Appendix 2

Inquiry into Callaghan Innovation’s procurement process.

Extracts from the Founder and Start-up Programme Request for Proposal terms and conditions relating to confidentiality, based on the government's standard RFP terms and conditions:

6.6 Third party information

  1. Each Respondent authorises the Buyer to collect additional information, except commercially sensitive pricing information, from any relevant third party (such as a referee or a previous or existing client) and to use that information as part of its evaluation of the Respondent's Proposal.
  2. Each Respondent is to ensure that all referees listed in support of its Proposal agree to provide a reference.
  3. To facilitate discussions between the Buyer and third parties each Respondent waives any confidentiality obligations that would otherwise apply to information held by a third party, with the exception of commercially sensitive pricing information.

6.17 Confidential Information

  1. The Buyer and Respondent will each take reasonable steps to protect Confidential Information and, subject to paragraph 6.17.c. and without limiting any confidentiality undertaking agreed between them, will not disclose Confidential Information to a third party without the other's prior written consent.
  2. The Buyer and Respondent may each disclose Confidential Information to any person who is directly involved in the RFP process on its behalf, such as officers, employees, consultants, contractors, professional advisors, evaluation panel members, partners, principals or directors, but only for the purpose of participating in the RFP.
  3. Respondents acknowledge that the Buyer's obligations under paragraph 6.17.a. are subject to requirements imposed by the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA), the Privacy Act 1993, parliamentary and constitutional convention and any other obligations imposed by law. The Buyer will not be in breach of its obligations if Confidential Information is disclosed by the Buyer to the appropriate authority because of suspected collusive or anti-competitive tendering behaviour. Where the Buyer receives an OIA request that relates to a Respondent's Confidential Information the Buyer will consult with the Respondent and may ask the Respondent to explain why the information is considered by the Respondent to be confidential or commercially sensitive.

6.18 Confidentiality of RFP information

  1. For the duration of the RFP, to the date of the announcement of the Successful Respondent, or the end of the RFP process, the Respondent agrees to keep the RFP strictly confidential and not make any public statement to any third party in relation to any aspect of the RFP, the RFP process or the award of any Contract without the Buyer's prior written consent.
  2. A Respondent may disclose RFP information to any person described in paragraph 6.17.b. but only for the purpose of participating in the RFP. The Respondent must take reasonable steps to ensure that such recipients do not disclose Confidential Information to any other person or use Confidential Information for any purpose other than responding to the RFP.

Definitions: Confidential information

Information that:

  1. is by its nature confidential
  2. is marked by either the Buyer or a Respondent as ‘confidential', ‘commercially sensitive', ‘sensitive', ‘in confidence', ‘top secret', ‘secret', classified' and/or ‘restricted'
  3. is provided by the Buyer, a Respondent, or a third party in confidence
  4. the Buyer or a Respondent knows, or ought to know, is confidential.

Confidential information does not cover information that is in t