CONTRACT NOTICE – NATIONAL

1 Authority Details

1.1

Authority Name and Address

1.2

Address from which documentation may be obtained

As in 1.1

1.3

Completed documents must be returned to:

As in 1.1

2 Contract Details

2.1

Title

Understanding social care attraction and recruitment in Wales and the role of WeCare Wales

2.2

Description of the goods or services required

We require a supplier to conduct research into how employers in Wales attract and retain social care and social work staff, and how we can design our support to assist them effectively. The employers include approximately 1500 providers across the independent sector and the 22 local authorities in Wales.

As part of this research, we would like to understand the part WeCare Wales plays (or doesn’t play) in employer attraction and recruitment activity and recommendations for how to develop the programme to better meet employer needs.

While we are able to monitor activity on our digital channels (the WeCare Wales website and social media channels), understanding our impact has been more challenging. We would like to understand how the work of WeCare Wales has impacted on the care sector and if our ‘offer’ aligns with the real needs of employers. We would also like to understand how we can use data to improve the user experience, add value and insight to employers and understand the impact of the programme better. We will give the supplier access to the WeCare Wales activity data to assist with this.

The focus for this research will be domiciliary care, residential care providers and Social Workers, due to the specific pressures they are currently facing. While we anticipate conducting future research in other settings such as Early Years and Childcare, we expect that this research will identify learning that can be applied across other settings.

For the primary research, we’re seeking insights from across Wales, from employers in both urban and rural settings. The research needs to highlight the issues across all seven regions of Wales.

We want to understand what Social Care Wales and other organisations can do on a pan-Wales basis, and whether additional regionalised and/or localised approaches are required. We would also like the supplier to highlight promising practice from local, regional or national initiatives to support for employers to access learning.

**Please download the specification for further detail and information**

NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Sell2Wales Web Site at https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=124210.

The buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Postbox facility. A user guide is available at https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/sitehelp/help_guides.aspx.

Suppliers are advised to allow adequate time for uploading documents and to dispatch the electronic response well in advance of the closing time to avoid any last minute problems.

2.3

Notice Coding and Classification

2.4

Total quantity or scope of tender

There is a budget of £75,000 (inclusive of any applicable VAT) agreed for this tender.

The contract will run from 1 November 2022 until 30 April 2023.

3 Conditions for Participation

3.1

Minimum standards and qualification required

Potential suppliers should outline how they will assess and allow for ethical issues in the proposed work. We will expect the supplier to observe the five principles in the GSR guidance Ethical Assurance for Social Research in Government when developing their proposal and conducting the research:

- Principle 1: Sound application and conduct of social research methods and appropriate dissemination and utilisation of the findings

- Principle 2: Participation based on valid informed consent

- Principle 3: Enabling participation

- Principle 4: Avoidance of personal and social harm

- Principle 5: Non-disclosure of identity and personal information.

4 Administrative Information

4.1

Type of Procedure

Single stage

4.2

Reference number attributed to the notice by the contracting authority

N/a

4.3

Time Limits

4.5

Language or languages in which tenders or requests to participate can be drawn up

4.6

Tender Submission Postbox

5 Other Information

5.1

Additional Information

We will require the following deliverables in electronic format:

- A brief inception report (in English) outlining the agreed work plan. The inception report should set out the methodological approach, timescales, reporting schedules, risk management and management arrangements. The inception report should be delivered shortly after the inception meeting.

- Short fortnightly update meetings (30-60 minutes depending on the stage of the study), with email updates (in English) submitted 2-3 days before each meeting. The updates will include the progress of the study, the emerging findings, any issues identified and next steps.

- A report (in English) setting out the main findings to inform our future work, along with examples of promising practice and support. The report should be delivered by 30 April 2023.

- A summary report (in English and no more than 10 pages) to share with our stakeholders (by 30 April 2023)

- Two formal presentations of the report:

1. An internal presentation (virtual) to Social Care Wales

2. An external presentation (virtual) to participants and other interested stakeholders

All outputs should be quality assured by the supplier. This should include checking the document is well laid-out, technically correct, grammatically correct and appropriate language used. Proof-read errors will be returned to the supplier to resubmit the output.

The supplier will translate the final report and summary into Welsh. We will publish both versions on our website.

(WA Ref:124210)

The buyer considers that this contract is suitable for consortia bidding.

5.2

Additional Documentation

5.3

Publication date of this notice