(RBKC Crest)Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Transport and Technical Services Business Group
Town Hall
Hornton Street
London
W8 7NX
Final version: 11th February1g - REQUEST FOR QUOTATION
PROVISION OF CONSULTANCY SERVICES
February 2013
1.Request for Quotation (RFQ)
1.1.Summary
This invitation to submit a quotation issued by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (the Council) for the provision of:-
Advocacy, facilitation and limited design services to engage businesses in making organisational changes to their communications, domestic heating, transport and deliveries Such changes to benefit air quality, by reducing emissions of pollutants.
Subject to approval, the final contract will be awarded directly to the preferred Consultant ‘s quote,in which, the Council believe it will obtain best value.
These documents are being made available on the condition that they are used solely in connection with this RFQ, and no other purpose.
1.2.Scope
It is envisaged that the services will encompass: developing initiatives to raise awareness of the health impacts of poor air quality with five or six pathfinder organisations and empowering them toimplement measures to improve it, preparation for the production of a compendium of case studies demonstrating best practice and extending the project to 10-15 further organisations.
This is part of a wider air quality engagement programme which is also taking place in other parts of London and some pan London liaison will be required.
1.3.Structure of Documents
The RFQ documents are divided into 5 sections:
- Instructions for Quote
- Appendix A: Specification of Requirements
- Appendix B: Pricing Matrix
- Appendix C: References
- Appendix D: Other
- Appendix E: Terms and Conditions (separate document)
- Appendix F: October concluding report to the preliminary project
2.QUOTATION REQUIREMENTS
2.1.Conditions of the RFQ
A Consultant requiring clarification of the RFQ must email the Council. The Primary Contacts are:
Guy Denington, email address:
Rebecca Brown, email address:
The Council will use reasonable endeavours to answer all written enquiries prior to quotations being submitted. However, the Council will not be bound to respond to any request for clarification of the RFQ which are received later than 2working days prior to the quotation submission date.
Quotation price shall be in pounds sterling.
The quotation submitted for the provision of consultancy services shall remain valid for 90 calendar days and fixed for the duration of the contract. A quotation expressed to be valid for a shorter period may be rejected by the Council.
Please refer to the attached letter on how to return quotation documents.The quotation must be received no later than 5 pm on Friday 1st March2013and must be returned in the envelope provided for that purpose. Any quotation received after this time will be rejected by the Council.
All information contained in the RFQ shall be subject to paragraph 2.5 below and will be treated by the parties as confidential.
2.2.Costs and Expenses
The consultant is responsible for preparing all information necessary for the preparation of its quotation and all costs, expenses, and liabilities incurred shall be the responsibility of the consultant ,including travel, third party insurance(referred to in the Terms and Conditions – Appendix D) and software licences. Further, it is the responsibility of the consultant to obtain for themselves, at their own expense, any additional information necessary for the preparation of their quotation.
2.3.Alternative Quotations
Should the consultant consider that it could offer any further advantageous benefit to the Council, it may submit a quotation in addition to a quote to this RFQ in relation to the quotation documents. The additional quote must state the technical and/or economic advantages. Any additional quote will not be considered unless a quote has been submitted in response to this RFQ.
2.4.Changes to RFQ
The Council reserves the right to make changes to the RFQ and issue supplementary instructions at any time. Under no circumstances shall the Council incur any liability in respect of such events.
2.5.Freedom of Information Act
The Council is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (FOI). If the consultant considers that any information supplied by him is either commercially sensitive or confidential in nature, this should be highlighted and the reasons for its sensitivity given. In such cases the relevant material will, in response to FOI requests, be examined in the light of the exemptions provided for under FOI .
Consultants shall treat all information supplied by the Council in connection with this RFQ as confidential, information maybe disclosed by suppliers insofar as is necessary for the preparation, submission, and evaluation of quotes.
2.6.Specification of Requirements
The Specification describes the servicerequired and objectives to be met in carrying out the project titled:
Business Engagement for Improving Local Air Quality.
