Public Tender Notices
DFAT08-SWE-029 - Request for Tender for the provision of staffing, retail and operations services for the Australian pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010 in China
Addendum 1 - 19 August 2008
Record of 18 August Industry Briefing with Q&A
Section 1: Welcome and overview
Peter Sams, Pavilion Director
Briefing format
- Project overview – 20 minutes
- RFT overview - 20 minutes
- Q and A - 20 minutes
The SWE Team
- Peter Tesch, Executive Director and Commissioner General for Australia
- Peter Sams, Pavilion Director
- David Glass, Director, Business and Communications
- Viv O’Connell, Executive Officer, Business and Communications
- Alexandra Seal, Unit Coordinator
The Probity Adviser
- DFAT has appointed a probity adviser, Stephen Skehill of Mallesons Stephen Jaques, who is represented today by Justin Jiang
- The probity adviser’s role is to ensure fairness and good process, and is a resource for both tenderers and DFAT.
- If you have concerns or queries about the process contact Stephen Skehill on (02) 6217 6084 or stephen.skehill@mallesons.com (contact details are also included in the RFT documentation.)
Commonwealth Procurement process
- Commmonwealth procurement must comply with strict rules – if you have not undertaken this process before, please bear this in mind.
- Our accountability framework includes: The Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines (CPGs); the Financial Management and Accountability (FMA) Act; Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) and Parliamentary scrutiny through Senate Estimates, and Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation.
- After today any enquiries must be submitted in writing to expo2010shanghai@dfat.gov.au
- Any aspect of this RFT may be subject to change, and all addenda will be posted on www.dfat.gov.au/tenders
- Please note that members of the Tender Panel cannot accept any gifts or hospitality from tenderers
- DFAT encourages bids from Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and consortia
- We are genuine about providing opportunities to showcase Australian capability through this tender, and are engaging with the Industry Capability Network (ICN)
- DFAT is facilitating contact between SMEs through a contact list. Email expo2010shanghai@dfat.gov.au with requests to be included as a service provider seeking partners
- DFAT welcomes consortium tenders.
Context
- The Australian pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo is the most significant project being undertaken by the Australian Government in regard to the Australia-China relationship.
- The project requires a strong collegiate team spirit – responsible for the largest “on the ground” presence, the successful contractor will work closely with DFAT, government and private sector stakeholders and other contractors. Tenderers should demonstrate in their tender their capability to work with these other parties.
- Compliance with the Expo Bureau guidelines, which may be amended from time to time, is critical – DFAT encourages tenderers to check the Bureau’s website regularly for updates.
- DFAT manages all communication with the Shanghai Expo Bureau, the prime dialogue partner for the project. Tenderers are asked not to contact the Bureau directly with reference to this tender or, following completion of the tender process, the services sought under this tender.
- The following Powerpoint presentation outlines the scope of the project. It will be posted on www.dfat.gov.au/tenders, with minor modification – images of Act 2 will be removed, as these will evolve as a result of a separate tender.
Section 2: Powerpoint presentation (also found at Addendum 2 of this Tender)
David Glass, Director, Business and Communications, Peter Sams, Pavilion Director
Section 3: Presentation on the scope of the Request for Tender
Peter Sams, Pavilion Director
- The RFT represents our present thinking, but we are open to your ideas and experience.
- This tender forms part of Phase 2 of the project (Phase 1 being for pavilion design and costings), for which the Australian Government, in the 2008-09 Federal Budget committed $61 million over the next three years. An additional $22 million will be sourced through corporate sponsorship and partnerships with the states and territories, bringing the total budget to $83 million. This is the largest investment made by the Australian Government in a world expo.
- DFAT’s role is as contract managers and managers of
the broader program:
- while we are not venue managers, it is our venue
- we are a very actively engaged client
- we understand the value that the retail outlets provide
- we understand that you take a commercial risk and expect the commercial benefits to the successful tenderer will be in part recognised in the retail offset fee (the amount of which is a commercial decision for tenderers)
- we will do our best to not impinge on retail operations, but we may if necessary
- Our expectation of the winning pavilion operations
tenderer is that they will:
- be proactive and have the capacity to deliver to our high expectations – the attitude to get things done and done well is vital. The nature of the environment demands that we continually exceed expectations
- play a key role in the success of the whole project and be central to the operation of the venue
- play a key role in emergency planning and response
- engage and manage venue staff for outstanding performance
- manage retail fit-out and coordination issues
- test, commission and educate – based on our experience at the Aichi expo, we want to ensure that the staff are engaged with the pavilion stories.
