UK-Swindon: Research services.


Preliminary Questions
This notice is for prior information only: Yes
This notice aims at reducing time-limits for receipt of tenders: No
This notice is a call for competition: No

Section I: Contracting Authority

I.1) Name and addresses:
UK Research & Innovation
UK Research & Innovation, Polaris House, Swindon, SN2 1FL, United Kingdom
Tel. +44 1793867000, Email: corporateprocurement@ukri.org
Contact: Corporate Procurement
Main Address: www.ukri.org, Address of the buyer profile: www.ukri.org
NUTS Code: UK
Specifications and additional documents: As Above
I.2) Joint procurement:
The contract involves joint procurement: No.
The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body: No .

I.3) Communication
Further information can be obtained from: the above mentioned address

I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
I.5) Main activity:
Other activity: Research

Section II: Object

II.1) Scope of the procurement - 1
II.1.1) Title: UKRI-3566 – RESEARCH ENGLAND STRATEGIC INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH FUNDING (SIRF) IMPACT EVALUATION
Reference number: UKRI -3566
II.1.2) Common Procurement Vocabulary:
73110000 - Research services.
II.1.3) Type of contract: SERVICES
II.1.4) Short description:
This Prior Information Notice (PIN) is being issued in order to formally commence market engagement activities with specific regards to the potential requirement for the sourcing of RESEARCH ENGLAND'S STRATEGIC INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH FUNDING (SIRF) IMPACT EVALUATION, briefly detailed in Section 2. For clarity, this PIN is not a Call for Competition. Not registering an interest shall not prevent any organisation from participating in any potential future procurement, nor is it intended that any information supplied as part of the preliminary market consultation shall place any organisation at an advantage in any potential future procurement process.
II.1.5) Estimated total value: Not Provided
II.1.6) Information about lots:
This contract is divided into lots: No
Maximum number of lots that may be awarded to one tenderer: Not Provided
The contracting authority reserves the right to award contracts combining the following lots or groups of lots: Not Provided

II.2) Lot Description
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s):
73110000 - Research services.
II.2.3) Place of performance:
Region Codes:
UK - UNITED KINGDOM
II.2.4) Description of the procurement:
This Prior Information Notice (PIN) is intended to notify suppliers of an upcoming procurement opportunity that will be advertised through the Crown Commercial Service RM6126 Research and Insights Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) and also seeks feedback from the market. Only suppliers registered under the following categories will be eligible to submit bids upon launch: Further Education Higher Education Civil Service / Government / Parliamentary Reform Policy Analysis and Development Grants and Grant Funding Econometric Analysis Financial Analysis (including cost-benefit analysis, return on investment analysis) Impact Assessment Thematic Analysis Quantitative Qualitative Mixed Method (qualitative and quantitative) Online Telephone Case Studies Depth Interviews Focus Group Discussions Narrative Inquiry/Narrative Analysis Workshop Impact Evaluation Theory-Based Impact Evaluation (including Theories of Change and Logic Modeling) Realist Evaluation Value-for-Money Evaluation Random/Stratified Random Sample For additional details on this DPS, please visit https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6126. Interested bidders are strongly encouraged to register as a DPS supplier using the provided link and complete the DPS Registration. It is essential to note that this DPS is managed by CCS and not UKRI. Therefore, for any technical assistance, please direct queries to the CCS customer services team, available Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm, via email at info@crowncommercial.gov.uk or by telephone at 0345 410 2222. To register your interest as a supplier for this DPS, please use the following link: https://supplierregistration.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/dps Please refer to UKRI:3566 – RESEARCH ENGLAND STRATEGIC INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH FUNDING (SIRF) IMPACT EVALUATION MARKET SOUNDING PART 1 INVITATION document within the document upload section of the SQ for details about the requirement.
II.2.14) Additional information
To register for the webinar: https://ukri.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_n7jYzHbwQ02F8q9FjzxliA#/registration


II.3) Estimated Date of publication
01/02/2024


II.1) Scope of the procurement - 2
II.1.1) Title: UKRI -3566 – RESEARCH ENGLAND STRATEGIC INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH FUNDING (SIRF) IMPACT EVALUATION
Reference number: UKRI -3566
II.1.2) Common Procurement Vocabulary:
73110000 - Research services.
II.1.3) Type of contract: SERVICES
II.1.4) Short description:
This Prior Information Notice (PIN) is being issued in order to formally commence market engagement activities with specific regards to the potential requirement for the sourcing of UKRI:3566 – RESEARCH ENGLAND STRATEGIC INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH FUNDING (SIRF) IMPACT EVALUATION For clarity, this PIN is not a Call for Competition. Not registering an interest shall not prevent any organisation from participating in any potential future procurement, nor is it intended that any information supplied as part of the preliminary market consultation shall place any organisation at an advantage in any potential future procurement process.
II.1.5) Estimated total value: Not Provided
II.1.6) Information about lots:
This contract is divided into lots: No
Maximum number of lots that may be awarded to one tenderer: Not Provided
The contracting authority reserves the right to award contracts combining the following lots or groups of lots: Not Provided

