Guide to Joining the FAB Consultant/Supplier List

Guide to joining the FAB consultant/supplier list

Introduction to the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB)

FABis the membership body for vocational awarding bodies and over 110 awarding bodies thatare full members of FAB.Ourmembers representa wide range of sectors and are of varying sizes.

FAB also has anumber of associate members who are stakeholder organisations that are keen to become more closely involved with the work of the Federation.

The main objectives of FAB are to:

• provide a forum for awarding bodies to collectively consider developments in vocational qualifications
• formulate coordinated action in response to developments
• encourage positive relationships and communication between awarding bodies and other key organisations
• establish an ongoing dialogue with the UK Government and its agencies to represent the common interests of the Federation and to lobby on key issues.

Introduction to the consultant/supplier list

The consultant/supplierlist has been developed by FAB as a resource for our members. It isaccessible to all of our members,through the dedicated membership area of our website,and aims to provide quick and easy access to up-to-date details of providers of relevant goods and/or services. Members are able to search this list to identify the most appropriate consultant/suppliers to meet their needs. It is a central list available for use by all members and offers your organisation a valuable opportunity to market and promote the goods/services that you can offer to awarding bodies.

We welcome your interest in joining this list and the information below is intended to assist you in making your decision on whether this list is an appropriate place for you to enter details of the goods and services you can provide.

Who can join the list?

FAB’s consultant/supplier list is intended to support our members in identifying consultants and suppliers who can assist them in the provision of vocational qualifications and the business systems and processes that support this provision. The list is particularly relevant for:

1-Individual consultants

2-Groups of consultants or consultancy firms

3-Suppliers of goods or services e.g. printers, legal firms etc.

Our members may be interested in accessing products/services that directly relate to the qualifications they offer; e.g. subject experts to develop qualification content or assessment, or products/services that relate to their wider business processes e.g. HR consultants, suppliers of legal services, suppliers of printing services etc. If you think you have a product or service that awarding bodies would be interested in you may find it beneficial to join the list. The Skills Profile, which you need to complete as part of the process to join the list, provides a good overview of what our members have indicated as their priority areas for consultants/suppliers so if you can offer some of the areas listed there, it is likely that you will be of interest to some of our members.

How to join the list

To join the list you will need to provide FAB with some information relating to the products/services that you can offer to our members. Hopefully you will already have most of this information to hand:

• A copy of your CV (or an overview of your organisation’s products/services if you are a supplier). We recommend that you provide relevant contact details, an overview of relevant experience and expertise, educational background, qualifications and details of referees. We do not require you to include your home address on this and you may want to consider if this is necessary. Your CV will be on our website, albeit in a secure members’ area, but you may prefer not to make your home contact details public in this way. You may want to tailor your CV to emphasise what you can offer awarding bodies in particular. If you have a website, please add you web address as this will be a useful source of further information for members who are interested in your goods/services.

In cases where you wish to add a consultancy group/organisation to the list you should aim to provide an overview of your products/services and the type of work the group/organisation has carried out which is relevant to awarding bodies. You may want to attach profiles of some of your key consultants to illustrate the calibre of consultant you can offer.

• Details of at least two referees who have agreed to provide a reference for you/your company. This will ensure that any members that wish to engage you for the provision of goods/services can take up references without delay. Details of these referees should be included as part of the CV submitted (see above).
• A copy of the Skills Profile indicating what you can offer to our members. This will also help you to decide whether you can offer goods/services which are likely to be of interest to our members.
• Contact and invoicing details (form provided).
• A signed declarationform to confirm you agree with each of the statements provided.

This information should be emailed to Ailin O’Cathain, Policy Manager,

When we receive your details we will send you an email to confirm this and we will also send an invoice for the annual charge for being on the list (see below). Once we have received payment of your invoice we will add your details to the list and members will be able to contact you as appropriate.

Benefits of being on the list

FAB works with over 110 members including the very large and many of the smaller awarding bodies. Increasingly we are being asked to provide details of consultants or suppliers who can assist awarding bodies with their work to deliver high quality vocational qualifications to their chosen markets. Being on the FAB list means:

1-You can make your details available to over 110 awarding bodies by being on just one list. This makes your business quickly and easily identifiable to our members thus opening up the potential for new business opportunities. Although being on the list does not guarantee that you will be contracted to supply goods or services to any of our members it does ensure that they have access to information about what you can offer them.

2-You can update your information at any time by emailing FAB. This ensures that potential customers can access accurate and current information on your goods and services at all times.

3-You will receive a monthly newsletter from FAB which will help you to stay up to date with developments in the awarding body environment. This newsletter will be sent to you by email, usually within the first full week of each calendar month.

Data Protection

FAB is committed to storing your data securely and only using it for the purpose for which you have provided it. The data you provide will be made available to FAB members via the password protected area of the FAB website. Please ensure that you are happy with all of the information you provide being available to all members in this way. Please do not provide information that is not required by members e.g. your home address, date of birth etc.

Your contact details and skills list profile will also be provided on a limited basis to non-members. This will usually only be in cases where an organisation is not a member of FAB but has an interest in the products/services that consultants/suppliers on the list can offer e.g. they are aiming to achieve recognition to become an awarding body and are seeking consultancy support to achieve this. We will not provide your full CV to non-members, only your name and contact details.

