in line with the prevailing local market rate for office accommodation of areasonable standard.

Office Space for Experts on mission: Office accommodation of a reasonable standard shall be madeavailable to the experts free of charge by the respective partner institutions in accordance with themissions of the consultant.

6.3. Facilities to be provided by the Consultant

The Consultant shall ensure that experts are adequately supported and equipped to work effectivelyand will be responsible for all charges relating to the rental and running of the office (i.e. furniture,

personal computers, phones, fax machines, electricity, heating, etc).

The space available will be sufficient to provide adequate working conditions for project team. In particular it shall ensure that there is sufficient administrative, secretarial and interpreting provisionto enable experts to concentrate on their primary responsibilities. It must also transfer funds asnecessary to support its activities under the contract and to ensure that its employees are paid regularly and in a timely fashion.

If the Consultant is a consortium, the arrangements should allow for the maximum flexibility in project implementation. Arrangements offering each consortium partner a fixed percentage of thework to be undertaken under the contract should be avoided.

6.4. Equipment

No equipment is to be purchased on behalf of the Contracting Authority / beneficiary country as part of this service contract or transferred to the Contracting Authority / beneficiary country at theend of this contract. Any equipment related to this contract which is to be acquired by the

beneficiary country must be purchased by means of a separate supply tender procedure.

6.5. Incidental expenditure

The Provision for incidental expenditure covers the eligible incidental expenditure incurred under this contract. It cannot be used for costs, which should be covered by the contractor as part of itsfee rates, as defined above. Its use is governed by the provisions in the General Conditions and thenotes in Annex V of the contract. It covers:

1. Travel costs and subsistence allowances for missions to be undertaken as part of thiscontract to and from the base of operations in the beneficiary countries;

2. Regional coordination meetings;

3. Seminars, workshops and study tours;

4. Translation and publication of documents and studies relevant to the implementation of the project;

5. Office rent (if applicable);

6. Office running costs (stationery, communication costs, energy) and excluding purchaseof office equipment

The Provision for incidental expenditure for this contract is EUR 800,000 . This amount must beincluded without modification in the Budget breakdown.

The Consultant will need prior written approval from the Contracting Authority before spendingthe funds related to the components (2), (3), (5). No written approval from the ContractingAuthority will be needed for spending funds related to the components (1), (4) and (6), however all


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supporting documents must be kept by the Consultant as indicated in art. 24 of the GeneralConditions for Service Contracts financed by the EC.

Any subsistence allowances to be paid for missions undertaken as part of this contract to and fromthe base of operations in the beneficiary countries must not exceed the per diem rates published onthe Web site http://europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/index_en.htm at the start of each such mission.

6.6. Expenditure verification

The Provision for expenditure verification relates to the fees of the auditor who has been charged with the expenditure verification of this contract in order to proceed with the payment of pre-financing instalments if any and/or interim payments if any.

The Provision for expenditure verification for this contract is 20,000. This amount must beincluded without modification in the Budget breakdown.

7. REPORTS

Please refer to Article 26 of the General Conditions. Interim progress reports must be prepared every six months during the period of execution of the contract. They must be provided along withthe corresponding invoice, the financial report and the expenditure verification report defined inArticle 28 of the General Conditions. There must be a final report, a final invoice and the financialreport accompanied by an expenditure verification report at the end of the period of execution. Thedraft final report must be submitted at least one month before the end of the period of execution of the contract. Note that these interim and final reports are additionally to any required in Section 4.2

Each report shall consist of a narrative section and a financial section. The financial section mustcontain details of the time inputs of the experts, of the incidental expenditure and of the provisionfor expenditure verification.

A short Inception Report will be issued within 3 months of the start of the project. It shallsummarise initial findings and propose any modifications to the methodology and work plan. It willalso confirm or modify institutes/organisations/consulting bodies to be directly involved in theimplementation. The report distribution lists will be included.

In addition to the above formal reports, the Contractor shall provide such information on project progress as it is reasonable required by the Methodology and the European Commission, and shallregularly inform the Commission of political, economical or institutional developments of relevance to the project. The Contractor shall in particular provide electronic and hard copies of recommendations elaborated, training material prepared under this project, report of short-termspecialists, any other document which requires prior approval as stated in the project descriptionabove.

No report or document shall be distributed to third parties prior to the approval by the ProjectManager of the European Commission. The contractor shall pay particular attention to theconfidentiality of data. Reports, as well as press statements, etc., made by the contractor will makeclear that any opinions expressed therein remain those of the Contractor and do not represent theopinion of the European Commission.

Copyright on all reports and other material prepared under this contract shall reside with theEuropean Commission.

Contractors are advised to print all the above-mentioned reports double sided.


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7.1. Submission & approval of progress reportsAll reports are to be delivered in the numbers, languages and locations as follows:

Bound Hard Copy

Electronic Copy onCD

English Russian English & RussianEC Project Manager Brussels 2 1Beneficiary countries relevant units 1 1TRACECA National Secretaries of beneficiarycountries

1 1 1

TRACECA Permanent Secretariat in Baku 2 2 1TACIS Coordinating Unit (Beneficiaries States) 1 1 1EC Delegations in the beneficiary States 1 1 1Tacis Monitoring Team (Regional Office) 1 1 1

The Project Manager is responsible for approving the progress reports.

In order to implement the reports on the TRACECA web site and to allow further data processing,reports must be provided by the contractor under an electronic file .doc or .pdf. In any case, alltexts must be composed with common and scan-able fonts, including for tables, maps, diagrams,drawings etc.

Only photographs, logos and facsimiles of original documents will be accepted under a bitmapgraphic format (inside the .doc or .pdf file) though in this case they cannot be used in thedocument data processing. The resolution of bitmap files must be 150 dpi or less. Each report mustcorrespond to one single .doc document or .pdf file. Reports transmitted in multiple files and of different kind will be refused. Contractor is invited to contact the Webmaster before any filetransfer.

The reports and working papers on the many issues covered by this project should be issued regularly and discussed with the beneficiaries.

The Contractor is to compose and provide in his Technical Proposal a schedule of separatedeliverables appropriate to specific technical and commercial components of the project. Formaldraft versions are not required, but the contractor should carefully discuss the proposed contentswith, and provide draft extracts upon request to the EC Project Manager in Brussels, before issuingdeliverables.

8. MONITORING AND EVALUATION

8.1. Definition of indicatorsThe contractor shall incorporate monitoring mechanisms for periodic assessment of the progress of the project work components. Specific performance measures can be selected because they providevalid, useful, practical and comparable measures of progress towards achieving expected results.Such measures can be quantitative: measures of quantity, including statistical statements; or qualitative: judgements and perception derived from subjective analysis of progress made.

The essential points to be monitored are: Deviations of milestones and deliverables from their planned dates Adherence to the work plan in terms of content of the activities actually carried out Deviations in effort needed to complete activity/introduction of work not initially planned Shifting of the common understanding of the objectives and priorities between contractor

and recipient


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Appearance of unexpected difficulties likely to require special measures or shift of projectresources

8.2. Special requirements None.

8.3.

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