Field Studies Council

INVITATION TO TENDERFOR:

Contract for Delivery of a Forest Education Network England

Contract No: FSC 12-01

- 1 - document.doc

Field Studies Council

Introduction

The Field Studies Council (FSC) is a pioneering educational charity committed to bringing environmental understanding to all.

Established in 1943, the FSC has become internationally respected for its national network of 17 education centres, international outreach training projects, research programmes, information and publication services and wide range of fascinating professional training and leisure courses. We provide informative and enjoyable opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to discover, explore, be inspired by, and understand the natural environment.

The FSC believes the more we know about the environment, the more we can appreciate its needs and protect its diversity and beauty for future generations.

The FSC has been involved in forest education for over 10 years through the Forest Education Initiative both as a member of the England Steering Committee and as grant administrator. The FSC is facilitating the development of a new delivery method for forest education in England through this tender.

1. Type and Term of Contract

We will be awarding a contract for the development and delivery of a new England Forest Education Network to promote and advocate forest education, to provide communications, support, training and development for educators and forestry professionals. The Network will build on the work of the Forest Education Initiative.

Our intention is to award this contract for a period of two and a half years.

The total value of this contract over the entire period will be in the region of £45,000.

2. Timetable, enquiries and return arrangements

2.1. Timetable

The proposed timetable for this contract issue is set out below. This is intended as a guide and while we do not intend to depart from the timetable, we reserve the right to do so.Stages DatesIssue tender document 30th January 2012

Final date for enquiries 6th February 2012

Tender return date and time 13.00 hrs on 20th February 2012

Expected award date 5th March 2012

Expected start date 2nd April 2012

2.2. Clarification

Once we have evaluated tenders we may need further clarification of the information provided in your submission and may ask for this additional information or a clarification meeting.

- 2 - document.doc

Field Studies Council

2.3. Enquiries

Please send enquiries in writing or by email by the deadline in section 2.1 quoting the contract number on the front of this document to: Rob Lucas, details below. Email: fei@field-studies-council.org

If we consider a question or request for clarification is relevant to all interested parties we will circulate both the query and the response to all potential tenderers while keeping identities confidential.

2.4. Return Arrangements

Please return your completed tender as:

Three paper copies by post or hand delivered and One copy on a USB storage device in a read only format

Please note that we do not accept fax or email copies.

We must receive your completed tender before the closing time shown in section 2.1 We will keep tenders received before this deadline unopened until after this time. We will not consider any tenders we receive after the deadline. We may copy tenders for our internal use.

Mark your envelopes with the words ‘Tender for the Delivery of Forest Educational Network England – not to be opened until 13.00 hrs on 20th February 2012’. Send completed tender documents to the following address:

Field Studies CouncilHead OfficePreston MontfordMontford BridgeShrewsburyShropshireEnglandSY4 1HWTel: 01743 852100

- 3 - document.doc

Field Studies Council3. Statement of Requirements

We intend to award a contract for the development and delivery of a new Forest Education Network in England.

3.1. Background Information

The need for this contract emerges from changes to the Forest Education Initiative (FEI) in England. A brief background to FEI follows. For more information visit:http://www.foresteducation.org/ and also http://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/pdf/SERG_FEI_review_summary.pdf/$FILE/SERG_FEI_review_summary.pdf

The FEI was established in 1992 as a Great Britain initiative. Its aims are “To increase the understanding and appreciation, particularly among young people, of the environmental, social and economic potential of trees, woodlands and forests and of the link between the tree and everyday wood products”.

The main target audiences are: children and young people; teachers and youth leaders; education advisers in science, geography, design technology and environmental studies; others interested in environmental education; people in the forestry, timber and processing industries.

The primary operation of the FEI has been through cluster groups. These groups comprise individuals and organisations in local areas who want to educate others in woodlands and about trees, wood and related industries, and are brought together with those directly involved with woodland ownership, management and primary and secondary wood processing. Each FEI cluster group is unique, locally managed, independent and focused on their local needs.

An FEI partnership fund has been available specifically to support the work of cluster groups. The Forestry Commission has been the key driver and partner of FEI in GB and has employed Co-ordinators in each country to support national steering groups and to work with and develop cluster groups. Other national partners have provided cash and in-kind support, e.g. Field Studies Council manage the financial administration of the grants fund. The Timber Trade Federation has provided cash support to the GB fund.

The Forestry Commission England, along with the public sector generally, has been asked by Government to reform its organisation and reduce its support from Westminster by 25.5% over the current Spending Review period (2011-2014).