Your data will be updated whenever you request it. Your data will be removed at any point if you request this in writing (email requests to ). FAB will check with you annually whether you wish to continue to be on the list and will remove your details as required.

Keeping the list up to date

Once your details are on the list you may provide FAB with amendments/updates at any time. If you update your CV with recent experience or change your contact details, for example, you should send the up-to-date information to and we will amend the list accordingly to ensure our members have access to the current information about you/your organisation.

Annual Charge for 2014/15

There is an annual charge if you wish to have your details displayed on the FAB consultant/supplier list. This charge will vary depending on the size and nature of your organisation. Charges for 2014/15 are:

• Individual consultant = £165
• Small consultancy groups (up to 3 consultants) =£330
• Larger consultancies (4 consultants and over) = £500
• Suppliers = £550

All prices above are exclusive of VAT which will be charged at the prevailing rate.

Your first invoice will be sent to you once you submit your details for entry onto the list. This invoice will be for the relevant amount specified above, for the financial year (which for FAB runs from 01 August to 31 July). We will add your details to the list once we have received payment of your invoice. We will then invoice you annually at the beginning of each FAB financial year (August) for future year’s payments. You may of course withdraw from the list in future years and we will remove your details from the list.

Members’ use of the list

All of our members willhave access to the list of consultants/suppliers via the membership area of the FAB website ( and they will be able to search the list at any time to identify suitable suppliers of goods and services.

If a member wishes to discuss the goods/services you can offer they will contact you directly using the contact details that you have provided for the list. Following this, if a member decides that they would like you to provide goods/services they will take up references (if they require them) using the details supplied by you. Any contractual arrangements relating to the specific work will be agreed between you and the specific awarding body. FAB will not be involved in these contractual arrangements in any way.

It is important to note that entry onto the list is not intended to indicate any recommendation or endorsement by FAB of your products/services. Each awarding body will select the relevant consultant/supplier as required and will gather the information they require to help them in this selection. FAB will not influence this decision in any way. FAB members are under no obligation to use the consultant/supplier list and are free to access consultants/suppliers from any other source.

Being on the list does not exempt you in any way from the normal procurement practices of an awarding body. You may still be required to submit a proposal or tender where this is normal awarding body procedure.

Providing goods/services to FAB Members

When a member selects you/your organisation to provide goods/services they will make all necessary arrangements with you and will stipulate the terms and conditions that they require you to fulfil. FAB would expect that in all cases you would:

1-Deliver high quality goods and services to FAB members, in line with any contractual terms and conditions agreed between the parties.

2-Behave in a way that does not compromise the awarding body or bring them into disrepute in any way.

3-Comply with all relevant legislation on an on-going basis e.g. equality law.

4-Take proactive action to stay up to date in relation to developments in the learning and skills sector and awarding.

Unsubscribing from the list

You can unsubscribe from the list at any point throughout the year by emailing . We will aim to remove your details from the list within 5 working days. In these circumstances there will be no refund of the annual charge in full or on a pro rata basis.

FAB can decide to remove your entry from the list if we believe this is in the best interests of our members. Where you are removed from the list by FAB, you will be notified by email.

Further assistance or clarification

If you require any assistance with your application or further clarification regarding our requirements please email .

1.Skills Profile
Your Name:
Please tick the categories below to indicate which skills/services you could offer to our members. Your CV or organisational profile should clarify what aspects of these broad categories you specialise in.
Category / Tick
Assessment
Complaints and appeals
Complying with the General Conditions of Recognition
E-assessment
Four country regulation
Funding
Governance
HR policies
International Business Development
Legal services
Marketing
Meeting Ofqual regulations
MIS systems
Overseas development
Policy development
Qualifications development
Quality assurance
Planning the qualifications offer
Printing/certificates
Research methodologies and practice
Risk management
SSC/AO roles and responsibilities
Software Solutions
Technical/IT systems
Unit writing

The consultant/supplier list will be searchable using these categories so please ensure you have ticked all areas that apply.

2. Contact Details
Please provide us with details of the main contact for your organisation and other details such as purchase order number (if relevant) for invoicing purposes. Please inform us if these details change at any time.
Full name
Company/organisation name (if relevant)
Email address for invoicing purposes
Purchase order number (if relevant)
Telephone number
Invoice category / Please indicate the relevant category for your organisation:
Individual consultant = £165
Small consultancy groups (up to 3 consultants) =£330
Larger consultancy (4 consultants and over) = £500
Supplier = £550
These details will be used to ensure we can contact you quickly and provide you with an accurate invoice.
3.Declaration
Please tick to confirm your agreement with each of the statements below: / Tick to agree

1. I have provided accurate, up-to-date and reliable information which is not intended to mislead FAB or FAB members in any way.

1. FAB may process my data (in line with data protection legislation) and make it available to FAB members (via the members’ area of the FAB website) and to non-members on a limited basis as outlined in the Data Protection section above.

1. FAB may use my contact details to update me on a range of relevant products, services and developments in the learning and skills sector via the monthly new Update.

1. I will co-operate with FAB to keep my data up to date and accurate.

1. I will notify FAB, in writing, if at any point I do not wish my data to be displayed on the consultant/supplier list.

1. I understand that non-payment of valid invoices presented by FAB will result in the removal of my details from the consultant/supplier list.

Name:
Signed:
Date:
Thank you for providing this information. Please return this form to FAB .

Version 1- 2014/15