Notice of Intended Procurement
NAME OF PROCURING ENTITY
The Governing Council of the University of Toronto (the “University”)
CONTACT PERSON AND CONTRACT PERSON COORDINATES
Renee Cheng
215 Huron Street, 3rd Floor
Toronto, ON M5S 1A2
reneeke.cheng@utoronto.ca
PROCUREMENT DOCUMENTS
The procurement documents are available at www.merx.com.
Note that obtaining access to the procurement documents will require prospective suppliers to register and pay a registration fee. Pricing and Payment Terms are available on the MERX website.
DESCRIPTION OF PROCUREMENT
The University is conducting an RFP for Inverted Epifluorescent Microscope for High-throughput Automated Screening
The University of Toronto, with support from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation John R. Evans Leaders Fund and the Ontario Research Fund Infrastructure Grants, is establishing a High-Throughput Automated Phenomics Platform (HAPP) in the Department of Cell and Systems Biology. The HAPP requires an Inverted Epifluorescent Microscope that will serve as an automated, high-throughput, and high-resolution screening platform to study interactions between plants and microbes. The microscope will support research to elucidate components of fungal responses to plant-derived small molecules using yeast as a model system. Yeast cells will be screened automatically for desired phenotypes including specific intracellular expression of fluorescent reporters. This system will also be used to visualize fluorescent reporter expression in organelles of plant tissues. Both applications require automated image processing, measurement, and analysis to generate quantitative data of cell parameters including fluorescent gene expression.
The procurement is anticipated to involve negotiation. An electronic auction is not anticipated.
ADDRESS AND FINAL DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS
Submissions must be submitted electronically at https://utoronto.bonfirehub.ca/ on or before Friday, August 09, 2024 (2:00 PM local time). The submissions will not be opened publicly.
CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION
Proponents should achieve a score of 65% out of the available 80 technical points of 100 points.
APPLICABLE TRADE AGREEMENTS
This procurement is subject to the following trade agreement(s):
- The Canadian Free Trade Agreement, Chapter Five
- The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 19
- The Ontario-Quebec Trade and Cooperation Agreement, Chapter 9
CONTRACT DETAILS
The term of Agreement is intended to be for a period of three (3) years including the first year of warranty period and two (2) years extended warranty services.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
The University will base its selection of qualified suppliers on the following criteria:
Schedule D Part 1
Technical Submission Requirements Weight
B.1 Technical Requirements
B.1.1 System Design and Features
(a) - Automated screening capability 14
(b) - Microscope additional features 7
B.1.2 Camera 6
B.1.3 Optical and Control Components 6
B.1.4 Objectives 7
B.1.5 Workstation 6
B.1.6 Software
(a) - Full System Control and Ease of Use 2
(b) - Software Capabilities 8
B.1.7 Regulatory and Industry Standards
Compliance 1
B.3 Delivery, Installation and Testing 4
B.4 Training 6
B.5 Warranty and Extended Warranty Services 8
B.6 Experience and Qualifications 5
Schedule D Part 2 Financial Submission 20
Total 100
Optional Demonstration 15
Total incl. Optional Presentation 115
NOTES
Suppliers should note that information contained within this notice is subject to change. Suppliers are encouraged to obtain the procurement documents which contain the most current information. If there is a conflict between the procurement documents and this notice, the procurement documents will take precedence.