II.2) Lot Description
II.2.3) Place of performance:
Region Codes:
UK - UNITED KINGDOM
II.2.4) Description of the procurement:
UKRI and Research England are seeking suppliers for the design and delivery of an evaluation of the impact of Research England’s £2.35bn (approx.) of annual formula-related research funding provided to eligible English higher education providers (HEPs), referred to as strategic institutional research funding (SIRF). The majority of Research England’s SIRF is delivered to HEPs as un-hypothecated block grants, that HEPs may spend on their own priorities, so long as these relate to the activities that Research England are empowered to fund: research, knowledge exchange and related activities. An evaluation of the impact of Research England’s SIRF will contribute significantly to the delivery of a wider review Research England are conducting on our SIRF and contribute to the wider evidence base on the effectiveness and value of Research England’s formula research funding. This evidence will then support any decisions Research England makes about the future direction of our funding policy and contribute to future Research England evidence submissions to government spending reviews, ensuring we understand the value and impact of this funding. Research England are looking for suppliers to design and deliver this evaluation within an approximate 12–13-month period. Providers should be able to demonstrate experience and familiarity with following: •Theory-based evaluative methods •The UK government’s central guidance on evaluation (Magenta Book) •Producing Theory of Change models •Evaluation of research impact and outcomes In addition, the SIRF impact evaluation should provide: •Outreach and engagement of the evaluation to both the research and higher education sectors •Evidence towards a wider review of Research England’s SIRF •A theory of change for model for the impact and outcome of RE’s SIRF •Evidence on the value and impact of Research England’s SIRF that will help inform future UK government spending reviews.
II.2.14) Additional information
Please refer to the two reference documents: •Part 1: The Invitation which provides information about SIRF Impact Evaluation. •Part 2: The Questionnaire You are invited to respond to the questionnaire which should be completed by the closing date of noon Wednesday 3rd January 2024.


II.3) Estimated Date of publication
30/04/2024


II.1) Scope of the procurement - 3
II.1.1) Title: UKRI-3566 – RESEARCH ENGLAND STRATEGIC INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH FUNDING (SIRF) IMPACT EVALUATION
Reference number: UKRI-3566
II.1.2) Common Procurement Vocabulary:
73110000 - Research services.
II.1.3) Type of contract: SERVICES
II.1.4) Short description:
This Prior Information Notice (PIN) is being issued in order to formally commence market engagement activities with specific regards to the potential requirement for the sourcing of RESEARCH ENGLAND STRATEGIC INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH FUNDING (SIRF) IMPACT EVALUATION. For clarity, this PIN is not a Call for Competition. Not registering an interest shall not prevent any organisation from participating in any potential future procurement, nor is it intended that any information supplied as part of the preliminary market consultation shall place any organisation at an advantage in any potential future procurement process.
II.1.5) Estimated total value: Not Provided
II.1.6) Information about lots:
This contract is divided into lots: No
Maximum number of lots that may be awarded to one tenderer: Not Provided
The contracting authority reserves the right to award contracts combining the following lots or groups of lots: Not Provided

II.2) Lot Description
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s):
73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services.
II.2.3) Place of performance:
Region Codes:
UK - UNITED KINGDOM
II.2.4) Description of the procurement:
UKRI and Research England are seeking suppliers for the design and delivery of an evaluation of the impact of Research England’s £2.35bn (approx.) of annual formula-related research funding provided to eligible English higher education providers (HEPs), referred to as strategic institutional research funding (SIRF). The majority of Research England’s SIRF is delivered to HEPs as un-hypothecated block grants, that HEPs may spend on their own priorities, so long as these relate to the activities that Research England are empowered to fund: research, knowledge exchange and related activities. An evaluation of the impact of Research England’s SIRF will contribute significantly to the delivery of a wider review Research England are conducting on our SIRF and contribute to the wider evidence base on the effectiveness and value of Research England’s formula research funding. This evidence will then support any decisions Research England makes about the future direction of our funding policy and contribute to future Research England evidence submissions to government spending reviews, ensuring we understand the value and impact of this funding. Research England are looking for suppliers to design and deliver this evaluation within an approximate 12–13-month period. Providers should be able to demonstrate experience and familiarity with following: •Theory-based evaluative methods •The UK government’s central guidance on evaluation (Magenta Book) •Producing Theory of Change models •Evaluation of research impact and outcomes In addition, the SIRF impact evaluation should provide: •Outreach and engagement of the evaluation to both the research and higher education sectors •Evidence towards a wider review of Research England’s SIRF •A theory of change for model for the impact and outcome of RE’s SIRF •Evidence on the value and impact of Research England’s SIRF that will help inform future UK government spending reviews. Please refer to the two reference documents: •Part 1: The Invitation (this document) which provides information about SIRF Impact Evaluation. •Part 2: The Questionnaire You are invited to respond to the questionnaire which should be completed by the closing date of noon Wednesday 3rd January 2024. In addition, an online market engagement explanatory event will be held on Thursday 11th January 2024 from 2pm to 3pm, which will be open to all respondents of Part 2: The Questionnaire. To register for the webinar: https://ukri.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_n7jYzHbwQ02F8q9FjzxliA#/registration During the event, UKRI and RE will present the SIRF Impact Evaluation project as it is currently envisioned, provide an explanation of the questionnaire, and hold a Q&A session. You are welcome to submit questions in advance via the Delta Portal Message Centre.
II.2.14) Additional information
Please refer to the two reference documents: •Part 1: The Invitation (this document) which provides information about SIRF Impact Evaluation. •Part 2: The Questionnaire


II.3) Estimated Date of publication
30/04/2024


Section IV: Procedure

IV.1) Description
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA )
The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) - YES

Section VI: Complementary Information
VI.3) Additional Information:
To view this notice, please click here:
https://ukri.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=829326529
GO-20231211-PRO-24739101 TKR-20231211-PRO-24739100

VI.5) Date Of Dispatch Of This Notice: 11/12/2023