Theconsultant should detail in full their proposals as to how they will provide/supply the services described in Appendix A. In particular the consultant should demonstrate, by way of relevant examples, what experience has been gained from similar previous work and the methodological approach intended.The proposal should be in bullet points only and limited to two pages.
2.7.Completion of the Price Schedule
Consultants must fully complete a pricing schedule as per the example at Appendix B. Any additional servicesthe consultant wishes to add to the quotation must be detailed in a separate matrix. Where applicable, any maintenance or ongoing costs over the life of the agreement should also be identified and added into the final quotation.
All quotes submitted shall be in pounds sterling, excluding VAT;travel, delivery costs and any other expenses will also be included in the quote . Unless otherwise stated, payment frequency will be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract.
2.8.References
Please identify three local authority reference sites and contacts where you have provided a similar service in Appendix C.
2.9.Terms & Conditions
The award made to the succesful consultant will be made in strict accordance with the terms and conditions of the draft contract as shown in Appendix E. The Council reserves the right not to accept “conditional quotations”.
The consultant must confirm they adhere to the terms and conditions provided.
2.10.Evaluation and Comparison of Quotations
The Council does not bind itself to accept the lowest, or any quote.
Subject to the above, the Council will award the contract to the consultant, whose quotation has been determined by the Council todemonstrate best value. The assessment of best value will include the relevance of previous experience and related achievements, a demonstrated systematic approach, and an awareness of current effective air quality management interventions available in central London.
Following evaluation of accepted quotations and subject to agreement, the award of the contract will have an expected start date of: Monday 18th March2013.
APPENDIX A
PROJECT SPECIFICATIONTitle / Business Engagement for improving air quality / Ref:
Key factors / Background remarks
1 / MAIN AIM
The overarching aim is to raise awareness of the health impact of poor air quality within the business community in order to stimulate action to improve local air quality.
This should be achieved by extending the initial engagement work (described in the October concluding report to the preliminary project*) to further organisations, using the initial pathfinder organisations as exemplars and to accumulate examples of best practice by way of quantified case studies that businesses will implement to improve local air quality. / * An abridged copy of this report is attached at Appendix F
2 / OBJECTIVES
- Consolidate on the agreed actions of the 5 pathfinder organisations i.e. in the 4 action areas of communications, building environment, deliveries and transport with milestones for achievement
- Re-approach 10-15 further interested organisations (representative of typical business models, namely destination venues, hospitality, large retail, small retail and head office businesses) and win their support in developing actions based on the best practice of the pathfinders and examples drawn from experience with the CityAir initiative
- Offer facilitation and advice to enable the extended range of organisations to implement a programme of action. In due course this will be supported by a set of technical guidance provided under a separate contract.
- Continue with the compilation of a series of case studies set out according to the previous template, but with greater emphasis on quantifying results and with any modification agreed by the six participating boroughs. The case studies will eventually form a compendium for web publication.
- Assist with the branding of the project to reflect the interests of the other six participating boroughsand the GLA.
3 / DELIVERABLES (submitted to the project’s liaison officer)
(1)Brief monthly report (no more than 4 pages) detailing hours spent, aggregated costs, progress and milestones achieved with target organisations, an update of numbers of organisations actively engaged and case studies advanced/completed. An indication of next steps is also expected. A reporting format is attached at Appendix E.
(2)A concluding report will be required at the end of six months
(3)A full set of case studies in suitable form for collating and publishing on the web. The preparation of the case study compendium will be the subject of a separate contract.
4 / OUTLINE OF METHODOLOGY [Basic approach and techniques to be used]
Personal meetings with the corporate responsibility representatives of targeted organisations.
Re-visits to re-inforce messages and convince the decision makers of the need for action with the benefit of associated cost savings.
Facilitating best practice actions by providing access to information and advice.
Documenting progress and outcomes with suitable recording of “before and after” results in relation to air quality goals.
5 / BRIEF RESOURCE ESTIMATES [i.e. requirements for] / (based on preliminary work)
Contractors / Contract to be let to sole consultant
Equipment / Office materials only
Funding / Funding will be from a Defra grant and augmented by LIP monies
Time / To be accounted for to nearest hour. It is anticipated that the project will require approximately 32 days work, or 225 hours in total.