- be adaptive in the fluid and challenging environment: from drop-in foreign VIPs, to security incidents, to broken toilets
- be responsible for the fit-out of the retail space, which needs to be broadly consistent with the overall venue fit-out
- Format of RFT response
- Please note that tenders should be in the form set out in Schedule 3 of the RFT and must satisfy the minimum content and format requirements in the RFT. Tenderers must respond to all required sections of the RFT
- If tenderers are not sure how to format a response, please ask DFAT
- Please note that the Draft Agreement is quite developed so please, give it consideration.
Section 4: Question and Answer
Chaired and responded to by Peter Sams
Q1: Is there likely to be an Australian Government bid for this RFT?
A1: We do not expect one. If this were the case, competitive neutrality principles would apply.
Q2: Where is the boundary in the retail area between the DFAT fit-out and the contractor’s fit-out?
A2: DFAT has provided services to the edge of the retail area. Otherwise the only provision in this space is for gyprock and concrete. In the case of the kitchen supporting the food and beverage area in the atrium, we have provided for grease pits, as retro-fitting would have been impractical.
Q3: Is the upstairs (VIP Area) kitchen empty?
A3: No, the upstairs kitchen, which services the VIP area, forms part of the Construction, Exhibition and Technical Operations RFT scope of services and will be fitted out.
Q4: Is the menu for the VIP area set by DFAT?
A4: No. We will make decisions based on the successful tenderer’s recommendations, which should be based on the requirement that the menus showcase high-quality Australian food which is appropriate for high-ranking Chinese officials.
Q5: What degree of fit-out will be provided in the upstairs kitchen?
A5: This has not yet been determined, as the Construction, Exhibition and Technical Operations RFT is currently under consideration. Submissions have responded to DFAT’s brief that the kitchen must cater for up to 200, high-level functions over the 184 day expo period, including fine dining for 90 and standing receptions for up to150 people at a time.
Q6: Will the successful tenderer for Staffing, Retail and Operations have input into the upstairs kitchen fit-out?
A6: Yes. The timing of this tender has been scheduled to allow for early input into finalising the fit-out to meet the successful Operations contractors’ requirements.
Q7: Is there scope to allow waiting and retail staff to be drawn from the local Shanghai community?
A7: Yes – DFAT has stated the split between Australian and locally engaged staff in the RFT documentation.
Q8: What are the respective sizes of the retail area and the food and beverage area?
A8: The retail area is 130 square metres with a storage area of 30 square metres however this is subject to change. The size of the food and beverage area is not specified.
Q9: Who decides which merchandise to sell in the retail area?
A9: The successful tenderer decides what to sell, although DFAT retains the right of veto to prevent the sale of items which are deemed unsafe or inappropriate.
Q10: Is there any relationship between pavilion sponsors and the retail operation?
A10: DFAT plans to launch a sponsorship program in the coming months. At this stage we see sponsorship and the retail area as being separate issues, although it is possible that some sponsors may seek some exposure through retail (although DFAT does not favour this option).
Q11: In reference to the 12 pavilion attendants you mentioned, where do you see these staff members as being positioned?
A11: One where visitors join the queue; one at the front of the queue, where visitors join the Act 1 ramp; two along the Act 1 ramp; three in total at the entrance to Act 2 (one positioned at each of the three, 330-person capacity holding areas); three to assist Act 2 egress; one underneath the Act 2 show; one on break in the team room. However, we are flexible about this and welcome alternative suggestions from tenderers.
Q12: Are higher resolution floor plans available?
A12: Yes, please email the contact officer with a request.
Q13: For retail products, which is more important: for them to be thematically linked to “Better City, Better Life” or the commercial return?
A13: This is a commercial decision for tenderers.