- Status
- Closed
Background
The responsibility for implementation of the TACIS programmes - and the follow-on programmes of the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC) - lies with a Directorate General of the European Commission. Over time this has changed from DGIA through SCR and then DG AIDCO (EuropeAid Cooperation Office). Under this responsibility, the regulations covering the implementation of the instruments allow for Community financing to cover expenditure associated with various kinds of assistance for the preparation, follow up, monitoring, auditing and evaluation activities directly necessary for the implementation of the programmes and the achievement of their objectives. This may include, for example, studies, meetings, information, awareness-raising, training and publication activities and any other administrative or technical assistance that the Commission may require for the management of the programmes.
Due to its status as a DG of the European Commission, DG-JRC is able to provide DG-AIDCO with scientific and technical advice in support of programme implementation that is completely independent and free from any commercial interests. This support is complementary to various other support mechanisms such as the on-site Consultants at NPPs, the Regulatory Authorities Management Group (RAMG), OSA Peer Group and dedicated support Consultants contracted by the Commission, all of which together provide the elements that allow programme and project preparation to proceed in a quick and effective manner, project tendering and contracting to be carried out efficiently and successfully and problems arising during project implementation to be managed and solved effectively.
In the framework of the TACIS 2004 programme, the Commission decided to continue and extend the services entrusted to DG JRC for the provision of professional support to the implementation of the TACIS programmes. These services concerned the provision of expertise, know-how and other forms of technical assistance for the project cycle management of TACIS nuclear safety projects in the area of On-Site Assistance (OSA).
Objectives
The objective of this contract was the provision of technical support to EC DG AIDCO for the implementation of projects in the sector of nuclear safety On Site Assistance. The contract was a follow-up to the contracts 32268 and 69400.
The specific tasks to be executed by JRC/IE under the present contract were as follows:
Task 1: Developing / Reviewing Terms of Reference (ToR) and participation in the evaluation of tenders
The task consisted of developing and reviewing ToRs for On-Site Assistance contracts, including contracts whereby OSA utilities gave technical assistance to Beneficiary and/or End User in the beneficiary countries, such as Armenia, Ukraine, Brazil. Also, the task included participation in tender evaluation committees for the open tenders for equipment supply and analysing the technical part of offers necessary to conclude direct agreements. JRC staff took part in 30 evaluation committees including equipment supplies and On-Site Assistance service contract evaluations.
Task 2: Provision of technical and scientific assistance in project planning and preparation
The task consisted of reviewing and accepting the Technical Specifications for equipment supply projects or work projects, in terms of technical consistency, quality and neutrality. In addition, the JRC reviewed the Evaluation Criteria documents for the open tenders and responses to clarification questions raised by tenderers regarding the published Tender Dossiers.
The task also included the provision of technical and scientific support in the planning and preparation of OSA projects, specifically - reviewing and upgrading of several project Action Fiches for inclusion in the INSC Annual Programmes.
Task 3: Provision of technical and scientific assistance for project implementation
The task consisted of providing technical and scientific support as required by AIDCO to ensure project implementation is not hampered by technical or scientific obstacles and/or complications.
JRC's main activity under this task involved the participation in various project related meetings such as kick-off meetings, technical/progress meetings, acceptance testing commissions or ad-hoc project meetings called to deal with specific or problematic issues.
Task 4: Review and technical assessments of contractual technical reports of projects
The JRC provided AIDCO with technical and scientific assessments of reports produced during the execution of the TACIS Nuclear Safety and INSC On-Site Assistance projects.
Task 5: Support to the implementation of “2 + 2” type projects
The role of the JRC in the “2 + 2” approach under the present contract was to provide, upon request of AIDCO, technical and scientific advice, and to facilitate the progress of large-scale equipment supply projects for beneficiary NPPs.
Task 6: Participation to exploratory, follow-up or assessment missions to be conducted by or on request of AIDCO
JRC provided technical and scientific expertise to AIDCO exploratory, follow-up and assessment missions in the framework of the definition, implementation and analysis of the TACIS nuclear safety on-site assistance programme.
Task 7: Maintenance of database of on-site assistance projects
The JRC has maintained the OSA database developed under contract 25940, for internal management and tracking of the receipt of documents to be reviewed, review status and responses to the stakeholders.
Task 8: Contribution to the dissemination of the project results
For On-Site Assistance projects that were finalised during the implementation period of this Administrative Arrangement the JRC prepared a summary of project objectives, activities and major achievements of each project in English and in Russian for publication on the JRC TACIS Dissemination website.
Task 9: JRC assistance to the EC-IAEA-Ukraine joint project "Safety Evaluation of Ukrainian NPPs"
The objective of the Joint Project (contract 145268) was to conduct an overall assessment of the compliance of the Ukrainian NPPs with current IAEA safety standards. One JRC expert participated to each of 20 IAEA Expert Review Missions to Ukrainian NPPs for evaluating the Design Safety, Operational Safety and Waste Management & Decommissioning Safety at the plants as well as one Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission to evaluate the Regulatory Authority. JRC experts also participated in a number of technical working group meetings and management meetings, contributing to the mission reports, minutes of IAEA meetings as well as to the project Final and Task Reports.
Results
The Administrative Arrangement was signed on 3 January 2007 and had a duration of 4 years. During the period of this Administrative Arrangement, the transition from TACIS to INSC took place. This transition resulted in an increased demand for JRC to prepare or review Terms of Reference documents for service contracts in the area of On-Site Assistance or Support to the Operator, whilst at the same time the demand for reviewing Technical Specifications and Evaluation Criteria for equipment supply projects and the number of equipment supply tender evaluation committees reduced. The latter nevertheless remained important components of the work in the area of On Site Assistance.
The tasks to be executed within the framework of TAREG 01/04 have been done according to the requirements of the contract.
The provision of experts for tender evaluation committees and preparation/review of Terms of Reference, Technical Specifications and corresponding Evaluation Criteria have been performed with a high priority, according to AidCo needs. These documents were prepared / reviewed and endorsed in a timely manner, always respecting the tender publication schedules set by Aidco.Contractual deliverables of TACIS/INSC projects were reviewed when received from the various Consultants.