Personnel / Consultant may use his discretion in recruiting help from others (within the fee limit). It is recognised that a number of boroughs will be commissioning similar work for which the consultant may be engaged. This may limit the time available for individual boroughs unless additional resources are deployed.
Client-side officers responsible for project – Guy Denington (project liaison) and Rebecca Brown .
6 / STRATEGIC CONNECTIONS
This sits alongside Defra's air quality objectives and extension of the successful CityAir campaign.
7 / INTERNAL/EXTERNAL COLLABORATORS
Internal and external stakeholders will be involved including NHS and TfL. There will be active collaboration between the central London boroughs of: Westminster, Wandsworth, Kensington and Chelsea, Islington, Hackney and Camden who will deliver joint products in partnership with the GLA / In particular RBK&C officers from Environmental Quality and Transportation
8 / TIMESCALES [Start and finish, specific stages, critical points and deadlines. Separate timeline can be attached if appropriate]
Start –February2013, with completion towards the end of July2013
APPENDIX B – Pricing Matrix/Schedule
The matrix below provides an example of a tabulated format for the consultant to submit its price schedule. The matrix can be adapted as appropriate to the quote. All requirements should be listed and the hours/number of days should be specified where applicable. Prices can be shown in any format as long as it is clear, simple and easy to evaluate. The example is shown to assist with completion.
EXAMPLE OF AGGREGATED COSTS (£) drawn from preliminary projectNo / Organisation/other / Hours / Cost / Subtotal / Total / Comment
1 / (Task A)
2 / (Task B)
3 / (Task C)
4 / (Task D)
5 / (Task E)
6 / Other incidental tasks
(X)
(Y)
(Z)
7 / Other costs
(P)
(Q)
(R)
APPENDIX C – Reference sites
Organisation (1):Address:
Contract Name:
Telephone No:
E-mail Address:
Approximate Value:
Organisation (2):
Address:
Contract Name:
Telephone No:
E-mail Address:
Approximate Value:
Organisation (3):
Address:
Contract Name:
Telephone No:
E-mail Address:
Approximate Value:
APPENDIX D – Other
The consultant will be expected to report results in a consistent and systematic format, to allow for an objective evaluation of achievement, based on estimated air quality improvements (however modest). The example below represents an approach that will be used to communicate outcomes to Government departments and other organisations. It also provides an indication of the hours spent with each organisation, which feeds into the aggregated cost reporting format below it.
EXAMPLE OF REPORTING FORMATOrganisation/ improvement area / Output / Indicator / Target / Measure / Outcome - . emissions reduced
(tonnes equivalent) / Comment
1 / MuseumA
Communication
Built environment
Supply chain
Transport / Legible London (LL) maps,
no coach idling
Not using diesel generators for income
Reduction of weekly deliveries
Delivery consolidation with other museums
Travel policy changed, taxi journeys reduced / Maps distributed/ accepted?
Fuel saved
How many fewer trips?
By how many? / x maps
as per indic.
y less deliveries
z journeys / Fuel reduction
Fuel reduction
Av.trip length /mpg
Av. Journey length/mpg / NO2/PM10
NO2/PM10
NO2/PM10
NO2/PM10 / Walking and cycling
promoted
Possibly contentious(!) potential income lost
Hrs spent
2 / Hotel B
Communication
Built environment
Supply chain
Transport / AQ added to corporate responsibility statement /LL maps
Heating reduced/off when rooms vacated
e.g. no idling of delivery vehicles,
Streamlined monthly ordering, consolidated food deliveries, shared laundry services / Nos walking?
Fewer taxi trips?
Heating reduced?
Nos of observed vehicles idling?
Fewer deliveries / m units of fuel saved
n deliveries / Actual units of gas
Fewer vehicle trips(mileage?) / NO2
NO2/PM10 / Perhaps needs staff
attitudinal survey?
