AFBI03-ITT03 Working at Height Expertise and Supervision

British Trust For Ornithology

The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) are project partners in the ACCLIMATISE project, supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). ACCLIMATISE is led by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI). Within this project, BTO is leading Work Package 2: โ€˜Transboundary Conservation Strategies and Sustainable Management of Marine Predatorsโ€™. RSPB and BTO are co-leading the ornithological work within the project; this specifically includes seabird tracking and diet analysis, at sea surveys, passive acoustic monitoring, and developing a transboundary seabird conservation strategy and action plans for priority threatened seabird species. BTO and RSPB are looking for suitably qualified and experienced companies to Tender for the provision of Working at Height (WAH) expertise as part of the ACCLIMATISE project between May and August 2026. BTO and RSPB staff are trained as Industrial Rope Access Techniques Association (IRATA) Level 1 Operatives and for each Lot in this Call for Tender (CfT) are seeking field supervision from IRATA certified technicians (Level 3 and Level 2). The work will be focused on facilitating access and supervising researchers at seabird colonies across Northern Ireland. Specifications for the work are split into two Lots, Lot 1, led by BTO and Lot 2, led by RSPB. In both cases, the work carried out by the Supplier will be the same, namely enabling the safe access of Level 1 trained BTO and RSPB staff to seabird colonies in coastal locations in Northern Ireland in order to catch birds for GPS tagging as part of the ACCLIMATISE project. The primary difference between the Lots is the location of work. In both cases, the first two weeks of catching work will be located on Rathlin Island (55.29238, -6.19234), where BTO and RSPB will be working as a single unit. However, for the final two weeks BTO and RSPB teams will be split, with RSPB continuing to work on Rathlin, and BTO moving on to colonies located in Portrush (55.19821, -6.67199) and Newcastle (54.18917, -5.87803). This will result in the contractor supplying IRATA Level 3 and Level 2 support on Rathlin to a single team at the start of the field season but once BTO leave the island, concurrent Level 3 and Level 2 support will also be necessary on the mainland.

Deadline

The time limit for receipt of tenders was 2026-04-24. The procurement was published on 2026-03-20.

Suppliers

The following suppliers are mentioned in award decisions or other procurement documents:

Who? What? Where?
  • โ€ข Aฯ„ฯ„ฮนฮบฮฎ โ€บ ฮ’ฯŒฯฮตฮนฮฟฯ‚ ฮคฮฟฮผฮญฮฑฯ‚ ฮ‘ฮธฮทฮฝฯŽฮฝ
  • โ€ข Eastern and Midland โ€บ Dublin
Procurement history
Date Document
2026-03-20 Contract notice
2026-05-19 Contract award notice
Contract notice (2026-03-20)
Object
Scope of the procurement
Title: AFBI03-ITT03 Working at Height Expertise and Supervision
Short description:
The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) are project partners in the ACCLIMATISE project, supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). ACCLIMATISE is led by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI). Within this project, BTO is leading Work Package 2: โ€˜Transboundary Conservation Strategies and Sustainable Management of Marine Predatorsโ€™. RSPB and BTO are co-leading the ornithological work within the project; this specifically includes seabird tracking and diet analysis, at sea surveys, passive acoustic monitoring, and developing a transboundary seabird conservation strategy and action plans for priority threatened seabird species. BTO and RSPB are looking for suitably qualified and experienced companies to Tender for the provision of Working at Height (WAH) expertise as part of the ACCLIMATISE project between May and August 2026. BTO and RSPB staff are trained as Industrial Rope Access Techniques Association (IRATA) Level 1 Operatives and for each Lot in this Call for Tender (CfT) are seeking field supervision from IRATA certified technicians (Level 3 and Level 2). The work will be focused on facilitating access and supervising researchers at seabird colonies across Northern Ireland. Specifications for the work are split into two Lots, Lot 1, led by BTO and Lot 2, led by RSPB. In both cases, the work carried out by the Supplier will be the same, namely enabling the safe access of Level 1 trained BTO and RSPB staff to seabird colonies in coastal locations in Northern Ireland in order to catch birds for GPS tagging as part of the ACCLIMATISE project. The primary difference between the Lots is the location of work. In both cases, the first two weeks of catching work will be located on Rathlin Island (55.29238, -6.19234), where BTO and RSPB will be working as a single unit. However, for the final two weeks BTO and RSPB teams will be split, with RSPB continuing to work on Rathlin, and BTO moving on to colonies located in Portrush (55.19821, -6.67199) and Newcastle (54.18917, -5.87803). This will result in the contractor supplying IRATA Level 3 and Level 2 support on Rathlin to a single team at the start of the field season but once BTO leave the island, concurrent Level 3 and Level 2 support will also be necessary on the mainland.
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Type of contract: Services
Products/services: Research consultancy services ๐Ÿ“ฆ
Estimated value excluding VAT: 91 000 EUR ๐Ÿ’ฐ
Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots โœ…
Maximum number of lots that may be awarded to one tenderer: 2
Tenders may be submitted for maximum number of lots: 2
Tenders may be submitted for all lots โœ…