Restructuring within FCE will mean a much smaller staff number concentrating on core areas of work. In parallel, Government has asked for much less direct delivery and for more facilitation of others, through localism and Big Society agendas. As a result, the FCE has taken the decision to no longer employ the FEI Co-ordinator in England. FCE has included a cash budget line in 2012-13 to continue a degree of support to the legacy work of FEI.

Following extensive consultation, the FEI England Steering Group, has discussed options for the future that will continue to support the excellent work of many organisations in forest education and that will be deliverable within a different funding base and with a different approach. The invitation to quote set out here has resulted from these discussions and various options.

- 4 - document.doc

Field Studies CouncilThe FEI England steering group has agreed that establishing a Forest Education Network (FEN), with a new focus and new way of working, will enable forest education to continue to be supported across England through a different model from that of the FEI.

FEI in Wales and Scotland will continue to be delivered using the existing models.

Forest Education Network (FEN)

Through the operation of this contract the FEN will aim to:

Share widely information and knowledge between and among all with an interest in forest education, including those already engaged through existing cluster groups;

Encourage more organisations and individuals in England to engage in forest education;

Inspire people about trees, woods and forests;

Enable better understanding and delivery of forest education;

Develop effective communications using electronic and social media;

Help set standards, identify and share good practice, encourage quality, promote routes to qualifications;

Provide mutual support and common purpose;

Provide a voice for, and be an advocate of, forest education;

Be open to all;

Appeal to a diversity of educators;

Link to forestry organisations and businesses at the national level.

The FEN will be wide ranging and encompass many different skills, partners and activities. This will demand a team based approach from the organisation or individuals appointed to fulfil this contract.

3.2. Specific Requirements

The successful contractor will be expected to achieve a range of outputs and outcomes, detailed below. The precise delivery methods will be for those tendering to propose:

Establish, run and manage a regular (monthly) electronic newsletter, offered to all those currently involved in forest education and aim to expand the readership by at least 10% per year.

Manage an attractive, efficient and effective web presence for forest education in England, enabling readers to exchange information, views and ideas promptly, accurately in an engaging way. Increase traffic and positive feedback from users year on year.

Generate press coverage and articles to promote forest education to target groups.

Carry out market research within the target audience of those interested in forest education and devise ways of meeting these expressed needs.

Maintain a clear and direct relationship with the forestry sector and help broker offers and opportunities with the education sector.

Identify and seek potential funding to develop and expand the work of the Forest Education Network.

Facilitate national forest education events and conferences that will directly engage those interested in forest education.

- 5 - document.doc

Field Studies Council Manage funds and records on behalf of a new Forest Education Network steering group (to be

established as part of the governance of this contract).

Ensure a regular point of contact and expertise.

Arrange two meetings of the FEN steering group at agreed dates and locations. One meeting will be to agree an annual plan of work and the second will be to review progress against that plan.

3.3. Contract Requirements

The successful contractor should have:

Knowledge and experience of environmental education

A good understanding of the forestry sector and how it relates to education

Administrative flexibility to be able to manage communications with widely dispersed, diverse audiences

A proven track record of developing sustainable business and revenue models

The ability to provide brief, accurate and informative monitoring and evaluation reports to the steering group

Practical knowledge and experience of managing electronic communications, events and conferences

A proven track record of managing and accounting for finances from a range of sources.

There is no specific geographical requirement for this contract other than FEN steering group meetings being held at convenient locations.

3.4. Scope

The estimated total value of this contract is £45,000.

It is anticipated that the contract will operate between April 2012 and October 2014.

3.5. Contract Management

This contract will be managed by the Field Studies Council who will be a member of the Forest Education Network steering group. The steering group will set the direction and agree the workplan of the successful contractor.

The contract will include a break clause at one year.

- 6 - document.doc

Field Studies Council

4. Guidance notes for completing the Invitation To Tender

4.1. Completing the Invitation to Tender (ITT)

Please answer every question. If the question does not apply to you, write N/A. If you do not know the answer, write N/K.

4.2. Supporting documents

You do not need to provide supporting documents such as accounts, certificates, statements or policies unless you are specifically asked to do so. You may be asked to provide these later. You may also be asked to clarify your answers or provide more details.

Your organisation will only be evaluated based on the information in your tender. Please do not send any information that is general promotional literature as this will not form part of our evaluation.

4.3. Costs

All costs associated with taking part in this process remain your responsibility. We will not return any part of your completed tender to you.

4.4. Right to cancel or vary the process

We reserve the right to cancel or withdraw from the selection and evaluation process at any stage.

4.5. Confidentiality

You must treat all information we supply you in confidence and not disclose it to third parties unless you need to obtain information e.g. quotations for inclusion on your response.

We undertake to maintain confidentiality regarding your tender and will not disclose any information to third parties except where required by law.

