Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Scottish Government
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ
Telephone
+44 1312444000
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKM - Scotland
Internet address(es)
Main address
Buyer's address
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA10482
one.2) Information about joint procurement
The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body
one.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted electronically via
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority
one.5) Main activity
General public services
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
DLEARN-Childcare Early Adopter Communities – Process, Impact & Spend Evaluation
Reference number
722380
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 79315000 - Social research services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
The Scottish Government, on behalf of the Scottish Ministers, wishes to commission a process, impact and spend evaluation of six ‘early adopter communities’ who are testing out local, place-based approaches to childcare from the very early years up to the end of primary school.
two.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: £250,000
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 79311410 - Economic impact assessment
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Scottish Government has committed to building a system of school age childcare that provides care before and after school, all year round, to support parents and carers – particularly on low incomes – to access secure and stable employment.
The School Age Childcare Transformational Change Programme was established to deliver this commitment. The Programme is taking a phased approach to policy design in order to test and refine what an effective system will look like in different communities, and to adapt and scale different approaches. This includes work within six ‘early adopter communities’ (EACs) to understand how to co-design local systems of childcare which will meet the needs of families living within those communities. This work is targeted at families most at risk of living in poverty, as set out in Best Start, Bright Futures, the Scottish Government’s tackling child poverty delivery plan.
In the 2023 Programme for Government, Scottish Government also made a commitment to expand the EACs to include families with younger children for the first time. This will mainly focus on children up to age three, given that all three- and four-year-olds (and eligible two-year-olds) are already entitled to 1140 hours of funded early learning and childcare. In the coming year the EACs will conduct engagement work with families to better understand their needs in relation to childcare for younger children. Some limited delivery will also begin for families in selected communities where this engagement work has already taken place.
The Scottish Government, on behalf of the Scottish Ministers, wishes to commission a process, impact and spend evaluation of the EACs. The contractor will be required to build on a first phase of evaluation of the EACs (which involved development of a theory of change and a monitoring and evaluation framework, an early process evaluation, and an evaluability assessment) and work with the Scottish Government to meet the aims outlined below.
This next phase of work is to provide robust findings on the impact of these community-based childcare projects on children and families, how these changes are enabled, and how the resources put into the EACs have been used. These findings will in turn inform both continuous improvement for local partners and wider local and national childcare policy.
The aims of this evaluation are:
1. Scope and refine a detailed evaluation approach, building on a preliminary evaluability assessment.
2. Work with leads and partners in the EACs to refine and improve monitoring and evaluation data, as required
3. Conduct a process evaluation across all 6 EACs
4. Conduct an early impact evaluation across all 6 EACs
5. Conduct a spend evaluation across all 6 EACs.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion - Name: Understanding the Requirement / Weighting: 10
Quality criterion - Name: Research, Design and Methodology / Weighting: 40
Quality criterion - Name: Staff, Skills and Task Allocation / Weighting: 20
Quality criterion - Name: Project Management and Risk Assessment / Weighting: 15
Quality criterion - Name: Ethical Sensitivities / Weighting: 10
Quality criterion - Name: Fair Work First / Weighting: 5
Quality criterion - Name: Climate Emergency / Weighting: 0
Quality criterion - Name: Community Benefits / Weighting: 0
Quality criterion - Name: Business Continuity And Disaster Recovery (BCDR) / Weighting: 0
Price - Weighting: 30
two.2.6) Estimated value
Value excluding VAT: £250,000
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Start date
14 February 2025
End date
31 August 2026
This contract is subject to renewal
Yes
Description of renewals
Option to extend for a further 3-month period at the sole discretion of the Scottish Government.
two.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted: No
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
Section three. Legal, economic, financial and technical information
three.1) Conditions for participation
three.1.2) Economic and financial standing
List and brief description of selection criteria
SPD 4B.4 Bidders must demonstrate a Current Ratio of no less than 0.8. Current Ratio will be calculated as follows: Total current assets divided by Total current liabilities.
SPD 4B.5 The bidder confirms they already have or can commit to obtain, prior to the commencement of the contract, the levels of insurance cover indicated below:
- Professional indemnity 2 million GBP
- Public liability 5 million GBP
- Employers (Compulsory) Liability Insurance (in accordance with any legal obligation for the time being in force)
three.1.3) Technical and professional ability
List and brief description of selection criteria
4C.1.2 Bidders are asked to provide examples of relevant experience.