1๏ธโƒฃ
Internal identifier: 1
Title: Lot 1 - BTO at Rathlin Island, Portrush, and Newcastle
Estimated value excluding VAT: 73 000 EUR ๐Ÿ’ฐ
Country: Ireland ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช
Place of performance: Dublin ๐Ÿ™๏ธ
Duration: 4 months
Title
Lot Identification Number: LOT-0001

2๏ธโƒฃ
Internal identifier: 2
Title: Lot 2 - RSPB on Rathlin Island
Estimated value excluding VAT: 18 000 EUR ๐Ÿ’ฐ
Title
Lot Identification Number: LOT-0002

Procedure
Type of procedure
Open procedure โœ…
Legal basis: Directive 2014/24/EU
Administrative information
Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate: 2026-04-24 17:00:00 ๐Ÿ“…
Conditions for opening of tenders: 2026-04-27 00:00:00 ๐Ÿ“…
Conditions for opening of tenders (place): https://www.etenders.gov.ie/epps/cft/prepareViewCfTWS.do?resourceId=7751130
Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted: English ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ
Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender: 60 days
Tendering terms
Tenderers may submit more than one tender
Opening date: 2026-04-27 00:00:00 ๐Ÿ“…
Place: https://www.etenders.gov.ie/epps/cft/prepareViewCfTWS.do?resourceId=7751130
Electronic invoicing: Allowed
Electronic ordering will be used โœ…
Electronic payment will be used โœ…
Deadline for requesting additional information: 2026-04-17 17:00:00 ๐Ÿ“…

Contracting authority
Name and addresses
Name: British Trust For Ornithology
National registration number: 00357284
Postal address: The Nunnery,
Postal code: IP24 2PU
Postal town: Thetford
Region: Dublin ๐Ÿ™๏ธ
Country: Ireland ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช
E-mail: rst@bto.org ๐Ÿ“ง
Phone: +44 1842750050 ๐Ÿ“ž
Fax: +44 1842 750030 ๐Ÿ“ 
URL: https://www.bto.org/ ๐ŸŒ
Address of the buyer profile: https://www.bto.org/ ๐ŸŒ
Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
Main activity
Environment
Communication
Documents URL: https://www.etenders.gov.ie/epps/cft/listContractDocuments.do?resourceId=7751130 ๐ŸŒ
Participation URL: https://www.etenders.gov.ie/epps/cft/viewTenders.do?resourceId=7751130 ๐ŸŒ
EU funds programme: European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (2021/2027)
Electronic submission: Required

Complementary information
Review body
Name: The High Court of Ireland
National registration number: The High Court of Ireland
Department: The High Court of Ireland
Postal address: Four Courts, Inns Quay, Dublin 7
Postal code: D07 WDX8
Postal town: Dublin
Region: Dublin ๐Ÿ™๏ธ
Country: Ireland ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช
E-mail: highcourtcentraloffice@courts.ie ๐Ÿ“ง
Phone: +353 1 8886000 ๐Ÿ“ž
Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
Same as: Review body
Information about electronic workflows
Electronic invoicing will be accepted
Source: OJS 2026/S 058-200911 (2026-03-20)
Contract award notice (2026-05-19)
Object
Scope of the procurement
Estimated value excluding VAT: 91 000 EUR ๐Ÿ’ฐ
Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT): 91557.66 EUR ๐Ÿ’ฐ
Name of EU-financed project or programme: European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (2021/2027)
Identifier of EU funds: PEACEPLUS ACCLIMATISE
Award criteria
Cost criterion (name): Cost @ 20
Cost criterion (weighting): 20
Quality criterion (name): Technical Specification @ 20
Quality criterion (weighting): 20
Quality criterion (name): Supplier Experience @ 30
Quality criterion (weighting): 30
Quality criterion (name): Ability to Deliver @ 30

Procedure
Weight type: Weight (percentage, exact)

Award of contract

1๏ธโƒฃ
A contract/lot is awarded โœ…
Lot Identification Number: LOT-0001
Contract Number: 440427
Date of conclusion of the contract: 2026-05-13 ๐Ÿ“…
Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 3
Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot: 70245.97 EUR ๐Ÿ’ฐ
Tender identifier: 000169592
Information about subcontracting
Subcontracting value is known โœ…
Subcontracting percentage is known โœ…
Identifier of lot or group of lots: LOT-0001
Value excluding VAT likely to be subcontracted to third parties: 56906.79 EUR ๐Ÿ’ฐ
Proportion (%): 80
The contract is likely to be subcontracted โœ…
Name and address of the contractor
Name: Tich access limited
National registration number: SC822855
Postal address: Blick Shared Studios, 46 Hill Street
Postal code: BT1 2LB
Postal town: Belfast
Country: United Kingdom ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง
E-mail: claire@tich-access.com ๐Ÿ“ง
Phone: 0871971619 ๐Ÿ“ž
URL: www.tich-access.com ๐ŸŒ
The organisation is a natural person โœ…
Size of the economic operator: Micro

2๏ธโƒฃ
Lot Identification Number: LOT-0002
Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot: 21311.69 EUR ๐Ÿ’ฐ
Identifier of lot or group of lots: LOT-0002
Information about subcontracting
Value excluding VAT likely to be subcontracted to third parties: 17031.66 EUR ๐Ÿ’ฐ

Contracting authority
Information about joint procurement
The contract involves joint procurement โœ…
Source: OJS 2026/S 097-348042 (2026-05-19)