Life Skills Questions and Answers – August 2010

In order to assist potential bidders to the Life Skills project and to ensure transparency, the Big Lottery Fund

(BIG) has brought together the initial questions raised and answers.

Sources of current information about the Life Skills project

Information sources and events

1. How do you find out more? / We recommend that you check the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) website, register on the Sell2Wales website and also Bravo Solutions:


and click on past opportunities
Briefing events will be held in Bangor on 1st September and in Newport on 3rd September 2010.
2. Our organisation is not able to attend the Information sessions. Can we still bid for money? / Yes. You can obtain the latest information by registering with the Sell2Wales and Bravo Solutions websites.
on past opportunities on the left for the notice.

3. How do I get on the competitive tender list? / To participate in the tender process, you will need to register on the Big Lottery Fund e-tendering website now. Once a notice is published, you will have access to the associated information including details of the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ).
4. How can smaller organisations get involved in the Life Skills project? / The Life Skills project is open to organisations of all sizes.
The briefing events and PQQ will inform interested potential suppliers of our requirement.
Suppliers are able to collaborate together to meet all the requirements of the bid and agree who will be the lead Bidder.
5. Can BIGmeet one to one with organisations that missed the briefing events? / No. Due to this being a restricted procedure process, all bidderswill have access to the same level of information so that no supplier has an unfair advantage.All information, includingthe presentation notes and Question and Answers that have arisen at the events, will be circulated via the Bravo Solutions website, so that those who were notable to attendhave access to exactly the same information -this will ensure equity and fairness.

Definitions of target audience

6. What are the target groups for the Life Skills project? / The target groups for Life Skills are:
  • Carers
  • Care Leavers
  • Economically inactive families
  • Older People
A definition of Older People can be found in the PQQ.
7. You are trying to target three different groups. Is there going to be a separation of those groups? / There have been six procurements targeting three different target groups. A further two rounds will target older people in the regional Convergence and Competitiveness area.

Initial dates and timescales

8. When will questions from events be available and when will the contract notices be issued? / We will be merging the questions and answers from individual enquiries and the events and publishing them on the website in summer 2010.These will be updated as appropriate. The Contract Notice for Round Eight (Older People in the Convergence Area) will be issued in August with the Round Nine notice to follow in the near future.
9. When will all the information be released? / Due to the nature of the competitive tendering process, we are only able to release information at certain times and details of the PQQ for Round 8 will be available 10 August 2010.

Pre Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ)

Process and procedures

10. Will there be one round of PQQs or more? / There will be one PQQ for Round 8 (Older People in the Competitiveness area) and one PQQ for Round 9 (for Older People in the Convergence area).
11 If as an organisation you are able to deliver to all the target groups in the Competitiveness and Convergence area, can you put that information in the one PQQ? / You will have to complete a separate PQQ for each individual contract notice.
12. Could more than one service provider be awarded a contract in each round? / Yes. There could be more than one service provider and bidders could bid for different areas.
13. If an organisation has already submitted a PQQ for another Welsh European Funding Office ( WEFO) project, do you have to submit another? / Yes
14. What capacity is there to build in extra needs e.g. if project management skills were lacking? / The bidder will have to demonstrate that it has the appropriate skills at the PQQ and ITT stage. Websites for further support and information such as WCVA and WEFO have been highlighted in the presentation.

Timescales

15. When will the PQQ be released? / The OJEU PQQ will be available from 10 August 2010.
28. Is there one deadline for bids (like Stepping Stones) or is it an ongoing programme? / No, there have been six competitive procurement exercises which are now closed..
A further two competitive procurement rounds will be available; with Round 8 being available from 10 August and Round 9 later in the year. Individual deadlines will be contained in the documents.
You may submit bids following the publication of each notice.
16. What are the timescales for bids and decision-making? / Information on timescales will be contained within each separate contract notice
17. What is the submission date for the Older People PQQs? / These have not been announced yet, and will be different for each of the 2 procurements. Please register on the Sell2Wales and the Bravo Solutions website to ensure that you receive timely information and can participate as soon as a contract notice is published. Timescales will be made available as part of this process.

and click on past opportunities
18. What is the timescale between the PQQ round and being asked to tender? / This will be clarified at the PQQ stage.
19. Is there a timescale for awarding contracts? / The contract notices will include a timetable.
20. What is the lifetime of the programme? / Maximum timescales for projects are likely to be four years.
21. I am on holiday for 2 weeks, is there a likelihood I might miss the PQQ? / Bidders will have a minimum of 28 working days to submit their PQQ. Each contract notice will be made available on the OJEU and Sell2Wales websites.

