Overview

Westminster Foundation for Democracy (“WFD”) is the UK public body dedicated to supporting democracy around the world. Operating internationally, WFD works with parliaments, political parties, and civil society groups as well as on elections to help make political systems fairer, more inclusive, and more accountable.
We are a problem-solving, practitioner-led organisation that offers: 

• High quality and impactful regional and country programmes that directly support the full spectrum of institutions in political systems to develop inclusive political processes, more accountable political systems, protection of rights and freedoms, and more pluralistic societies. 
• Specialist analysis, research, and advice to inform UK policy makers on a range of democratic governance issues through our Centre of Expertise; and  
• International elections observation on behalf of the UK.

Aim of this Invitation to Tender 

WFD is issuing this Invitation to Tender (“ITT”) to a range of potential suppliers of services and would welcome a bid from you / your organisation.
We are looking for freelancers and agencies to submit a bid that outlines relevant experience and expertise in one or more of the following areas: 

• Lot 1: Design 
• Lot 2: Copy writing (including proofreading and editing)
• Lot 3: Video editing 

As part of your bid please include details of relevant experience, examples of your work, details of your day rate/s based on 8hrs of work, and references. 

Bid submission

All bids should be submitted via email by 9am UK time on Monday 9 December 2024. They must comply with the requirements of this ITT, and must include the information requested in the Bid Requirements below. Bids that do not meet the requirements will be rejected. 
The bid should be sent electronically and addressed to Chloe Tait and Katy Murray and sent to comms@wfd.org 

Please put “bid for communications services” and your/your organisation’s name in the subject line. 

The same email address should be used for any questions related to this ITT. 

By submitting a bid, you agree to comply with WFD’s standard terms and conditions for tendering and key policies, which are found here, and WFD’s Code of Conduct. 

Detailed Specification

Objective

WFD’s Communications and External Affairs team aims to showcase the importance, value and impact of our work in an accessible way. We want to raise awareness of WFD more broadly and position the organisation as a global thought leader, influential voice and a trusted regional partner. Our content highlights the works that WFD does to strengthen democracy and tackle global issues including responding to climate change, improving the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities, and creating more opportunities for women and young people. 

As the demand on the in-house communications team has grown, we would like to develop a framework agreement with a range of freelancers / agencies so that we can draw on them for support with content production when needed.  

Scope of work and deliverables

We are looking for support in the following areas. Agencies and freelancers are welcome to submit a bid covering all three lots – or for just one or two lots. Please identify the relevant lot/s in your bid.

Lot 1: Design support

• Designing digital and printed content including reports and social media assets following our brand guidelines and guidelines developed for bespoke projects
• Designing digital and printed marketing materials including leaflets and posters 
• Designing engaging digital campaign content for use on our website, social media and by partners – this could include developing new illustrations or adapting existing content 
• Designing content for use at events and as part of exhibitions
• Essential skills: Creative Cloud and Canva; ability to apply brand guidelines

Lot 2: Copy writer

• Adapting or re-writing technical language to ensure that it’s accessible, engaging, and follows our style guide / tone of voice
• Writing and editing content for printed and digital outputs
• Writing articles, blogs or leaflets that are suitable for a range of audiences and based on technical content that’s shared with you
• Writing summaries based on reports or research 
• Editing and / or proof reading content, research or reports (e.g. our Annual Report)
• Essential skills: Experience in writing for similar organisations and for fundraising purposes; ability to understand political jargon 

Lot 3: Film editing 

• Editing footage and / or photos that we provide and using this content to develop short films that can be used on our website, social media, within newsletters and at events
• Adding subtitles to films and ensuring that our brand / and the brand of any relevant partners is visible and used appropriately 
• Essential skills: ability to use video editing software effectively and apply brand guidelines to final products

Timeline

The panel framework is expected to be established on or before 15 January 2025 and will expire on 15 January 2027 with the opportunity for a 2 year extension, subject to an annual review. Assignments may be commissioned under order contracts agreed with the supplier(s) from time to time during the term of the framework. 

