Download International open tender for consultancy services: International

International open tender for consultancy services:
International open tender for consultancy services: Implementation of a Public Opinion and Business
Sentiment Surveys in the Western Balkans – Balkan Barometer 2014 by the RCC Secretariat (Contracting
Authority).
Tender No: Tender 022-014
Questions and Answers:
Question:
For the surveys, public opinion and business, You mentioned in TOR pages 12 and 14: Sample should be
probability-based and nationally representative of the resident population aged 15 and
above/population of business. My question is: could You explain what did You exactly mean
by probability sample? The real probability sample is based on address lists of the whole population and
this kind of sample is used very rarely in the surveys because of the several reasons: lack of the official
address lists in many countries, especially in this part of the Balkan region, because of the costs (which
are too high) and because the implementation takes a lot of time . The best “replacement” for address
list which we use, is enumeration procedure where a defined number of addresses should be listed
before the main survey and in the main survey only those addresses could be used. Enumeration
procedure requires going to the field two times, higher costs, and much more time.
Besides all mentioned, probability sample could be achieved using different tools for random selection:
random selection of settlements and sampling points, random selection of starting address in each
sampling point, using random walk method for the selection of respondents.
Including all mentioned, the sample differs according to the respondent’s selection: it could be a quota
sample (with predefined quotas for example age, gender) or the most recent birthday method, where
respondents in households are selected according to the most recent birthday.
If we consider all factors such as costs, timing, representativeness of the sample, we usually (and the
Clients) choose the quota sample with random selection of settlements, sampling points and starting
addresses. For the all mentioned samples weighting could be applied afterwards,
depending on the deviation between the sample structure and the structure of the population.
My question is: what kind of probability sample did You have in mind?
Answer:
As there are clear limitations in terms of the duration of the assignment, each bidder should
recommend the preferred sampling method based on the resources and time available for the
assignment. The bidder is expected to provide arguments why a certain method was prioritized over
another and demonstrate how this would impact the survey results.
Question:
The similar question is regarding the business sample: You mentioned that You needed a representative
sample for the business segment. In Croatia, and all other countries, the distribution of the companies
according to the sample size (or income) is: 85% companies with 1-10 employees, 12% 11-50 employees,
2% 51-250 employees and 1% over 250.
If we use this kind of sample distribution, we will get only - 2 companies with 250+ employees in the final
sample. We just want to stress that in that case an analysis according to company
size would not be possible because of the insufficient sub-sample. On the other hand, if it is necessary
to analyse medium and/or big companies, we could use different kind of sampling, for example by using
logarithmic function where one gets more medium and large companies. The same principle could be
applied to the variable sector – to avoid domination of companies in the trade sector. So, my question is:
what kind of sample did You have in mind?
Answer:
For the business sample, the small universe of business operators in each of the Western Balkans
economies should inform the sampling methodology. Here, a quota sample taking into account the
sector, size, ownership, location and age should be used in conjuction with certain eligibility criteria
(e.g. excluding all firms with less than 3 employees, excluding all enterprises fully owned by the state,
excluding firms established in the previous two years, etc.) The bid should take into account the above
listed considerations, while the actual sampling methodology should be agreed with the RCC
Secretariat upon the start of the assignment.
Question:
Question about reporting: Should agency provide You with one regional report consisting of graphs
where all 7 countries would be compared, or do we have to provide You with 7 country reports, or with
the both: 7 country reports and one regional?
Answer:
The agency is expected to provide one regional report consisted of narrative and graphs where all 7
countries would be compared.
Question:
Annex II – page 18 – Who have to submit this form in the consortium? only lead member?
Answer:
Only the lead member should submit this form.
Question:
Annex III – Who should sign his/her acceptance in the research? All team members mentioned in the
proposal?
Answer:
Yes, all staff members that will be part of the proposal should sign the form.
Question:
Is it allowed to have more than 2 pages for Company profile and more than 5 pages for Technical report?
Answer:
Yes, it is allowed.