Request for Quote:
Development and delivery of a Forest Skills and Agroforestry Training Programme designed for Post-Primary Students
County Kildare LEADER Partnership CLG (CKLP) is the Local Development Company for County Kildare. It delivers the Rural Development (LEADER) Programme, the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme, Tús, Community Employment and other local training initiatives. Our mission is to facilitate individuals and communities’ participation in social, economic, and cultural activity by supporting a vibrant and inclusive society in County Kildare.
CKLP have been awarded EU Just Transition Funding to deliver Kildare’s Green Upskilling Programme. This proposed programme seeks to empower marginalised individuals in the Athy and Clane-Maynooth regions, particularly those with low education and limited employment opportunities, by delivering a bespoke training programme focused on low-carbon, circular economy practices. The aim is to develop the local economy toward a sustainable, net carbon-zero future.
With this in mind, CKLP intends to run a programme of green skills training initiatives for individuals and businesses in the EU Just Transition regions of Athy and Clane-Maynooth, Co. Kildare. This request for quote focuses on the delivery of a Forest Skills and Agroforestry Training Programme designed for Post-Primary Students and a Forest School Taster Workshop for Educators as part of our wider programme of green skills training and to promote school retention in disadvantaged communities.
Kildare’s Green Upskilling Programme
Kildare’s Green Upskilling programme, funded by the EU Just Transition Fund, aims to bridge the gap between national green skills strategies and local implementation by supporting communities to develop the specific competencies needed for their green economic development. By building capacity in green skills, the programme will enable EU Just Transition regions of Athy and Clane-Maynooth to identify and pursue sustainable economic opportunities aligned with their unique resources and priorities.
Forest Skills and Agroforestry Training Programme
The Forest Skills and Agroforestry Training Programme represents a practical application of green skills and personal development that directly supports post-primary students’ understanding of nature-based skills, engagement in personal growth, and promotion of the green economy. Participants in this programme will gain valuable skills, including:
- Practical skills such as responsible tool use, fire-building, whittling, and knot-tying
- Problem-solving abilities
- Teamwork
- Resilience
- Strengthened connection to nature
- Local environmental stewardship
- Nature-based solutions thinking
- Ecological responsibility
- Sustainable resource management
- Global citizenship
- Confidence
- Independence
Please refer to Appendix I for a full specification of requirements.
Instructions to Tenderers
Proposal
Suppliers are asked to provide a comprehensive tender proposal for developing and delivering four Forest Skills and Agroforestry Training Programmes based in local Coillte forests across the county and two Forest School Taster days, as outlined in Appendix I – Specification of Requirements.
Quote
Please provide your quote using Appendix II: Pricing Document. The quote must remain valid for the duration of the contract.
The budget for the training programme (including all associated costs) will not exceed €23,900, including VAT. CKLP will not be liable for any costs incurred in preparing tender documents or any costs not outlined in Appendix II: Pricing Document.
Award Criteria
The contract will be awarded to the most economically advantageous proposals by reference to suitability and cost criteria outlined below. Tenders will be required to score a minimum of 70 to stay in the competition:
| Criteria | Weighting |
| Methodology and Proposal for addressing Appendix 1 Specification for Requirements. | 45 marks |
| Capacity to Deliver
This will be assessed based on the level and quality of resources proposed to deliver the project and the tenderer’s proposal for recruiting participants, including accessibility and communication aspects. |
25 marks |
| Quote Price and Value for Money
This will be assessed based on the details provided using Appendix 2. |
30 marks |
Tenderers must demonstrate how they meet all of the above criteria in their tender submission in order to enable the County Kildare LEADER Partnership to assess fully the extent of their offers.
Scoring Rubric
| Score | Interpretation |
| 100% of the marks | Excellent response that fully meets or exceeds specifications and provides comprehensive and convincing assurance that the tenderer will deliver to an excellent standard. |
| 80% of the marks | A very good response that demonstrates a real understanding of the specification and provides convincing assurance that the tenderer will deliver to a very good or high standard. |
| 60% of the marks | A satisfactory response which demonstrates a reasonable understanding of the specification and gives reasonable assurance of delivery to an adequate standard but does not provide sufficiently convincing assurance to award a higher mark. |
| 40% of the marks | A response where reservations exist. Lacks detail and does not provide confidence that the required services will be successfully delivered. |
| 20% of the marks | A response where serious reservations exist. This may be because, for example, insufficient detail is provided, the response has fundamental flaws, or is seriously inadequate or seriously lacks detail with a high risk of non-delivery |
| 0 | No response or partial response only and poor evidence provided in support of it, failure to meet the specification |
Notification
- Sole traders will receive a contract of employment for the tender and will be paid through the payroll of County Kildare LEADER Partnership CLG on a monthly basis. In order to do this, sole traders will need to add County Kildare LEADER Partnership CLG as their employer with Revenue Online Services (ROS) and will need to keep timesheets during the delivery of the contract.
- Limited Companies will receive a contract of services for the tender.
- Both sole traders and Limited Companies are invited to join the County Kildare LEADER Partnership panel of trainers for 2025 – 2028.
Additional Information
- If for any reason it is not possible to award the contract to the designated successful tenderer emerging from this competitive process, or if having awarded the contract the contracting authority considers that the successful tenderer has not met its obligations, the contracting authority reserves the right to award the contract to the next highest scoring tender based on the terms advertised. This shall be without prejudice to the right of the contracting authority to cancel this competitive process and/or initiate a new contract award procedure as its sole discretion.
- Any conflicts of interest involving a tenderer must be fully disclosed to CKLP. Failure to disclose a conflict of interest may disqualify a bidder or invalidate an award of contract, depending on when the conflict of interest comes to light.
- Detailed pricing of all Tenders will be examined for arithmetical errors, and the following approach to the correction of such errors will apply:
- Where there is a discrepancy between amounts in figures and words, the amount in words shall apply.
- Where there is a discrepancy between the unit price and the total amount derived from the multiplication of the unit price and the quantity, the unit price as quoted will normally govern unless, in the opinion of CKLP, there is a gross mathematical error in the unit price. In which event the total amount as quoted will govern.
- County Kildare LEADER Partnership requires that all information provided pursuant to this invitation to tender be treated in the strictest confidence by Tenderers.
- All information gathered during the preparation and completion of the video including the final video production, will remain the property of County Kildare LEADER Partnership.
Submission Deadline:
Your quote should be emailed to catherine@countykildarelp.ie and reach us NO LATER than 1st September 2025 at 5pm. Only quotes received by email will be valid.
Queries:
Queries about this request for services can be emailed to catherine@countykildarelp.ie
PLEASE NOTE: This contract is subject to funding availability under the EU Just Transition Fund. County Kildare LEADER Partnership may cancel this tender process at any time prior to a contract being entered into.
QUOTES SUBMITTED IN ANY OTHER FORMAT OR AFTER THE DEADLINE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
Full Documents and Appendix:
Request for Quote – Forest School Programme – Updated 17.08.2025