Invitation to Quote
Title: Evaluation of the public library national information offer pilot projects.
Deadline for receipt of quotations:
12 noon Friday, 16 December 2011.
Reference: 19202721
_______________________________________________________________
Background
Arts Council England works to get great art to everyone by championing,
developing and investing in artistic experiences that enrich people’s lives. From 1
October 2011 Arts Council England took on the libraries improvement and
development agenda and published the following vision for libraries:
“Libraries provide access to information, learning and cultural content in shared and
trusted spaces; they inspire and empower people to lead active lives, enriched
through cultural experience”
The Society of Chief Librarians is a local government association made up of the
chief librarian of each library authority in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
“The Society of Chief Librarians takes a leading role in the development of public
libraries through sharing best practice, advocating for continuous improvement on
behalf of local people and leading the debate on the future of the public library
service”.
The Society of Chief Librarians has pledged public libraries to enable 500,000
people who are offline to move online by 2012.
Arts Council England and the Society of Chief Librarians are working in partnership
to commission eight pilot projects, involving over 60 public library authorities in
England, to inform the development of the national public library information offer.
Section 1:
Specification
Purpose
Arts Council England and the Society of Chief Librarians wish to appoint a supplier to
work with us and our partners to evaluate the outcomes and impact of the public
library information project and make recommendations for a national roll out.
1
Project description
Government services are increasingly going online as part of the drive to reduce
costs and engage more citizens. Out of 3 billion government transactions each year,
only 13% are undertaken online. The shift to online public information and services
requires people to have access to online services and the skills and confidence to
use them. Public libraries, in providing internet access and skilled staff as digital
champions and trusted intermediaries, have a demonstrable role in facilitating
access to online services and connecting people to the networked nation.
The eight pilot projects are working with national1 and local partners to identify
relevant and reliable online content in the areas of health, finance, careers,
employment and business information. The pilots will develop accessible online
toolkits to share the information and learning programmes for staff to support
customers to use the information.
Project aims
Specifically the project aims to:





enhance the pilot libraries’ role as trusted information, advice and guidance
hubs in their local communities
enhance the pilot libraries' role in supporting customers to develop skills and
confidence in accessing and using digital information resources and
undertaking online transactions
further develop the role of library staff2 as digital champions and trusted
intermediaries, confident and skilled in using and supporting others to use
digital resources
further develop library collaboration with local and national partners
identify examples of best practice that can be used to develop the model for a
national information offer. These include productive and sustainable
partnerships, effective staff learning programmes and innovative digital
resources
Outputs




1
2
online toolkits hosted on the pilot public library websites bringing together, in a
usable and accessible way, relevant national and local information resources
in the areas of health, finance, careers, employment and business.
online self help guidance for customers to navigate the national and local
information resources
staff learning programmes on national and local information resources and on
supporting customers to access and use the information
tested models for potential national roll out to other library authorities who are
not involved in the initial pilots
National partners include the NHS, Money Advice Service, Job Centre Plus and Directgov
Staff includes paid staff and volunteers
2
Outcomes
 increased customer and stakeholder awareness of libraries’ core role as key
information, advice and guidance hubs in local communities
 increased library customer ability and confidence to use online information and
undertake increased online transactions
 increased library staff knowledge of national and local information resources
 increased library staff skills and confidence in information, advice and guidance,
coaching and supporting library customers to access and use online information
and signposting them to other agencies and resources for further support.
 sustainable national and local partnerships established
 the toolkits, content and learning developed are embedded as part of the core
library information offer through a national roll out
Current status




We have commissioned eight public library pilots in England to address one,
or all, of the following information areas: finance, health, employment careers
and business information. The pilots are listed in Appendix One.
We have undertaken a survey of public libraries on the most common
information enquiries and areas of difficulty in the above areas
Arts Council England, the Society of Chief Librarians and the eight pilot
authorities held a workshop in November that introduced the overall project
and each individual pilot
Two further face to face stakeholder workshops have been scheduled in
January 2012 and March 2012 in which the supplier will be required to
participate
Evaluation / research methodology
The aim of this evaluation is to evaluate the outcomes and impact of the public
library information project and make recommendations for a national roll out. The
evaluation will:




