Invitation to Tender (ITT)

For: Research into English Language Teaching in the Higher Education Context in Turkey

Date: 17December 2014

1Overview of the British Council

The British Council is the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. Its purpose is to build engagement and trust for the UK through the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people worldwide. It seeks to achieve its aims by working in education, science, governance, English and the arts. In 2012-13, its programmes reached a total audience of 550 million people worldwide and we engaged directly with 10.8 million.

The British Council was established in 1934 and incorporated by Royal Charter in 1940. It is registered as a charity in England and Wales (charity no. 209131) and Scotland (charity no. SCO37733). It is also an executive non-departmental public body, with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as its sponsoring department.

Its primary charitable objects are set out in the Charter and are stated to be:-

  • Promote cultural relationships and the understanding of different cultures between people and peoples of the United Kingdom and other countries;
  • Promote a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom;
  • Develop a wider knowledge of the English language;
  • encourage cultural, scientific, technological and other educational co-operation between the United Kingdom and other countries;
  • Otherwise promote the advancement of education.

In 2012 to 2013, the British Council had a total turnover of £781 million. Its income included a grant-aid of £171 million from the UK government, £490 million from fees and income from services such as English teaching, exams administration and the management of client-funded contracts, and funding from a wide range of public and private sector partners.

The British Council works in more than 110 countries around the world and employs over 7000 staff worldwide. It has its headquarters in the UK, with offices in London, Manchester, Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh.

Further information can be found at

British Council Turkey

The British Council has been operating in Turkey since 1940. We currently have over 50 staff located in Ankara and Istanbul and active outreach through partners in cities across the country.

We are ambitious in Turkey to build on the British Council’s respected brand by responding to new opportunities from government, business and individuals for high quality English language learning and qualifications, engaging new audiences through a world class arts programme from the UK, strengthening collaboration with UK in higher education, skills development, science and innovation through collaborative partnerships, providing new marketing services to UK higher education institutions and offering UK experience in education and social development in support of Turkey’s reform agenda. Our Examinations business is among the biggest in Europe, we have plans to open the first in a network of teaching centres next year and are investing in growth of client contract management services.

Ankara, as the capital and seat of government, is the centre of our partnership work in support of Turkey’s national reform initiatives in English, Education and Society and our country management base, including Finance and HR functions. Istanbul, as Turkey’s commercial and creative hub, is the base for our customer-facing services in Examinations, Education, Arts, Marketing and Communications, and offers potential for increasing relationships with the private and international sectors. Istanbul also acts as the base for our Wider Europe regional team and provides services for regional meetings and events.

Introduction andbackground

Background to the work

In partnership with TEPAV and the Turkish Ministry of National Education, the British Council conducted a nationwide needs assessment for English language teachers in state schools in Turkey in the period February-May 2013. This research, the largest study of its kind, included observation of 78 English language classes in 48 schools in 12 cities throughout Turkey, semi structured interviews with 87 teachers and a survey of 21,000 teachers, students and parents. The field research is accompanied by an economic analysis of the importance of learning English both for the life prospects of individuals and as a driver for a country’s economic growth.

The British Council will conduct a similar nationwide study on English Language Teaching in the Higher Education context in Turkey. The aim of study is to explore the conditions in which pre and in-sessional courses of English are offered in public and foundation schools in Turkey and to come up with recommendation on how these can be enhanced.

The study will be conducted in 12 major cities in Turkey with public and foundation universities ranging in terms of:

  • ranging from full English Medium Instruction (EMI) universities, to universities with 30 % EMI, or universities which have compulsory English requirements but are not EMI.
  • newly founded (1-5 years) to well established ones (25-50 years).

The aim of this research will be to provide valuable contextual data about both the areas of strength and the challenges faced by teachers and learners of English at a tertiary level. Hence, a central part of the needs analysis will focus on identifying the teachers’ and learners profile in order to help them maximise the opportunities offered by the Ministry’s educational reform agenda.

Research Objectives

  • To provide a comprehensive national report on the current stage of English language teaching at tertiary level which may be utilised to help inform any future English language curriculum reform initiatives.
  • To identify the similarities and differences surrounding the English Language Provision in universities in terms of the program set up, curriculum and assessment requirements, administrator, teacher and learners roles and profiles.
  • To make recommendations for a suitableEnglish language curriculum based on current teaching needs and expertise of English language teachers.

Research Questions:

What are the conditions in which pre- and in-sessional courses of English are offered atpublic and foundation universities in Turkey, and how can these conditions be enhanced?

