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 policy makers on a range of democratic governance issues via its 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 your organisation.

WFD is looking to establish a framework and panel consisting of one or more supplier for each of the followings lots:

• Lot 1 – Designing and/or facilitating online/hybrid events using digital platforms and tools
• Lot 2 – Creating digital knowledge and learning products
• Lot 3 – Developing and deploying digital apps or platforms

Bid submission 

All bids should be submitted by 11.59pm on 12 November 2023 in writing, must comply with the requirements of this ITT, and must include the information requested in the Bid Requirements below.

The bid should be sent electronically to: procurement@wfd.org.

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 

Due to the nature of its work and the importance of high touch engagement with stakeholders, WFD delivers most of its programme events and activities in-person through its country-based practioner staff and contracted experts. However, as and when appropriate, WFD programme teams often elect to organise an event or activity in a hybrid or fully online format. In addition, from time to time, WFD also commissions the creation of e-learning or digital knowledge products or the development of apps for the benefit of its stakeholders as part of regional or country programmes.

WFD values “Excellence” across all its work. As such, WFD wishes to establish a panel of specialist suppliers to provide technical services from time to time to support WFD’s capacity and capability for effective online engagement and delivery of digital products and services. The requirements for services may arise as part of WFD’s regional or country democracy support programmes, under the auspices of its Centre of Expertise on Democratic Governance & Elections, and as part of its international or Parliamentary engagement work.

The panel will operate under and in accordance with a framework agreement, with each assignment agreed and called-off under an order contract.

Scope of work 

WFD is seeking one or more specialist suppliers for each of the following lots:

Lot 1 – Designing and/or facilitating online/hybrid events using digital platforms and tools

We require the services of the supplier(s) to:

• Provide effective facilitation of live online or hybrid events;
• Deliver training and/or technical advice and support for WFD staff and experts on online facilitation and the use of digital platforms and tools for the purposes of collaboration, ideas development, problem identification and shared problem solving; and  
• Deliver training and/or technical advice and support for WFD staff and experts on the planning and delivery of live events and webinars, to include MS Teams, Zoom, and/or  PowerPoint Live, and new or emerging tools available from online marketplaces.

Lot 2 – Creating and deploying digital knowledge and learning products

We require the services of the supplier(s) to:

• Provide instructional design for, and development of, engaging and impactful digital knowledge products or e-learning content, including creating bespoke new products or contextualising existing products.

Lot 3 – Developing and deploying digital apps or platforms

We require the services of the supplier(s) to:

• Provide digital web or mobile (Android and iOS compatible) application design, development, and support services, such as AI-powered mechanisms to track hate speech, support factchecking or disinformation debunking, track trends in democratic practices,  monitor social media channels for mis/dis-information and hate speech, and/or apps to faciliate participation in democratic proceses.  
• Provide solutions to process, structure and analyse unstructured data such as programme closure reports, case studies and evaluations of WFD’s historic programming.
• Specialist technical advice and assistance on adopting and/or adapting existing digital public goods (i.e. open source, free-to-use, software, platforms or tools),  or creating new digital public goods.

Timeline

The panel framework is expected to be established on or before 1 January 2024 and will expire on 31 December 2025. 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 effective online facilitation skills and digital facilitation tools, including in relation to sensitive themes or topics; and/or
• demonstrate working expertise of how adults learn and a significant track record in accommodating adult learning tendencies in digital environments and creating engaging e-learning content, particularly targeted at harder-to-reach audiences, for example, individuals with low levels of digital literacy or interest or limited access to reliable infrastructure; and/or
• demonstrate substantial expertise in digital tool and app development, AI technology, and open data; and/or
• demonstrate extensive knowledge of and tools in social media monitoring and reporting; and
• have working professional fluency in English

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 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 profile:  

• Company profile, including brief history and financial overview 
• Case studies/credentials demonstrating relevant experience and skills profile  
• Commitment to corporate social and environmental responsibility  
• Names and brief biographies of key staff  

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 for the onboarding and implementation process, including timelines, assumptions and dependencies, resourcing and risks.  