assess whether the aims of the project have been achieved
assess the relevance, usability and ease of access to the information
resources for library staff and customers
make recommendations for:
the national roll out of the information offer and staff and customer learning
and ways of promoting and enabling take up by other public library services
and their customers
identifying further partnerships and funding opportunities
research and write up case studies that illustrate the impact on the skills and
confidence levels of staff and customers in using national and local
information resources and undertaking transactions online.
Arts Council England, the Society of Chief Librarians and the eight public library
pilots will work with the appointed supplier to finalise the evaluation methodology in
January 2012.
3
In their response to this invitation to quote suppliers will be expected to put forward
proposals for the evaluation methodology and stakeholder consultation with the
project team, project managers for each of the eight public library pilots, national and
local partners, frontline library staff and library customers.
In their response to this invitation to quote suppliers will be expected to advise on the
most effective ways of gathering information from library customers and staff. This
may be through a combination of questionnaires, individual interviews, focus groups
or telephone interviews.
Evaluation outputs
The supplier will produce a written report confirming that all the aims of the
evaluation have been met. The report will belong to the Arts Council England and
the Society of Chief Librarians who will retain the right to use the report in its original
form and also the content for publication and other purposes.
The supplier will also be expected to attend a project initiation meeting, an end of
project meeting and two stakeholder workshops.
Requirements
The successful supplier should be able to demonstrate evidence of




Knowledge of the Government Digital Service agenda
Knowledge and experience of working with the public library or wider cultural
sector
Experience and skills in evaluating outcomes and impact of action research
projects
Experience in producing an evaluation report for publication with
recommendations and supporting qualitative and quantitative evidence,
including case studies
Scope of service
The successful supplier will need to consult with the following stakeholders:





Project Team comprising of Arts Council England and Society of Chief
Librarian representatives
Project Managers for the eight public library pilots
National and local partners
A sample of customers in each of the eight public library pilots
A sample of staff in each of the eight public library pilots
4
Project Timetable – to be confirmed at Project Initiation meeting
Date
21 December 2011
January 2012
February 2012
March 2012
April 2012
Activity
Supplier appointed
Sign off evaluation methodology with Project Team
2nd Stakeholder Workshop including update by pilots on
progress and presentation by supplier on evaluation
methodology
Staff and customer consultation
3rd Stakeholder Workshop including learning from pilots and
feedback presentation by supplier on staff and customer
consultation
Draft report, recommendations and supporting case studies
Final report and recommendations
Duration of contract
The contract to the successful supplier will be awarded from 22 December 2011 to
30 April 2012.
Account Management
The supplier will report to Evelyn Jarvis, Project Consultant, The Society of Chief
Librarians, who will manage the contract on a day to day basis.
The Society of Chief Librarians will assist in supplying relevant background
information, including project descriptions, project plans, contact details, progress to
date and local data collection for each of the pilot projects and contact details for
other stakeholders.
Management Reporting/review meetings
The successful supplier will be required to attend:


Two meetings with the Project Team (0.5 days) consisting of a project
initiation meeting and end of project meeting to present the draft final
evaluation report.
Two Stakeholder Workshops (1 day each):
January 2012: to discuss progress of the pilots and introduce the evaluation
process and methodology.
March 2012: to share learning from the pilots to inform the evaluation report.
The supplier will be required to provide brief progress updates by email at intervals
during the project to be agreed at the project initiation meeting.
5
Pricing/Budget
The budget allocated for this project is up to £5,000, including vat.
Payment Structure and billing requirements
Payment will be made in two stages, on completion of key deliverables.


Stage 1: Payment on receipt of the agreed evaluation methodology and
project plan for completing stakeholder consultation, final report and case
studies
Stage 2: Agreed final evaluation report and case studies signed off by the
Project Team
Tender Response Requirements
In responding to this invitation to quote please include:








Understanding of the brief and how you will meet our requirements
Previous experience of similar projects
Quality assurances procedures
Proposed evaluation methodology
Project plan and timetable
Pricing: including number of days and cost per day
Contact details of supplier
CV(s) of consultant(s) supplier proposes to undertake the work
Evaluation Criteria
The Project Team will assess and shortlist quotes. Overall assessment will be
concerned with relevant skills and experience, taking account of the quality and cost
of proposals. The quote will be assessed according to the following criteria and
weighting:
Criteria
Relevant skills and experience in project evaluation
Experience of similar projects in the public library or wider
cultural sector
A clear and robust methodological approach
Value for money
Clarity of writing, including strength of narrative and avoidance of
unnecessary jargon
6
Weighting
30%
30%
25%
10%
5%
Section 2: Instructions to prospective suppliers
Please submit your quotation in accordance with all of the instructions, requirements
and specifications set out in the invitation to quote.
You must treat this document and any further information provided by Arts Council
England or the Society of Chief Librarians as confidential at all times and only
disclose them if necessary to prepare a compliant quotations.
Nothing in the enclosed documentation or appendixes, or any other communication
made between Arts Council England, the Society of Chief Librarians and any other
party, can be considered a contract or agreement at this stage.
All correspondence in relation to this quotation should be address to:
Chris Fardon, Relationship Manager Libraries, Arts Council England.
chris.fardon@artscouncil.org.uk
Compliance
Arts Council England and the Society of Chief Librarians reserve the right to
disqualify or reduce the evaluation score of any prospective supplier who do not fully
comply with the requirements in the ITQ, in particular the closing time and date.
Arts Council England and the Society of Chief Librarians reserve the right to evaluate
proposals on a variety of criteria. The quotation with the lowest price will not
automatically be accepted unless stated in our evaluation criteria section.
Prices
The approximate value of the proposed work will be up to £5,000, inclusive of VAT. .
Please note that, while not the only criteria, value for money is a key element of our
evaluation criteria. Prices should be fixed and firm for the duration of the contract.
Validity of offer
You must offer your quotation for acceptance for 30 days from the deadline for
receipt of quotations.
Please note that by submitting a quotation for consideration you are confirming that,
as an officer for the company/organisation that you represent, you have read and
understood the ITQ document and that your offer to Arts Council England and the
Society of Chief Librarians is open for acceptance for 30 days from the quotation
closing date.
7
Invitation to Quote
If we need to amend any information in this ITQ document before the closing date,
we will write to you with any changes. If we extend the deadline for receipt of
quotations, we will advise you.
Arts Council England and the Society of Chief Librarians reserve the right, in their
absolute discretion, to cancel or suspend this ITQ process at any time and for any
reason. If we need to do this we will notify you in writing as soon as is reasonably
practical.
Arts Council England and the Society of Chief Librarians are not responsible, and will
not pay for any expenses or losses you incur during, but not limited to, the
preparation of your quotation, site visits, post-ITQ negotiations or interviews.
Information and questions
If you need us to clarify the documentation or if you have further questions regarding
the ITQ process, please email Chris Fardon, Relationship Manager Libraries, Arts
Council England quoting the ITQ title. chris.fardon@artscouncil.org.uk
We will try to respond to reasonable requests for further information within the
timescale of the ITQ.
Arts Council England and the Society of Chief Librarians reserves the right to advise
all other prospective suppliers included in this ITQ of any material questions and the
answers supplied without disclosing the source of the enquiry.
Return of Quotation
Please send an electronic copy marked ‘commercial in confidence’ to: Effie Koliou
Assistant, Museums and Libraries, Arts Council England.
Effie.Koliou@artscouncil.org.uk
All quotations should be received no later than 12 noon on Friday, 16 December
2011. Any quotation delivered after that time for any reason may be discounted.
The Arts Council and the Society of Chief Librarians are not responsible if all or part
of your quotation is not received. You should use a traceable dispatch system. In the
event of a dispute, you are responsible to prove the quotation was delivered.
Interviews
Arts Council England and the Society of Chief Librarians reserve the right to ask you
to attend an interview or present your proposals. Interviews, if required, will take
place on Wednesday 21 December 2011 in London.
You are responsible for all your expenses when attending such interviews.
8
Appendix One
Public Library Information Offer Pilots
Authority
Brighton & Hove Libraries
Kent County Council
Lincolnshire County Council
Manchester Libraries, Information & Archives
Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea
Staffordshire Library & Information Services
Thurrock Council
Yorkshire Libraries & Information
9
Theme
Finance
All themes
Health
Careers and jobs
Careers, employment and business
Health
Finance
All themes