4.6. Consortia and sub-contractor arrangements

If you are bidding as a consortium or you intend to use sub-contractors to deliver part of the contract, please give full details of all consortium members and/or sub-contractors and tell us the specific arrangements as to how they will work with you provide the service.

4.7. Tender validity

All details of the tender, including prices and rates, must be valid for 90 days from receipt of the tender.

4.8. Applicable law

Any contract concluded as a result of this ITT will be governed by English law.

4.9. Pricing

All prices will be in sterling and be inclusive of VAT.

4.10. Additional costs

- 7 - document.doc

Field Studies CouncilOnce we have awarded the contract we will not pay any additional costs incurred which are not reflected in your tender submission.

4.11. Disclaimer

While the information in this ITT and supporting documents has been prepared in good faith by us it may not be comprehensive nor has it been independently verified.

Neither the FSC nor their advisors, directors, officers, members, partners, employees other staff or agents:

makes any representation or warranty (express or implied) as to the accuracy, reasonableness or completeness of this ITT; or

accepts any responsibility for the information in the ITT or for the fairness, accuracy or completeness of that information nor shall any of them be liable for any loss or damage (other than in respect of fraudulent misrepresentation) arising as a result of relying on such information or any subsequent communication.

4.12. Inducements

Offering an inducement of any kind in relation to obtaining this or any other contract with us will disqualify you from being considered and may constitute a criminal offence.

4.13. Contract management

If we award a contract you will have to co-operate in managing the contract and comply with the contract management requirements as detailed in the Statements of Requirements at Section 3.

5. Evaluation

5.1. Evaluation

We will evaluate responses to the tender objectively using the criteria listed in Parts B and C.

5.2. Gateways

Some questions in the tender are known as gateways and are fundamental requirements of the contract.

If you do not answer these questions appropriately we may reject your submission in full and will not evaluate any more questions.

5.3. Questions

The questions are in two parts:

Selection questions that ask about your organisation and its previous experience and capacity in carrying out contracts similar in scope and scale to the ITT;

Award questions that ask about your bid and how you will deliver the statement of requirements over the life of the contract.

If your responses to the selection questions are unsatisfactory we may not consider your bid further.

- 8 - document.doc

Field Studies Council6. Your response

Part A.

Weighting: Completion of this Section is mandatory

Organisation Details

Question Your AnswerA1 Full name of organisation tendering (or

of lead organisation if a consortium)

A2 Registered office address

A3 Company or charity registration number?

A4 VAT registration number?A5 Name of parent company (if

applicable)?A6 Type of organisation? i) a public limited company

ii) a limited companyiii) a limited liability partnershipiv) other partnershipv) sole tradervi) Registered Charityvii) Not for Profit Organisationviii) other (please specify)

A7 How many staff will your organisation employ to carrying out the services/ duties required under this contract?

A8 Total number of employees employed by your organisation?

A9 Length of time your organisation has been operating?

A10 Is there any potential conflict of interest in relation to this contract e.g.if any involved share private interests with anyone within FSC

No Yes

If you have answered ‘yes’ please give details.

A11 Consortia and sub-contracting a) Your organisation is bidding to provide the services required itself?b) Your organisation is bidding in the role of prime contractor and intends to use third parties to provide some services?c) The potential Provider is a consortium?

If you answer b) or c) please indicate in a separate annex the composition of the supply chain and indicate which member(s) of the supply chain will be responsible for which elements of the requirement.Contact Details – Contact details for enquiries relating to this processA12 Name

- 9 - document.doc

Field Studies CouncilA13 Address, incl postcode

A14 Phone

A15 Mobile

A16 Email

Part B – Specific questions

SELECTION QUESTIONS Weight

B1 Please tell us about your experience and capacity in delivering contracts and/or projects of similar requirements, in particular:Scale;Managing finances and developing new business/ revenue;Dispersed communications;Customer service;Environmental/ forestry education;Balancing national strategy against local needs;The flexibility of your organisational structure.

100%

ANSWER:

- 10 - document.doc

Field Studies Council

AWARD QUESTIONS WeightB2 Please tell us how you are proposing to deliver the statement of requirements of

this contract, in particular:The staff directly involved and their qualifications/ experience;Developing email and web communications;Expanding and improving the service provided to the target audience; Improving the reach of and numbers engaged in the network;Running conferences/ events, Managing finances and developing new business and revenue;Generating press coverage;Market research within the target audience; Engaging with the forestry sector.