Financial proposal:  

• Full breakdown costings for the proposed solution in GBP 
• Separate accounting of VAT and/or any other applicable tax, duty, or charge.  
• 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:  

• By submitting a bid, you confirm acceptance to WFD’s General Terms and Conditions for Tendering which can be found on our website. 

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 intends to shortlist providers based on their response to the ITT and will use the following scoring criteria.

WFD will score each criterion using the following table:

Tender Queries 

Any questions related to this tender should be addressed to Procurememt Manager at procurement@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. 

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. 

FAQs

Q: The ITT contains a number of questions on page 4. Can you please confirm these are the only documents we should respond to or are there additional bid documents?

A: All of the requirements for the bid are set out on pages 4-5 and on page 6 of the ITT and we would expect, as part of the bid, for the supplier to demonstrate how it satisfies the minimum experience and expertise section on page 3. There are no additional bid documents required.

Q: Are the suppliers permitted to bid for just one Lot?

A: Yes, suppliers are permitted to bid for just one Lot.

Q: If suppliers are bidding for multiple Lots, how should this be broken down in responses?

A: If suppliers are bidding for multiple Lots, we suggest that the service offer is brooken down by Lot in bid document.

Q: Do you have a particular format or questionnaire that prospective suppliers are expected to follow/complete? Or is it up to the providers to generate a response they feel meets the brief?

A: We do not have a particular format or questionnaire that prospective suppliers are expected to follow/complete. It is up to the providers to generate a response they feel meets the brief.

Q: Do you have any word or page limits for responses?

A: We do not have any word or page limits for responses.

Q: We are aware that projects will be commissioned following the framework being finalised, but do you have an indicative budget for any individual element? £15,000 is cited on the contract listing, but is this indicative of the available budget?

A: As noted above, at this stage, WFD is not in a position to predict the specific nature of the assignments or to commit to a minimum volume or value of assignments throughout the term of the framework. This procurement excercise has been implemented as a tender because we anticipate that the value of the framework may exceed £15,000.

Q: Can you provide any further information around pricing and budget? We note on the tender notice that the annual budget is £15k, but what does that mean? We are also unsure how to complete the pricing element without any specific work requested.

A: As this is a multi-year framework procurement, the precise specification and the value for each assignment the subject of an order contract will be determined on a case-by-case basis by reference to the needs of the specific programme or policy work. WFD is not in a position to predict the specific nature of the assignments or to commit to a minimum volume or value of assignments throughout the temr of the framework. Accordingly we are lookinng for flexible suppliers who can respond to assignments as and when they are commissioned. WFD is looking for suppliers to provide a proposed daily rate for work under each Lot.

Q: Is there only one document provided for the bid to look through for information?

A: I can confirm that the ITT is the only document to refer to for this bid.

Q: How many suppliers will you be appointing per Lot?

A: We do not have any pre-specified restrictionon the number of suppliers who may be appointed per Lot.

Q: Do you have an anticipated amount of projects which might go through each Lot throughout the term?

A: No - this is impossible to accurately predict, so we are seeking suppliers who are sufficiently flexible to work with that approach.

Q: What format would you like the pricing to be in?

A: We are expecting day rates as a minimum, but would also have regard to scenario-based pricing if that is feasible/useful.

Q: Once a supplier is appointed to the framework, will there be the facility for direct award, or will each opportunity go to a mini-competition?

A: The framework will allow for both direct award and mini-copmetition depending on the nature of the assignment and the number of vendors appointed for that Lot. We anticipate that any mini-competition would follow a light-touch approach.

Q: Clarification for Lot 1. We curate and produce online, in-person and hybrid events - are you looking for an event agency to assist with the creation of the digital platforms or are you looking more for a technical support company who knows how to fix things?

A: The scope of the Lot certainly includes suppliers like you whihc can curate and produce online, in-person and hybrid events or content.

Q: Is there an opportunity to discuss trading terms?

A: Could you please let us know which terms would need to be adjusted and we would be happy to discuss any flexibility we may have.