Technical Assistance for the Latin America and Caribbean Investment Facility (LACIF)

The EU grant opportunity focuses on providing Technical Assistance for the Latin America and Caribbean Investment Facility (LACIF), a service contract aimed at supporting the monitoring and development of blending projects within this region. The main eligible applicants include companies, consultancies, or organizations with expertise in areas such as project monitoring and international development. Although the grant does not specifically prioritize SMEs, it remains open to all eligible firms with relevant experience.

The total funding for the contract is estimated at €4,000,000, which falls into the €1M to €5M range, and the contract duration is set for 48 months. The project aims to implement services involving the monitoring and review of ongoing blending projects, ensuring alignment with the Global Gateway initiative, and providing training and knowledge management for EU delegations.

The application process is electronic and open, with submission deadlines set for April 23, 2025, at 16:00 Europe/Brussels time. There are no consortium requirements specified, allowing for single entity applications. Geographic eligibility primarily targets organizations likely based in EU member states, while the project focuses on Latin America and the Caribbean.

Selected applicants will be evaluated based on technical capacity, financial standing, and overall suitability, with an award criterion weighted at 80% for quality and 20% for price. As part of the process, it is essential to adhere to specific technical requirements for submissions and to register a Personal Identification Code (PIC), mandatory for participation.

The application stages involve an initial request to participate followed by a detailed proposal from shortlisted candidates. Clarifications have been provided regarding technical capacity requirements, eligibility for project references, and potential conflicts of interest surrounding contractor involvement in future infrastructure tenders.

Overall, the opportunity represents a substantial funding chance for organizations experienced in international development projects, particularly those familiar with blending financing mechanisms.

This is an invitation to submit a request to participate in a call for tenders for a service contract regarding Technical Assistance for the Latin America and Caribbean Investment Facility (LACIF). The procedure identifier is EC-INTPA/2025/EA-RP/0034. The submission method is electronic and the procedure type is restricted. The estimated total value of the tender is 4,000,000 EUR. The TED publication date is 21/03/2025. The lead contracting authority is the European Commission, INTPA - International Partnerships. The main classification (CPV) is 79000000 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security. The nature of the contract is services. The maximum contract duration is 48 months. The award method is best price-quality ratio. There is no framework agreement. The selection criteria include suitability to pursue the professional activity, economic and financial standing, and technical and professional ability, all of which are detailed in the procurement documents. The place(s) of delivery or performance is Latin America and the Caribbean (31085460). The programme(s) involved is America and the Caribbean (44995889). The deadline for receipt of requests to participate is 23/04/2025 16:00 Europe/Brussels.

The LACIF is a blending facility with approximately 50 ongoing blending contracts for a total EU contribution of EUR 500 million. Technical Assistance (TA) is required for monitoring ongoing blending projects and reviewing new project proposals to ensure alignment with the Global Gateway and respect of blending guidelines. The services also include training and knowledge management with EU delegations, as well as contributing to the maintenance and production of country/project fiches and thematic summaries of the LACIF.

The available documents include: ENa14a declaration honour procurement enInvitation to submit a request to participate (published 21/03/2025, Version 1, no translations available), ENb3 req part form enInvitation to submit a request to participate (published 21/03/2025, Version 1, no translations available), ENAdditional information A5fInvitation to submit a request to participate (published 26/03/2025, Version 1, no translations available), and ENa5f additional information contract noticeInvitation to submit a request to participate (published 21/03/2025, Version 1, no translations available).

Submissions must be sent exclusively at the address for submission given below, using the electronic submission method.

Questions and Answers (Q&A):

A number of questions have been raised and answered regarding this call for tenders:

Question 61192: The deadline (23/04) refers to the submission of the request to participate or the final proposal? Answer: The deadline refers to the request to participate (Published on 14/04/2025 17:21).

Question 62071: In the contract notice on page 5, it is stated that the candidates must demonstrate their technical capacity. Answer: As stated in Section 16.3: “For each contract, the value of the services completed must not be less than 1.6 million EUR.” Therefore, the cumulative value of multiple contracts total (Published on 10/04/2025 15:09).