Who can apply?

22. Is this project open to all (private, public and community sector) organisations? / Yes
23. Are tenders open to anyone in the European Union (E.U.), both statutory and public sector? How will these be divided up? / We cannot discriminate. It is open to all to all bidders

Questions surrounding eligibility

24. What is the specific criteria for tendering? Eligibility criteria to be explained clearly please? / We would like to attract potential bidders who best demonstrate that:
  • they understand the needs of the target or identified participant groups,
  • have experience of engaging with these individuals, and
  • have the experience, skills and capacity to deliver their project.
Potential bidders will have a track record in delivering projects of this nature to the target or identified participant groups.
Bids will be assessed firstly at a PQQ stage. Those successful at this stage, will be further assessed through a more detailed Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage. Details of evaluation criteria will be contained within each tender document.
25. I am a new business without a track record, would it be worth me applying? / The Life Skills project is open to all, please refer to the PQQ to decide whether you consider you meet the required criteria.
26. We do not currently work with the target groups, but we plan to. Can we apply if we do not have the proven capacity? / We cannot prevent anyone from applying. The PQQ stage asks about existing skills and capacity within the organisation and the ITT asks about the future. You will need to look at the questions and see if you can respond.
27. Our organisation is interested in bidding, can you give us an indication of how successful we are likely to be? / No. At this stage in the process we are not pre-qualifying organisations and BIG will not comment on any interested organisations eligibility.
28. Some older carers are not aiming to get back into work, but into volunteering, are they eligible? / Yes, although a significant aim of the programme is to equip people with the skills they need to get back into employment. Basic/soft skills may be provided, but the successful bidders will be expected to support a given proportion of their participants into employment.
29. Is there an expectation that bid proposals will involve cross Local Authority boundaries partnerships? / Bids will be assessed on the basis of their merits, and may or may not involve Local Authority cross boundary working. Any partnership must be restricted to delivery in either the convergence or competitiveness area and should not cross these boundaries.
30. Is it up to providers to provide evidence that they are offering something that does not overlap with other schemes? / To some extent yes, but we recognise that it is very difficult to completely avoid overlap. However claims for outcomes must not be double-counted.
31. Generally, unemployed people on jobseekers allowance (JSA) are not supported on schemes until they have been on JSA for at least 6 months. Is this the case here? / No. Life Skills participants must meet the definitions for the targeted groups and should avoid targeting participants who may benefit from other programmes such as ReAct which targets those who have been made redundant within the last six months.
32. We provide independent living skills, but would not want to discriminate against half of our participants. / Participants need to fall within our defined participant group.

Consortia Bids

33. Will partnership bids be allowed? / Yes, partnership bids are allowed but you will need to appoint a lead bidder.
34. Is there scope/encouragement for consortia bids? / We welcome both individual and consortium bids (see Question above).
35. Can you submit bids alone and then as part of a consortium? / Bidders can put in separate bids for each contract this can be either alone or as part of a consortium.
36. We would like to put in a bid on behalf of individual member organisations is that an individual or a consortia bid? / Within a consortia bid there will need to be a lead organisation. We recommend that you look at the PQQ to determine how you input the bid.
37. We do much of our work in partnership with other organisations that
work directly with (or are run by) people in the target groups. Would our potential partners/sub-contractors need to complete a PQQ, or is it sufficient that we complete a PQQ? Our partner organisations tend to be extremely small and under-resourced and lack the capacity/confidence to complete a PQQ. / If a bid is submitted by a consortium, one lead organisation will need to complete a PQQ on behalf of the other partners/sub-contractors within that consortium.
38. Does the lead have to be the specialist in service provision? / It is up to you to decide who is the lead, but the bid has to demonstrate that it meets the criteria, outlined in the PQQ and if successful the Invitation to Tender (ITT).
39. If we wanted to put in a partnership bid to cover the whole of Bridgend would we be able to? / Yes- you can submit partnership bids but a lead organisation is needed.
40. If submitting as a partnership would we need a governance document etc? / Requirements at each stage will be stipulated in the PQQ and ITT documents.
41. Regarding partnership bids, we hope that you would encourage such bids. In this context, can you make a participant list available? / We are in the process of seeking the details of organisations to be circulated to other attendees and other interested parties for the purpose of the Life Skills project. However they do have the right to decline.
42. What if the lead organisation defaulted, what would happen to minor partners? / The BIG contract will be with the lead body, but we expect all partnerships to have agreements in place that deal with a situation where the lead body defaults under its agreement with BIG.
43. When BIG issue the contract, will the contract allow the successful service provider to subcontract out? / During the term of the contract, the service provider may wish to change its sub-contractors or add sub-contractors. Before the service provider can do this, it must get written consent from BIG (which may be withheld or granted subject to conditions). In considering the service provider’s request BIG may ask for further information including details about the new sub-contractor and the personnel it will use. Sub-contracting any part of the contract does not relieve the service provider of any obligation or duty under the contract.
44. Is it possible to know when the deadlines will be for bidding? / Timetables for bidding will be attached to each contract notice.