Working arrangements

The services are expected to be delivered remotely. 

Payments

The supplier(s) will be expected, as part of the bid, to confirm a daily rate for the provision of the services throughout the term of the framework. The fee for each assignment will be agreed as part of the relevant order contract.  

Minimum experience and expertise

Generally, the supplier(s) will be expected to demonstrate the relevant credibility, including case studies and references related to their professional experience, and credentials, including relevant qualifications, to deliver high-quality services under lot 1, lot 2, and/or lot 3. 
In particular, the supplier(s) will: 

• demonstrate their design skills through sharing examples of their work
• demonstrate copy writing, editing and proofreading skills and experience
• demonstrate examples of films they have developed or edited by sharing examples 
• have working professional fluency in English (fluency in additional languages is a bonus, but not essential – please list any additional languages)

Bid process

Timescale

Below is the proposed timescale for the tendering process. Please note the dates are indicative and subject to change.  

Bid requirements

In general, the bid should include the following:

1. Organisational/personal profile
2. Proposed solution and how it meets the specification 
3. Financial proposal 
4. References 
5. Confirmation of compliance with General Terms and Conditions of Tendering.

Organisational/personal profile: 

• Profile including brief history and financial overview
•  Case studies/credentials demonstrating relevant experience and skills profile 
• Names and brief biographies of key staff (if applicable).

NB – for agencies – WFD is particularly keen to receive bids from organisations which are – or are working towards becoming – living wage employers and that have a broadly representative and balanced Board from gender and ethnicity perspectives.  

Proposed solution: 

• Clear explanation as to the proposed approach to meeting the specification set out in this ITT. 
• Detailed project plan, including timelines, assumptions and dependencies, resourcing and risks. 

Financial proposal:  

• Full breakdown costings for the proposed solution in sterling – and based on a day rate that covers 8 hours of work.
• Separate accounting of VAT and/or any other applicable tax, duty, or charge. If VAT is not applicable then please include this.
• Detailing of any discount applied in view of WFD’s not-for-profit status. 

References:

• The bid should include details of two references relating to similar goods/services provided in the last three years. Please note – referees will only be contacted once Preferred Bidder status is assigned.

Confirmation of acceptance of General Terms and Conditions of Tendering: 

• All bidders will be deemed to have accepted the WFD Terms and Conditions of Tendering and confirmed their compliance.

All bidders should also note the following:  

• all bids should be submitted in English; 
• all bids should be submitted in electronic form only;
• this ITT and the response may be incorporated in whole or in part into the final contract;
• only information provided in response to questions set out in this documentation will be taken into consideration for the purposes of evaluating the ITT;
• bids which are poorly organised or poorly written, such that evaluation and comparison with other submissions is notably difficult, may exclude the bidder from further consideration; and
• any bids which do not fully comply with the requirements of this ITT may be disregarded at the absolute discretion of WFD. 

Evaluation criteria

WFD does not provide a mathematical formula by which bids will be weighted / evaluated, but the procurement committee will consider the following criteria, among others in the evaluation of all responses: 

• Quality of bid document, including examples of work
• Service offer
• Quality and track-record of bidders based on references
• Value for money and pricing factors
• Professional profile, track record, and references
• Relevant experience, including case studies

WFD will score each criterion using the following table:

Tender Queries

Any questions related to this tender should be addressed to Chloe Tait and Katy Murray – comms@wfd.org 
 

Equal Information

Should any supplier raise a question that is of general interest, WFD reserves the right to circulate both question and answer to other respondents, either via WFD’s website or by email. In this event, anonymity will be maintained.

Annual reports

Please provide a link or copy of your company’s latest audited annual accounts with the bid – if relevant.

Other information

If the potential supplier believes that there is additional information that has not been requested in the ITT but is relevant to your bid, please include that information as a separate attachment and explain its relevance to this ITT.

Responses to tender queries