CIEL: Background and tender context Based at the National AgriFood Innovation Campus in Sand Hutton, York, the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL) is a new business which aims to reassert the UK as a leader in AgriTech research and development. It has the support of more than 80 companies and organisations, from SMEs to large multinationals and includes twelve of the UK s major research providers. CIEL development has been led from the start by a collaboration of industry and academia. CIEL is being steered in the interim period until business establishment by a group including AB Agri, Tesco, RAFT Solutions, Alltech, Cargills, Cranswick Food Group, Devenish, Sainsbury, Fera Science Ltd., Westpoint Vet Group, XLVets and Stonegate, liaising with all academic partners through an independent interim COO, Sam Hoste of Quantech Solutions. As part of the family of AgriTech centres, and through the development and uptake of research, knowledge and best practice, as well as the development of exportable goods, CIEL aims to increase the economic performance of UK farming and associated industry by 12 GVA for each 1 spent in research. CIEL will support partnerships to enable the development of innovative inputs and outputs in the breeding, animal health, biotechnology, nutrition, production system and technology sectors. CIEL will also liaise with other initiatives including the N8 AgriFood partnership and local LEPs to help translate knowledge to the end user. It will benchmark improvement through tracking productivity improvements, liaising with farm data capture initiatives already within the CIEL partnership and including AgriMetrics. With the support of BIS and Innovate UK, CIEL will invest 27.7 million to give unique, state of the art resources and capacity for livestock related research at key hub locations across the UK. Outwith the scope of this application, the research institutions will additionally more than match this investment, to achieve a total capital investment of over 70million to produce a quantum leap in the productivity of the UK livestock sector. CIEL therefore aims to increase the international competitiveness and export opportunities for Agritech Industries across the entire UK Livestock Supply Chain. The key performance indicators will include increased productivity and profitability of livestock farming and downstream processing of livestock products. To achieve this aim, it is essential that the research consortium provides an efficient translational pipeline from invention to evaluation at farm level across all livestock sectors and all parts of the UK. What is the need for this tender? -Translational research: in touch with industry CIEL offers a unique opportunity to reconnect internationally leading blue-sky research at its academic hubs back with an industry that requires innovation. The mechanism to translate this research into the transformationally practical is via a national network of evaluation and demonstration farm spokes that connect up with the central academic hubs, which are based at universities and research institutes. These spokes will require some additional equipment and infrastructure specification to be enabled to deliver the quality of big data required by CIEL.
Through a dedicated operations team, CIEL will use its network of training and experienced KE (knowledge exchange) partners including AHDB, veterinary groups, agricultural colleges and commercial discussion groups to disseminate research findings and technology out to farmers and beyond in new products, services and skills for measured improvements in UK productivity. Group members have ~40% of the UK dairy industry, ~25% of the UK poultry industry and ~50% of the UK pig industry under their clinical care. Industry members range from being sector leads to innovative SMEs focused on UK productivity for market growth. Capital expenditure is therefore required to equip the spokes of this national farm network with key capacity to measure, record and communicate the big data that connects industry on the ground with the academic hubs of CIEL and also springboard the dissemination of transformational research findings back out. Capital expenditure is therefore available to facilitate delivery on the following criteria: Capture of a range of big data in the field Measurement and sensing technologies appropriate to commercial livestock farming application Appropriate proxies for health, welfare, reproductive performance and productivity Phenotypic evaluation of the emerging potential offered by genomics Sustainability evaluation including efficiency and resilience of livestock food production Safe handling facilities to facilitate the gathering of these data in a commercial farm context Gap closure in a cross species group perspective Springboarding KE from CIEL outward
CIEL-a national network for industry CIEL is genuinely a national UK organisation which therefore requires a nationally representative network of spoke farms to deliver evaluation and KE as described above: Tender applications will be considered on a number of key criteria (see below), including effective interaction with both the hub and the UK livestock industry as a nationally diverse entity. Achieving best value and strategic linkage to CIEL The tender value in total Capital expenditure is: 384,830 (plus VAT) This total capital invested should deliver the best value to CIEL as a whole in delivering the evaluation and demonstration capacity needs of the industry. Tenders will be evaluated on this basis, value added proposals will be considered alongside a least cost basis with a holistic view of CIEL as an organisation.
Tender process The tender process will be conducted in accordance with EU public tenders rules & procedures, as budget exceeds EUR 207 000: http://europa.eu/youreurope/business/public-tenders/rules-procedures/index_en.htm An open tender procedure requires the minimum time limit for submission of tenders to be 36 days notice from issue (with prior information note published already; or 52 days without publication of such a note). The tender will be conducted in two phases: Phase 1 Tender by suppliers of equipment to join the tender framework. Application must include publication of products that fit the eligibility needs criteria and price per unit alongside a justification for the inclusion of a particular product in the framework. Phase 2 Tender by organisations that are eligible to contribute to the CIEL spoke network to source the equipment described in phase 1 and consequently listed on the spoke framework Tender evaluation The criteria for successful inclusion onto the CIEL spoke framework will be judged by a panel of 5-7 individuals elected by the CIEL Interim Management Board and to include both AHDB, the IMB chair and chief operating officer (COO) and to be a majority of industry representation. Criteria will be scored with an objective scoring system 1-5 with 5 achieving the highest eligibility credentials, based on the criteria needs above. Phase 1 eligibility should not be achieved with any products/equipment scoring <3. Phase 2 tender evaluation will include a holistic view of CIEL and its strategic objectives.
Criteria Score/5 Comments Capture of a range of big data in the field Measurement and sensing technologies appropriate to commercial livestock farming application Delivery of appropriate proxies for health, welfare, reproductive performance and productivity Phenotypic evaluation of the emerging potential offered by genomics Sustainability evaluation including efficiency and resilience of livestock food production Safe handling facilities to facilitate the gathering of these data in a commercial farm context Gap closure in a cross species group perspective Springboarding KE from CIEL outward Appeals process will be heard by the IMG with overview from BIS and Innovate Further information and enquiries to info@cielivestock.co.uk Deadline for applications: Phase 1: 21.03.16 Phase 2: 31.05.16