Question 62070: Could you kindly confirm that a European Union-based applicant is allowed to use relevant project references? Answer: Based on the provisions outlined in the tender EC-INTPA/2025/EA-RP/0034 and in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/947, the eligibility of project references to meet technical and professional requirements is confirmed (Published on 10/04/2025 15:08).

Question 62069: Because of the Easter holidays just before the planned deadline, would it be possible to extend the submission deadline? Answer: As per Section 21 of the contract notice regarding clarification requests: “Any request for clarifications must be made in writing through the F&T Portal. This applies to both the contracting authority and the tenderers.” (Published on 10/04/2025 15:06).

Question 62068: Clarification regarding the eligibility of companies from OECD Member States listed in Appendix 9. Answer: As per Section 21 of the contract notice regarding clarification requests: “Any request for clarifications must be made in writing through the F&T Portal. This applies to both the contracting authority and the tenderers.” (Published on 10/04/2025 15:05).

Question 62067: Clarify whether the references provided by capacity providers should be included in the B3 document. Answer: As indicated in item 16 of the standard request to participate form, data regarding capacity-providing entities should be included in a separate document. As per point 2.6.11.1 of PRAG (Published on 10/04/2025 15:00).

Question 61520: Confirm whether a company established in the UK is eligible to participate in this project. Answer: The eligibility rules applicable to the present call for tender, as per point 4 of the additional information about the Contract Notice, are established by Regulation (EU) 2021/947 (Published on 03/04/2025 19:07).

Question 61519: In the event that a company with offices legally established in an EU member country is included as eligible in the applicable PRAG. Answer: The eligibility rules applicable to the present call for tender, as per point 4 of the additional information about the Contract Notice, are established by Regulation (EU) 2021/947 (Published on 03/04/2025 17:30).

Question 61516: Confirm whether the successful contractor for this Technical Assistance assignment would be precluded from participating in future infrastructure tenders. Answer: There could be a conflict of interest, but there are currently no infrastructure tenders foreseen under LACIF (Published on 03/04/2025 17:20).

Question 61515: Would you consider consortium members having contracts –now and/or in the future– with a Development Bank related to a project creating a conflict of interest? Answer: Yes, it could constitute a conflict of interest (Published on 03/04/2025 17:19).

Question 61514: Will this TA involve the preparation of Terms of Reference or any other technical documentation related to future contracts to be tendered? Answer: While this is not specifically foreseen, we cannot exclude a potential conflict of interest (Published on 03/04/2025 17:18).

Question 61513: Confirm whether the successful contractor for this Technical Assistance assignment would be precluded from participating in future infrastructure tenders. Answer: There could be a conflict of interest, but there are currently no infrastructure tenders foreseen under LACIF (Published on 03/04/2025 17:16).

Question 61358: Confirm whether contracts (references) implemented by companies from the UK and/or USA are eligible. Answer: The eligibility rules applicable to the present call for tender, as per point 4 of the additional information about the Contract Notice, are established by Regulation (EU) 2021/947 (Published on 03/04/2025 16:56).

Question 61190: I have submitted several questions between the 24th and 27th of March, but none of them have received any clarification. Answer: This question was received after the deadline. According to section 20 of the additional information, the deadline for receiving requests to participate is indicated in the announcement (Published on 31/03/2025 23:30).

Question 60693: Concerning criterion 3 Technical Capacity: Annex a5f to the recently updated PRAG (version 20th January 2025) states the following. Answer: Criterion 3 – Technical Capacity has been modified in accordance with the template. Please refer to the updated version of the contract notice published on 26/03/2025 (Published on 26/03/2025 21:27).

Question 60687: Could you confirm/clarify which of the two files uploaded is to be considered? Answer: The contract notice to be considered is the one published on 26/03/2025 (Published on 26/03/2025 21:20).