The output

The output of this research will be to prepare and submit a detailed writtenreport of research and its findingsand a 60 minute PowerPoint presentation. The intended audience for these outputs will be the Council of Higher Education, Ministry of National Education, Preparatory Program teachers and supervisors, Freshman Program teachers and supervisors, Students taking pre-sessional and in-sessional English Courses and possible other stakeholders

2Conditions and contractual requirements

The Contracting Authority is the British Council Turkey whose address is Gaziosmanpaşa Mahallesi İran Caddesi No: 21/436 Çankaya/ Ankara.

The appointed supplier will be expected to travel to British Council offices in Turkey as required, in the delivery of the services.

The contract awarded will be valid between15 January 2015 and 15 June 2015 with an option for annual extension for up to an additionalyear under the same terms and conditions.

The appointed supplier will only process personal data accessed in performance of the services in accordance with the British Council ’s instructions and will not use such data for any other purpose. The contracted supplier will undertake to process any personal data on the British Council’s behalf in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 and ensure appropriate and legislative consent is acquired where necessary.

The British Council is committed to equality and to positive action to promote this. It believes that an Equal Opportunities Policy helps to ensure that there is no unjustified discrimination in the recruitment , retention, training and development of staff on the basis of gender including transgender, marital status, sexual identify, region and belief, political opinion, race, work pattern, age, disability or HIV/AIDS status, socio-economic background, spent convictions, trade union activity or membership, on the basis of having or not having dependents, or any other relevant grounds. The appointed supplier must agree to operate in accordance with these principles while undertaking work at or on behalf of the British Council.

The British Council is committed to open government and to meeting its legal responsibilities under the Freedom of Information Act 2000(the “Act”). Accordingly, all information submitted to a public authority may need to be disclosed by the public authority in response to a request under the Act. The British Council may also decide to include certain information in the publication scheme, which the British Council maintains under the Act.

If suppliers considers that any of the information included in their completed documentation is commercially sensitive, it should identify it and explain (in broad terms) what harm may result from disclosure if a request is received, and the time period applicable to that sensitivity.

The suppliers should be aware that, even where they have indicated that information is commercially sensitive, the British Council might be required to disclose it under the Act if a request is received.

The suppliers should also note that the receipt of any material marked ‘confidential’ or equivalent by the British Council should not be taken to mean that the British Council accepts any duty of confidence by virtue of that marking.

The supplier will comply with all applicable legislation and codes of practice, including, where applicable, all legislation and statutory guidance relevant to the safeguarding and protection of children and vulnerable adults and with the British Council’s Child Protection Policy; in addition the supplier will ensure that where it engages any other party to supply any of the services under this agreement that that party will also comply with the same requirements as if they were a party to this agreement.

All relevant policies that suppliers are expected to adhere to can be found on the British Council website – The list of policies includes (but it is not limited to):

- Anti-Fraud and Corruption

- Child Protection Policy

- Equal Opportunities Policy

- Fair Trading

- Health and Safety Policy

- Environmental Policy

- Records Management

- Privacy

Mandatory due diligence process will form part of the final decision making process.

By submitting a tender, providersagree that British Council will have the right to apply due diligence procedures that will include investigation of legal records and require providers’ submission of financial data proportional to the scope of partnership/services of this ITT.

This document does not constitute an offer to provide goods and/or services to the British Council.

All costs incurred in the preparation of the proposal are the supplier’s responsibility.

The British Council reserves the right to request reference information.

The British Council is not obliged to award a contract for these services and reserves the right to withdraw from the procurement process at any stage.

3Confidentiality

All information contained within this document is confidential and is provided only to give suppliers an adequate understanding of the British Council’s requirements and under no circumstances should be disclosed to a third party without the British Council’s consent.

The contents of this ITT are being made available by the British Council on condition that:

  • Tenderers shall at all times treat the contents of the ITT and any related documents (together called the ‘Information’) as confidential, save in so far as they are already in the public domain;
  • Tenderers shall not disclose, copy, reproduce, distribute or pass any of the Information to any other person at any time;
  • Tenderers shall not use any of the Information for any purpose other than for the purposes of submitting (or deciding whether to submit) a Tender; and
  • Tenderers shall not undertake any publicity activity within any section of the media.

Tenderers may disclose, distribute or pass any of the Information to the Tenderer’s advisers, sub-contractors or to another person provided that either:

  • This is done for the sole purpose of enabling a Tender to be submitted and the person receiving the Information undertakes in writing to keep the Information confidential on the same terms as if that person were the Tenderer; or
  • The Tenderer obtains the prior written consent of the British Council in relation to such disclosure, distribution or passing of Information; or
  • The disclosure is made for the sole purpose of obtaining legal advice from external lawyers in relation to the procurement or to any Framework Agreement arising from it; or
  • The Tenderer is legally required to make such a disclosure.

In relation to the above the definition of ‘person’ includes but is not limited to any person, firm, body or association, corporate or incorporate.