Geographical coverage

45. Please can you clarify the geographical coverage; you referred to pan Wales, convergence and competitive areas. Many of the communities we deal with are in small pockets, to cover them all, can we put in a pan-Wales bid? / No, we are unable to accept a pan-Wales bid but organisations can bid to deliver in the entire convergence or entire competitiveness area.
46. Project delivery in rural areas is more expensive. Can a weighting be built in to allow for cost differentials? / This question has been raised previously and BIG is aware of the regional cost differential. In delivering Stepping Stones, BIG decided to fund those most in need, but not geographically. We have learnt from this and this will be considered when developing the evaluation criteria.
47. We are a community organisation and wish only to work in the borough of Merthyr Tydfil. Do you require bids, which cover a borough area or bigger regional areas? / Bids can be area specific. We will define any geographical requirements (if any) in the ITT tender document.
48. Would you favour proposals from a wide geographical area or one county? This could shape partnerships? / We cannot favour bids in any way. Details of the relative weightings will be provided at the PQQ stage. Please be aware that convergence and competitiveness areas will need to be kept separate.

Invitation to Tender stage and beyond

49. Will the level of education be defined as part of the PQQ? / Further information about what will be required will be available at ITT stage.
50. Can you include staff costs in PQQ? / The PQQ will not request this level of detail. The PQQ will determine an organisation’s existing ability to deliver a project. Further information about staff costs should be included at ITT stage
51. If successful in tendering, how would payments be staged? / The payments schedule would be agreed as part of the contract set up meeting. We would expect to make payments monthly in arrears in line with an agreed payment schedule. We are currently considering whether some payments may be made in advance.
52. If an organisation were lucky enough to win a contract, would there be any money up front? / This is possible and would be agreed as part of the contract set up meetings.
53. How will you ensure that organisations contracted are equipped to make a lasting difference? / We will use the PQQ and the ITT evaluation criteria to enable us to appropriately select bidders. All projects will be required to monitor progress during delivery and self-evaluate their service.

Contracts

54. How much is allocated in total for this project? / A package of almost £14 million between Convergence and Competitiveness areas

Convergence has: £8.7million

Competitiveness has: £5.2million
The above figures are inclusive of VAT.
55. How much is the maximum grant to each organisation? / No grants are being made. This is a competitive procurement process in accordance with public contract regulations. Contracts may be awarded in the range of £150,000 to £1,000,000 (inclusive of VAT).
56. If contracts are awarded on the basis of best value for money, then you could potentially have a strong public sector response. Would you award all the contracts to the public sector? / We cannot restrict contracts to any one sector. Applications will be assessed against the PQQ and ITT criteria, and awarded on the basis of the evaluation.
57. Can the contract value be changed e.g. if an organisation bids for £250,000, can it be reduced to £200,000. / Bidders will have the opportunity to bid for work in each round. Details about how contracts will be awarded and the how the value is to be determined will be made clearer at the ITT stage.
58 Will the amount in each tender be available in the contract notice? / An approximate range of work or contract value will be indicated under each contract notice.
59. Is there a set amount for each contract? / The amount available for each contract round will be available in the contract notice.
An approximate range of work or contract value will be indicated under each contract notice (See question above)
60. What is your contract with WEFO (Welsh European Funding Office) in terms of how many beneficiaries? / We have agreed a delivery profile of outputs with WEFO. Further details will be provided in the ITT stage.
Implementation
61. What support will you offer bidders? Will you claw back money if targets are not met? / During the contract term, BIG’s staff will meet with service providers on a regular basis to review progress against targets, and issue payments accordingly and subject to successful progress. –
62. What measures are there to prevent money being clawed back by Brussels? / BIG has agreed targets relating to the number of participants engaged. We will monitor achievement against these targets, and negotiate with WEFO should it look unlikely that we will achieve our aims.

Evaluation