FAQ's related to the eSubmission system:

How to proceed if the system is slow or doesn’t work while uploading/downloading documents? Please make sure you use the latest versions of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. If the issue persists, try the following steps: 1. Clear the cache and cookies on the Internet browser. 2. Restart your computer. 3. Try again later (Published on 13/02/2025 20:52).

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Is it possible to view the details of the submission after the deadline? The content of the submission is not accessible after submitting the tender as the system encrypts all attachments upon upload. Thus, the system will not allow decryption after the upload (Published on 13/02/2025 20:50).

Where can I find my submissions in Manage My Area, in the Funding & Tenders portal? Depending on the type or step of procedure, you can find the submissions in one of these sections: In ‘My Submission(s)’: tenders in response to open calls for tenders, requests to (Published on 17/10/2024 20:40).

Which size should attachments have? For attaching files to your tender submission, eSubmission accepts files that are less than 50 MB in size. Any larger sizes will not be accepted by the system. For the latest information (Published on 17/10/2024 20:36).

How should I name attachments in eSubmision? In eSubmission, you must name the attachments for your tender draft following the System Requirements. With regards to all attachment names, please see the following conditions: The (Published on 03/10/2024 16:39).

Can I submit a video in eSbmission? Which formats are supported? You can check the System Requirements of eSubmission (Published on 03/10/2024 16:37).

I received an invitation from the F&T Portal but cannot view the procurement documents. Invited candidates can only see the procurement documents after having selected an organisation. Go to F&T Portal, “My Invitations”. Click on “Select Organisation” from the “Action” (Published on 03/10/2024 16:37).

Do I need to validate my PIC in order to submit a tender in eSubmission? The Personal Identification Code (PIC) is mandatory to participate in a call for tenders as a sole candidate/tenderer or as a member of a group (consortium). For subcontractors PIC is (Published on 03/10/2024 16:36).

I have an issue uploading a file in eSubmission and it’s giving me an error. What do I do? When uploading a file in eSubmission, you must first make sure it follows the technical requirements of the system, which are as shown below. A) For procurement procedures: B) For req (Published on 03/10/2024 16:36).

How many attachments can I upload per submission? The maximum number of documents the system will allow you to upload per tender is 200 files. You are able to check the eSubmission System Requirements in the documentation by clicking (Published on 03/10/2024 16:35).

Why do tenderers need a PIC? It is mandatory to register for a PIC if you intend to submit a tender or a request to participate. Only one PIC per organisation must be used. Therefore, if your organisation already (Published on 23/04/2024 17:14).

How do I register my organisation and get a Participant Identification Code (PIC)? First, check if the organisation is already registered using the Search PIC tool under 'How to Participate' > Participant Register. If your organisation is a bigger (Published on 23/04/2024 16:07).

What is the validity period of a PIC? A PIC is unique and its validity is not limited in time (Published on 22/04/2024 22:55).

How many languages does the system support? The system is multilingual and supports all 24 official EU languages (Published on 01/04/2024 19:56).

Which is the character set encoding in the system? The character set encoding is UTF-8 (Published on 22/02/2024 23:58).

Does the system use encryption to ensure the integrity and the confidentiality of the information? Yes, the system encrypts all uploaded documents, using an asymmetric key as an encryption mechanism (Published on 22/02/2024 23:57).

Which file types does the system support? The supported file types depend on the type of submission you want to make. The allowed file types are specified within the system requirements linked to the procedure in question. M (Published on 21/02/2024 23:55).

Can I view and edit my draft submission? Until the deadline for the submission has been reached, submissions in the draft status can be edited, viewed and deleted (Published on 24/03/2023 21:32).

In the submission report, under the name of our entity, "Legal form: UNKNOWN" is displayed while in the system, our legal form was correctly displayed. Is this a problem for the submission? No, it is just a display issue. This is not blocking for you: you can submit (Published on 03/08/2021 22:07).