The British Council may disclose detailed information relating to Tenders to its officers, employees, agents or advisers and the British Council may make any of the contractual documents available for private inspection by its officers, employees, agents or advisers. The British Council also reserves the right to disseminate information that is materially relevant to the procurement to all Tenderers, even if the information has only been requested by one Tenderer, subject to the duty to protect each Tenderer's commercial confidentiality in relation to its Tender (unless there is a requirement for disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act).

4Tender/Proposal Validity

Your response should remain open for acceptance for a period of 60 days. A response valid for a shorter period may be rejected.

5Payment and Invoicing

The Council will pay correctly addressed and undisputed invoices within 30 days.

The essential information on an invoice for the Council is:

  • A description of the services supplied.
  • The Council reference number/Purchase Order number.
  • Addressed to Accounts Payable.
  • The costs including VAT (if applicable) and any other charges

6Scope of work, specification and outputs

The research partner will work closely with the British Council and the consultant appointed for this research.

  1. Assisting the consultant in the desk research in the preparation for the observations in the universities. This will include an analysis of websites of universities and announcements as to entrance and exit levels, other teaching resources, systems of testing and assessment and other relevant reports provided.
  2. Assisting and accompanying the consultant to visit and observe classes in 12 Turkish cities. These cities will be selected to ensure a geographical spread across the country. Tentatively, Adana, Ankara, Bursa, Diyarbakır, Eskişehir, Gaziantep, İstanbul, İzmir, Kayseri, Kocaeli and Konya. Each city visit will include:
  • Classroom observation of English lessons at Preparatory Programmes and Freshmen programmes. Each observation should last approximately 30 minutes and may be followed by an informal discussion with the class teacher. Ideally, the consultant should be permitted to observe a minimum of eight hours’ class time.
  1. Designing, piloting and administering a survey to teachers and administrators in each city (number to be confirmed). The number of participants should be distributed vary in gender, age, experience, background and nationality. The survey will be designed so as to allow the consultant to comment on: the teachers’ own language capability; their approach to teaching and use of interactive methods; their use and adaptation of textbooks; their use of other classroom materials; the extent to which their teaching is determined by testing and assessment considerations; their attitude to professional development opportunities; their attitude to digital learning and teaching.
  2. Designing, piloting and administering a survey tostudents attending each class.
  3. Designing, piloting and administering surveysto possible other stakeholders such asstudents and teachers in the departments, and employment agencies.
  4. Conductinginterviews with 8-10 teachers in six of the 12 cities visited. The focus groups should allow the consultant to comment on: the teachers’ own language capability; their approach to teaching and use of interactive methods; their use and adaptation of textbooks; their use of other classroom materials; the extent to which their teaching is determined by testing and assessment considerations; their attitude to professional development opportunities; their attitude to digital learning and teaching.
  5. Analysing and collating data collected from tools.
  6. Assisting and collaborating with the consultant to prepare the outputs.

7Constraints

  • To deliver the service within the given deadlines

8Expertise required

The supplier must provide evidence of relevant expertise deliver the required services.

These are:

  • CV’s of the personnel who will deliver the service
  • Experience and expertise of personnel in operationalising and implementing the research
  • Experience of undertaking similar nationwide research services and a track record of similar projects
  • delivering in services in similar locations
  • appropriacy of methodology in conducting the research
  • analysis of potential risks and solutions offered
  • pricing of the service provided

9Timescales

Activity / Date
ITT Released / 17 December 2014, 17.00
Clarification/Questions from suppliers (includes T&Cs queries) / 21 December 2014, 12.00
Clarification Responses from the British Council (includes T&Cs responses) / 22 December 2014, 12:00
ITT Return Date / 30 December 2014 12.00
Evaluation / 31December 2014–
8 January 2015
Selection of Preferred Supplier / 9 January 2015, 12:00

Note: Timescales are estimated and may be subject to change.

10Instructions for Responding

Detailed Response:Please complete AnnexI (SupplierResponse) and submit it to later than 30 December 2014, 12:00 Turkey time.

11Clarification Questions

Any questions should be submitted via email to no later than 21 December 2014, 12.00.

12Evaluation Criteria

Each bidder will have their tender response evaluated as set out below:

Stage 1: Tenders will be checked to ensure that they have been completed correctly and all necessary information has been provided. Tenders correctly completed with all relevant information being provided will proceed to Stage 2. Any tender not correctly completed and/or containing omissions may be rejected at this point. Where a tender is rejected at this point it will automatically be disqualified and will not be further evaluated.
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Stage 2: Tenders passing Stage 1will have theirdetailed Supplier Response evaluated in accordance with the evaluation methodology set out below.

Supplier responses will be assessed using the following criteria and weightings. A score will be given for each part of the information submitted that is to be assessed. The qualitative aspects of your response will be evaluated entirely on your response submitted.