Idling an issue for
Highways and TfL
Hrs spent
EXAMPLE OF AGGREGATED COST REPORTING (£)
No / Organisation/address / Hours / Cost / Subtotal / Total / Comment
1 / Premises 1 / 40 / 2,500
2 / Premises 2 / 32 / 2,000
3 / Premises 3 / 32 / 2,000
4 / Premises 4 / 40 / 2,500
5 / Premises 5 / 16 / 1,000 / 10,000
6 / Other organisations
X
Y
Z / 16
8
16 / 1,000
500
1,000 / 2,500
7 / Other tasks/costs
e.g. publicity/artwork etc / 40 / 2,500 / 2,500 / 15,000
APPENDIX E – TERMS AND CONDITIONS
[See attached document]
APPENDIX F
October concluding report to the preliminary project
RBKC BUSINESSES DEVELOPING BEST PRACTICE CASE STUDIES FOR IMPROVING LOCAL AIR QUALITY
Commissioned and abridged by: Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
November 2012
PROJECT REPORT ON FIRST SIXTH MONTHS OF PROGRAMMED WORK
INTRODUCTION
The documentation in this report covers the actions and achievements from this phase of the project, to develop best practice case studies across a representative sample set of organisations in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
In total five organisations have generously given their time and resources to support the development of the best practice document.
Time has been spent re-visiting the Pathfinder air quality champion organisations. The document includes additional meetings moving beyond the development of those initial case studies, to extend the reach of awareness of air quality amongst businesses as well as community organisations.
Next steps are also included, to encourage other businesses to adopt case study best practice and reach further into resident groups to put the issue in context and develop borough wide actions to maximise positive behaviour change in each of the following categories:
- communications - raising the profile of air quality,
- the built environment - upgraded plant and reducing gas consumption,
- transportation - employee and visitor walking and cycling,
- supply Chain - reducing the number of deliveries and improving
the emission profile of the delivery fleet.
INITIAL PATHFINDERS AND AGREED ACTIONS
Large museum (destination venue):
Anticipated indicators to be assessed early 2013:
- Communications – local map distribution (walking distances)
- The Built Environment – n/a
- Transportation - museum taxi journey by new supplier
- Supply Chain - journey and cost savings
Time spent: 5 days
Status: awaiting director sign-off
Hotel (hospitality sector)
Anticipated indicators to be assessed early 2013:
- Communications – local map distribution (walking distances)
- The Built Environment - gas consumption reduction
- Transportation –n/a
- Supply Chain - consolidation cost saving
Time spent: 4 days.
Status:Awaiting imagery for case study, walking/cycling/employee/visitor
access promotion timing and director sign-off.
Medium sized business (head office)
Anticipated indicators to be assessed early 2013:
- Communications - intranet engagement
- The built environment – n/a
- Transportation - increase in cycle uptake
- Supply Chain - cost saving
Time spent: 4 days
Status:Awaiting director sign-off
Large department store (retail)
Anticipated indicators to be assessed early 2013:
- Communications - local map distribution (walking distances)
- The Built Environment - gas consumption reduction and review of generator usage
- Transportation - linked to employee wellbeing
- Supply Chain - cost saving
Time spent: 5 days (including extension to neighbouring businesses)
Status: awaiting board involvement to rationalise all sustainability initiatives
with air quality to create a sensible and coherent narrative.
Total cost: £2,500
Trading company (small retail)
Anticipated indicators to be assessed early 2013:
- Communications – n/a
- The Built Environment - cost saving
- Transportation – n/a
- Supply Chain - cost saving
Time spent: 2 days (including extension to head office and online promotion)
Status: awaiting imagery for case study
OTHER INTERESTED ORGANISATIONS AND ACTIVITY
Another head office business
has requested TfL maps for a walking andcycling campaign and presentation of air quality to their ‘green team’
Time spent: 2 days
Status: awaiting map sign-off and campaign timing prior to launch support.
Educational purchasing consortium (tertiary education)
Presentation at consortium meeting on taxi/PHV procurement and air quality context given to all in user group. CityAir Procurement Guide explained and expanded upon subsequently for all purchasing decisions.