I sent my submission on time and a few days later, I received an automatic email informing me that the deadline for the reception of submissions had been reached. Does this mean that my submission was not correctly sent? No, this is an auto-generated notification sent when the time limit of receipt defined for the call for tenders has been reached. Until then, you had the possibility of withdrawing (Published on 03/08/2021 22:05).

In summary, this tender is a call for participation in a restricted procedure for a service contract. The European Commission is seeking technical assistance for the Latin America and Caribbean Investment Facility (LACIF). The selected contractor will be responsible for monitoring ongoing projects, reviewing new proposals, providing training, managing knowledge, and contributing to the production of relevant documentation. The tender is valued at 4 million EUR, and the contract duration is 48 months. The deadline for submitting requests to participate is April 23, 2025. The submission must be done electronically through the EU's Funding & Tenders Portal. Several clarifications have been provided regarding eligibility, technical capacity requirements, and potential conflicts of interest. The eSubmission system also has specific requirements for file types, sizes, and naming conventions.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated but can be inferred to be organizations capable of providing business services, law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing, and security services. This suggests that eligible applicants could include companies, consulting firms, and other entities with the relevant expertise.

Funding Type: The funding type is procurement, specifically a service contract.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity does not explicitly state whether a single applicant or a consortium is required. However, based on the questions and answers, it is possible to apply as a single entity or as part of a consortium.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The eligibility rules applicable to the present call for tender, as per point 4 of the additional information about the Contract Notice, are established by Regulation (EU) 2021/947. Based on the questions and answers, companies established in the UK and EU member countries are potentially eligible, subject to the conditions of Regulation (EU) 2021/947. The eligibility of companies from OECD Member States listed in Appendix 9 is also a point of clarification.

Target Sector: The target sector is broad, encompassing business services, law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing, and security. More specifically, it targets technical assistance related to the Latin America and Caribbean Investment Facility (LACIF).

Mentioned Countries: United Kingdom, USA, OECD Member States, European Union countries, Latin America, Caribbean.

Project Stage: The project stage involves monitoring ongoing blending projects, reviewing new project proposals, training, knowledge management, and maintenance/production of country/project fiches. This suggests a focus on implementation, monitoring, and support rather than early-stage research or development.

Funding Amount: The estimated total value of the contract is 4,000,000 EUR.

Application Type: The application type is a closed, electronic call for tenders, specifically a restricted procedure.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in exchange for providing services.

Application Stages: The application process appears to involve at least two stages: a request to participate and a final proposal. The deadline of 23/04 refers to the submission of the request to participate.

Success Rates: The success rates are not mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The co-funding requirement is not explicitly mentioned.

Summary:

This is a call for tenders for a service contract to provide Technical Assistance for the Latin America and Caribbean Investment Facility (LACIF). The LACIF is a blending facility with approximately 50 ongoing blending contracts, supported by a total EU contribution of EUR 500 million. The technical assistance is required for monitoring these ongoing projects, reviewing new project proposals to ensure alignment with the Global Gateway initiative and blending guidelines, providing training and knowledge management to EU delegations, and contributing to the maintenance and production of country/project fiches and thematic summaries related to LACIF.

The procedure type is a restricted procedure, and submissions must be electronic. The estimated total value of the contract is 4,000,000 EUR, and the maximum contract duration is 48 months. The lead contracting authority is the European Commission, INTPA International Partnerships.

The call is open to organizations capable of providing services related to business, law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing, and security. The place of performance is in Latin America and the Caribbean. The deadline for receipt of requests to participate is April 23, 2025, at 16:00 Europe/Brussels time.

Applicants must submit their requests to participate electronically, and the selection criteria include suitability to pursue the professional activity, economic and financial standing, and technical and professional ability. The tender process involves multiple stages, including an initial request to participate, followed by a full proposal from shortlisted candidates. The eSubmission system is used for electronic submissions, and applicants must adhere to specific technical requirements, including file size limits and naming conventions for attachments. A Personal Identification Code (PIC) is mandatory for participation. The system supports all 24 official EU languages and uses encryption to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the information.