Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Department for Communities
Causeway Exchange 1-7 Bedford Street
BELFAST
BT2 7EG
SSDAdmin.CPD@finance-ni.gov.uk
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UK - United Kingdom
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
Buyer's address
https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
General public services
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
ID 3420850 - DEPARTMENT FOR COMMUNITIES (DFC) ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS AND RELATED SERVICES
Reference number
ID 3420850
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 79340000 - Advertising and marketing services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
The Department for Communities wishes to appoint a Contractor to provide advertising campaigns and related services to promote and support the delivery of information on the ongoing implementation of Universal Credit, promote the Department’s JobStart scheme, promote the Department’s Make the Call benefit uptake ‘wraparound scheme’, promote the Department’s Discretionary Support scheme, promote the support available as part of the Department’s Advisor Discretion Fund, promote the services of the Department’s Child Maintenance Service (CMS), and/encourage customers to move from a Post Office card account to a bank/ building society or Credit Union account.
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
Value excluding VAT: £1,500,000
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 79341000 - Advertising services
- 79341400 - Advertising campaign services
- 79341200 - Advertising management services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKN - Northern Ireland
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Department for Communities wishes to appoint a Contractor to provide advertising campaigns and related services to promote and support the delivery of information on the ongoing implementation of Universal Credit, promote the Department’s JobStart scheme, promote the Department’s Make the Call benefit uptake ‘wraparound scheme’, promote the Department’s Discretionary Support scheme, promote the support available as part of the Department’s Advisor Discretion Fund, promote the services of the Department’s Child Maintenance Service (CMS), and/encourage customers to move from a Post Office card account to a bank/ building society or Credit Union account.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion - Name: AC1 - Strategic Solution / Weighting: 16.8
Quality criterion - Name: AC2 - Media Strategy, Rationale and Plan / Weighting: 18.9
Quality criterion - Name: AC3 - Proposals for Research and Evaluation / Weighting: 4.9
Quality criterion - Name: AC4 - Creative Proposal / Weighting: 20.3
Quality criterion - Name: AC5 - Key Personnel Experience / Weighting: 4.9
Quality criterion - Name: AC6 - Contingency Planning and Business Continuity / Weighting: 4.2
Cost criterion - Name: AC7 - Total Media Plan Cost / Weighting: 10
Cost criterion - Name: AC8 - Average Hourly Rate / Weighting: 20
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
two.2.14) Additional information
The figure in II.1.7 is an estimated maximum contract value
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Open procedure
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number: 2021/S 000-010868
Section five. Award of contract
Contract No
1
Title
Contract
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
20 July 2021
five.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 2
Number of tenders received from SMEs: 1
Number of tenders received from tenderers from other EU Member States: 0
Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: 1
Number of tenders received by electronic means: 2
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
NAVIGATOR BLUE LTD
The Baths
BELFAST
BT2 8HS
Telephone
+44 2890246722
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UK - United Kingdom
Internet address
https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
The contractor is an SME
Yes
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: £1,500,000
Total value of the contract/lot: £1,500,000
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
Contract Monitoring. The successful contractor’s performance on the contract will be regularly monitored in line with PGN 01/12. Contractors not delivering on contract requirements is a serious matter. It means the public purse is not getting what it is paying for. If a contractor fails to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance they will be given a specified time to improve. If, after the specified time, they still fail to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance, the matter will be escalated to senior management in CPD for further action. If this occurs and their performance still does not improve to satisfactory levels within the specified period, it may be regarded as an act of grave professional misconduct and they may be issued with a Certificate of Unsatisfactory Performance and the contract may be terminated. The issue of a Certificate of Unsatisfactory Performance will result in the contractor being excluded from all procurement competitions being undertaken by Centres of Procurement Expertise on behalf of bodies covered by the Northern Ireland Procurement Policy for a period of twelve months from the date of issue of the certificate..
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
The UK does not have any such bodies with responsibility for appeal/mediation procedures. Instead; any challenges are dealt with by the High Court, Commercial Division, to which proceedings may be issued regarding alleged breaches of the PCR 2015 as amended.
Belfast
Country
United Kingdom
six.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures
CPD complied with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended) and incorporated a standstill period (i.e. a minimum of 10 calendar days) at the point information on the award of contract was communicated to tenderers. That notification provided full information on the award decision. This provided time for the unsuccessful tenderers to challenge the award decision before the contract was entered into.