60%

ANSWER:

- 11 - document.doc

Field Studies CouncilPart C – Pricing Schedule

WeightC1 Please provide details of your pricing in the schedule below 40%Ref Description Price (£)

Project management and on-costs – please give detailed breakdown

Staff costs – please give detailed breakdown

IT costs– please give detailed breakdown

Other costs (incl. travel and subsistence) – please itemise

Total yearly amount 2012-13Total yearly amount 2013-14Total amount 2014-15OVERALL TOTAL

Part D – References and evidence of previous work or projects of a similar nature

Weighting: This is a Gateway section (Pass/Fail)

Please provide details of up to two contracts / projects that are relevant to our requirements. These contracts or activities should have been performed during the past three years. The customer contact(s) named should be willing to provide references.

D1 Reference 1Organisation name:

Customer contact, name, phone number and email

Contract/ project start date, completion date and value.

Brief description of contract/ activity(max 150 words)

Reference 2Organisation name:Customer contact, name, phone number and emailContract/ project start date, completion date and value.

Brief description of contract/ activity(max 150 words)

If you cannot provide at least one example, please explain briefly why (100 words max)

- 12 - document.doc

Field Studies Council

Part E – Financial

Economic and Financial information

Weighting: This is a Gateway section (Pass/ Fail)G1 What was your turnover in each of the

last two financial years (if you are a consortium please state aggregated turnover)

£

For year ended (specify)

£

For previous year

G2 Please provide ONE of the following set out below:A copy of your audited accounts for the most recent two yearsA statement of your turnover, profit and loss account and cash flow for the most recent years of tradingAlternative means of demonstrating financial status if trading for less than a year.

Part F- Health and Safety

General Health and Safety questions

Weighting: This is a Gateway section (Pass/ Fail)Question Yes No

1 Does your organisation have a written Health and Safety policy?

2 Please provide details of Health and Safety training you provide to employees, relevant to this contract.

Part G – Insurance Policies

Weighting: This is a Gateway section (Pass/ Fail)You must either confirm that you have insurance in place for each and every claim rather than on an aggregate basis or , alternatively, undertake that should you be awarded a contract you will maintain relevant insurances for the duration of the contract Insurance Policy Yes No Indemnity value(£) Will secure if

successfulEmployers liabilityPublic liability

- 13 - document.doc

Field Studies CouncilPart H. Grounds for mandatory rejection

Important notice:In some circumstances we are required by law to exclude you from participating further in procurement. If you cannot answer ‘no’ to every question in this section it is very unlikely that your application will be accepted and you should contact us for advice.Please state ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to each question.

Has your organisation or any directors or partner or any other person who has powers of representation, decision or control been convicted of any of the following offences?

Answer

a) conspiracy within the meaning of Section1 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 where that conspiracy relates to participation in a criminal organisation as defined in Article 2(1) of Council Joint Action 98/733/JHA (as amended);b) corruption within the meaning of section 1 of the Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889 or section1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 (as amended);c) the offence of briberyd) money laundering within the meaning of the Money Laundering Regulations 2003 or Money Laundering Regulations 2007.

Part I. Grounds for discretionary rejection

Important notice:We are entitled to exclude you from consideration if any of the following apply but may decide to allow you to proceed further.If you cannot answer ‘no’ to every question your application might not be accepted. In the event that any of the following do apply, please set out in a separate annex full details of the relevant incident and any remedial action taken subsequently. We will use this information in considering whether or not you will be able to proceed further in this process.

Is any of the following true of your organisation? Answera) being an individual,

is bankrupt or has had a receiving order or administration order or bankruptcy restrictions order made against him

b) being a company or any other entity within the meaning of section 255 of the Enterprise Act 2002,

has passed a resolution or is the subject of an order by the court for the company’s winding up other than for the purpose of bona fide reconstruction or amalgamation, or had a receiver, manager or administrator on behalf of a creditor appointed.Has your organisationa) been convicted of a criminal offence relating to the conduct of your business or professionb) committed an act of grave misconduct in the course of your business or professionc) failed to fulfil obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions under the law of any part of the United Kingdom.d) failed to fulfil obligations relating to the payment of taxes under the law of any part of the United Kingdom.

- 14 - document.doc

Field Studies Council

Part J – Declaration

Weighting: This is a Gateway section (Pass/ Fail)

I declare that to the best of my knowledge the answers submitted in this ITT are correct. I understand that the information will be used in the process to assess my organisation’s suitability to be selected to deliver the statement of requirements and I am signing on behalf of my organisation. I understand that the FSC may reject this ITT if there is a failure to answer all relevant questions fully or if I provide false or misleading information.

I certify that this is a bona fide tender, intended to be competitive, and that I have not fixed or adjusted the amount of the tender by or under or in accordance with any agreement or arrangement with any other person.

Name:

Date:

Signature:

Capacity or title:

For and on behalf of:

- 15 - document.doc