SPD 4C.4 Bidders are asked to provide a statement of the relevant supply chain management and/or tracking systems used.
SPD 4C.7 Bidders are asked to provide a statement of the environmental management measures they have in place.
SPD 4C.10 Bidders will be required to confirm whether they intend to subcontract and, if so, for what proportion of the contract.
three.2) Conditions related to the contract
three.2.2) Contract performance conditions
It shall be a condition of the Contract that, if required by the Scottish Government, the appointed Service Provider shall deliver a validly executed Parent Company Guarantee in the form set out in the tender documents
three.2.3) Information about staff responsible for the performance of the contract
Obligation to indicate the names and professional qualifications of the staff assigned to performing the contract
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.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Originally published as:
Date
29 November 2024
Local time
12:00pm
Changed to:
Date
2 December 2024
Local time
10:00am
See the change notice.
four.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
English
four.2.6) Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender
Duration in months: 6 (from the date stated for receipt of tender)
four.2.7) Conditions for opening of tenders
Date
29 November 2024
Local time
12:00pm
Section six. Complementary information
six.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement: No
six.2) Information about electronic workflows
Electronic ordering will be used
Electronic invoicing will be accepted
Electronic payment will be used
six.3) Additional information
SPD (SCOTLAND) STAGE
.
Bidders must respond to each question contained in the SPD (Scotland) (in the Qualification Envelope in PCS-T).
.
In assessing responses to the SPD (Scotland), a 'Pass'/'Fail' score will be awarded to each question. Only tenders that achieve a ‘Pass’ for all questions in the SPD (Scotland) will proceed to the Quality and Price analysis.
.
2D.1, 2D.1.1 and 2D.1.2 -
Bidders must confirm if they intend to subcontract any share of the Contract to third parties, to (in so far as known) list the proposed subcontractors, and to submit a completed 'SPD (Scotland) - Subcontractors - Supplier Response' for each of the subcontractors concerned.
AWARD STAGE
.
The Award Criteria are Quality 70% / Price 30%.
.
The question scoring methodology for the Award Criteria shall be:
.
0 = Unacceptable. Nil or inadequate response. Fails to demonstrate an ability to meet the requirement
.
1 = Poor. Response is partially relevant but generally poor. The response addresses some elements of the requirement but contains insufficient/limited detail or explanation to demonstrate how the requirement will be fulfilled.
.
2 = Acceptable. Response is relevant and acceptable. The response addresses a broad understanding of the requirement but may lack details on how the requirement will be fulfilled in certain areas.
.
3 = Good. Response is relevant and good. The response is sufficiently detailed to demonstrate a good understanding and provides details on how the requirements will be fulfilled.
.
4 = Excellent. Response is completely relevant and excellent overall. The response is comprehensive, unambiguous and demonstrates a thorough understanding of the requirement and provides details of how the requirement will be met in full.
.
Bidders must confirm that they will pay staff that are involved in the delivery of services under the contract, at least the real Living Wage.
Any tenderer who answers "No" to this question will not be subject to further evaluation.
.
Bidders must confirm that they will include the standard clause in all contracts used in the delivery of the requirements, ensuring payment of subcontractors at all stages of the supply chain within 30 days and include a point of contact for subcontractors to refer to in the case of payment difficulties. This will require active monitoring of payment performance and provision of evidence and reporting to the Scottish
Government on a regular basis.
Bidders who fail to answer “Yes” to this question will not have their tender considered further.
The buyer is using PCS-Tender to conduct this ITT exercise. The Project code is 27863. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2343
A sub-contract clause has been included in this contract. For more information see: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/info/InfoCentre.aspx?ID=2363
Community benefits are included in this requirement. For more information see: https://www.gov.scot/policies/public-sector-procurement/community-benefits-in-procurement/
A summary of the expected community benefits has been provided as follows:
The tenderer must provide a Community Benefits proposal that is relevant to the subject matter of this contract and supports the Scottish Ministers’ commitment to contributing to the social, economic & environmental well-being of the people of Scotland, as described in the specification.
(SC Ref:781467)
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Edinburgh Sheriff Court
27 Chambers Street
Edinburgh
EH1 1LB
Country
United Kingdom