Planning

Evaluation of New Initiatives to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls in Devon and Cornwall - Pre Market Engagement

  • Devon & Cornwall Constabulary

F01: Prior information notice (prior information only)

Notice identifier: 2025/S 000-000225

Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-04cda2

Published 6 January 2025, 3:51pm



Section one: Contracting authority

one.1) Name and addresses

Devon & Cornwall Constabulary

Middlemoor

EXETER

EX2 7HQ

Contact

Ben Whitehead

Email

ben.whitehead@devonandcornwall.pnn.police.uk

Telephone

+44 7890905062

Country

United Kingdom

Region code

UKK - South West (England)

Justification for not providing organisation identifier

Not on any register

Internet address(es)

Main address

https://devonandcornwall-pcc.gov.uk/

one.3) Communication

Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address

Electronic communication requires the use of tools and devices that are not generally available. Unrestricted and full direct access to these tools and devices is possible, free of charge, at

https://sell2.in-tend.co.uk/blpd/home

one.4) Type of the contracting authority

Regional or local authority

one.5) Main activity

Public order and safety


Section two: Object

two.1) Scope of the procurement

two.1.1) Title

Evaluation of New Initiatives to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls in Devon and Cornwall - Pre Market Engagement

two.1.2) Main CPV code

  • 73200000 - Research and development consultancy services

two.1.3) Type of contract

Services

two.1.4) Short description

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall & Isles of Scilly wishes to explore the market capabilities and appetite for the services listed in this notice, with the view to conduct a procurement based around the findings and outcomes of this Market Engagement exercise. The service is due to commence 1st July 2025.

Participation in this Market Engagement exercise is voluntary, and non-participation will not preclude any party or organisation from taking part.

The proposed structure of this Market Engagement exercise will be as follows:

- Register Interest (20th January 2025)

- Official Invitation Outlining Event Details (21st January 2025)

- Market Engagement Event (22nd January 2025)

This event will take place online via Microsoft Teams, please register your interest in attending by email. The Teams invitation will be sent the day prior to the event.

The agenda for the event will be a presentation provided by stakeholders from the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner of Devon, Cornwall & Isles of Scilly, followed by a separate individual Q&A session.

two.1.5) Estimated total value

Value excluding VAT: £50,000

two.1.6) Information about lots

This contract is divided into lots: No

two.2) Description

two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)

  • 75200000 - Provision of services to the community

two.2.3) Place of performance

NUTS codes
  • UKK - South West (England)

two.2.4) Description of the procurement

Devon and Cornwall Police is seeking independent academic evaluation of 3 recently implemented (or soon to be implemented) initiatives to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

The initiatives target high harm/risk perpetrators of VAWG in order reduce their associated risk of harm and recidivism. They are;

• The pilot trial of a Multi-Agency Tasking and Coordination (MATAC) Forum in Plymouth, designed to engage and disrupt the most harmful Domestic Abuse Perpetrators.

• The development of an algorithm that uses the recency, frequency, gravity and number of victims (RFGV) as a mechanism for identifying and prioritising the highest harm Domestic Abuse (DA) perpetrators.

• The pilot trial of the Rape and Serious Sexual Offence (RaSSO) Disruption Panel, designed to identify and disrupt high-risk repeat Sexual offending Suspects.

More information can be found on MATAC on the College of Policing website: https://www.college.police.uk/support-forces/practices/multi-agency-tasking-and-coordination-domestic-abuse-programme

Previous research on RFGV algorithms can be found here: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10137604/7/Final Report Document Complete v03.pdf

The Disruption Panel is an innovative approach with regards to its core focus on identifying and disrupting un-convicted RaSSO offenders and although similar approaches for other types of offending exist (such as MATAC), there is no known existing evaluation of panels of this type at the time of writing.

The procurement is intended to ensure an evidence-based understanding of the initiatives' performance and impact and inform future strategies for addressing violence against women and girls. High level objectives are outlined below:

- To understand the effectiveness of the interventions in achieving their objectives, namely to assist in understanding whether they are effective in reducing harm and recidivism risk and increasing the safety of victims.

- To understand the demand on resources created by the new processes, scalability and return on investment.

- To identify areas for improvement.

- To understand outcomes for service users.

- To measure stakeholder engagement, collaboration and coordination.

- To understand compliance and alignment with relevant policies, guidance, legal frameworks and best practices.

- To assist in understanding how DCP can best target its limited resources to reduce the harm and risk posed by VAWG perpetrators.

- To support and develop future iterations of the RFGV algorithm.

Contractors should have knowledge of the evidence base in relation to domestic abuse dynamics, legal frameworks and victim-survivor centred approaches. Contractors should be familiar with the most up to date guidance for identifying and managing high-harm VAWG perpetrators from key sources such as the Home Office, National Police Chief's Council and the College of Policing and positive emerging practice.

Contractors will need to be able to demonstrate strong analytical capabilities, be proficient in both qualitative and quantitative research methods and the ability to engage with a diverse range of stakeholders.

A significant amount of work has already taken place internally to understand how forces should be identifying and managing VAWG perpetrators. The Contractor will be expected to familiarise themselves with the findings of these projects to date.

Evidence of experience in the field of data science, algorithms and data engineering to enable thorough evaluation of the RFGV algorithm would be beneficial as would the ability to make the ability to support and make recommendations on improvements to future iterations of the system. Experience in evaluating multi-agency processes or domestic abuse interventions would also be beneficial.

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to meaningful change by evaluating initiatives tackling one of society's most pressing challenges. We are seeking innovative and forward thinking evaluators who can bring their expertise, creativity and fresh perspective to this critical work. This evaluation will not only influence the future of these initiatives but also contribute to ensuring survivors, families and communities receive the most effective support possible. The successful Contractor will have the opportunity to collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders and leave a lasting impact through their insights and recommendations.

two.2.14) Additional information

This PIN does not formally signify the beginning of any procurement exercise by the Commissioner, nor does it constitute a commitment by the Commissioner to undertake a procurement.

However, in the event that the Commissioner decides to formally commence a procurement pursuant to this PIN, a separate contract notice will be published.

NOTE: To register your interest in this notice please contact the Procurement Representative.

two.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice

10 February 2025


Section four. Procedure

four.1) Description

four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes