CONTRACT NOTICE – NATIONAL

1 Authority Details

1.1

Authority Name and Address

1.2

Address from which documentation may be obtained

1.3

Completed documents must be returned to:

2 Contract Details

2.1

Title

Evaluation of RawFfest (Wales’ Youth Arts Festival)

2.2

Description of the goods or services required

1. The task

To undertake an independent evaluation of the first two years of RawFfest, Wales’ new national youth arts festival which will take place at the Riverfront, Newport and at satellite venues across Newport from 18-21 August 2016 and at Venue Cymru, Llandudno in August 2017.

The contract will run from July 2016 – October 2017 and will involve:

¿ Designing an evaluation plan /approach for the Festival that will enable you to undertake a thorough assessment of all aspects of RawFfest including planning and programming, delivery of the festival itself and the response and impact on participants and audiences.

¿ Consulting / gathering the views of the Festival Director and team as well as key stakeholders and participants;

¿ Tracking the skills development and impact on the small team of young people who have been closely involved in planning, steering, shaping and delivering RawFfest;

¿ Producing detailed annual evaluation reports which pull together the key findings along with an assessment of the festival’s reach and impact on an individual, regional and national scale and its impact on the youth arts sector more generally in Wales. The reports should include recommendations that can inform the ongoing and future development of the Festival.

2. Background context

RawFfest is a new youth arts festival for Wales that is fun, innovative and surprising. It is being planned and programmed by young people for young people. It will showcase the best of youth arts today; be inclusive, providing pathways for young participants to develop. There will be a wide range of workshops where young people can explore their creativity and make new work. We value the original over the copy, the quirky over the conventional, the daring over the dull.

RawFfest will:

¿ promote and support artswork from 500 young artists and performers aged 14-25 years. It will utilise urban environments, anchored at an arts venue with satellite locations in the town/city and reaching out to rural areas.

¿ increase participation in the arts for young people who will be in the driving seat throughout. This will include representation on a steering group, curating the festival, working as apprentices, and being trained as volunteers.

¿ offer a programme over 4 days (Thursday to Sunday) in the middle of August.

¿ explore opportunities for skills exchange and social interaction. The festival will be a vehicle to train young people in arts practice and in order to have an in-depth immersive experience, all participants should be accommodated close-by.

¿ be sustainable, accessible and affordable to young people in Wales. The festival will be bilingual and we are committed to making this festival as inclusive as possible and actively seek diversity in all its aspects.

The first festival will be based in the Riverfront, Newport from 18th – 21st August 2016; then August 2017 Venue Cymru, Llandudno and August 2018 WMC, Cardiff. It is a partnership of the 3 venues, Youth Arts Network Cymru, and Arts Development UK which is the Lead Body. RawFfest has financial support from Arts Council of Wales and Welsh Government Major Events.

3. Specific requirements

We are looking for a consultant with specific expertise in evaluating projects and in evaluation plan design, preferably in artistic / educational / youth arts settings. We will expect the evaluation report to evidence impact and tell the RawFfest story by highlighting case studies; capturing data and feedback and drawing on quantitative as well as qualitative evidence to record and measure outputs / outcomes.

We are open to an imaginative and innovative approach that will help you elicit feedback and responses from a range of stakeholder groups, participants and audiences, especially young people. Along with hard data, we are keen to capture the spirit of this inventive youth arts project through the Evaluation process. Film, digital media and photographic documentation could therefore feature as an important element of the evaluation.

To complete this task, the successful bidder will require:

¿ Relevant project evaluation experience;

¿ expertise in devising methodologies for arts / youth arts based evaluation;

¿ knowledge of the arts / youth arts sector in Wales;

¿ Strong analytical and interpretation skills;

¿ Extensive knowledge of quantitative and qualitative analysis;

¿ excellent written and verbal communication skills;

¿ Strong project management skills developed through demonstrable, relevant experience;

¿ a willingness to be open to innovative approaches to evaluation;

¿ the ability to take initiative and work independently;

¿ highly-developed consultation skills and the ability to proactively garner support and responses from a wide range of stakeholders.

Although not essential, the ability to work through the medium of Welsh would be an advantage.

The Council has a public duty to:

¿ Eliminate unlawful discrimination

¿ Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not

¿ Foster good relations between those who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not

We will expect potential suppliers and contractors to provide evidence to show that they understand the public duty in relation to equalities and how they exemplify this in their work. (You can use the attached Equal Opportunities form to address this).

4. Methodology

We are not prescribing any particular methodology. It is envisaged that the consultant(s) will use a variety of means to undertake the work. This will include desk research and analysis of existing survey data that the Festival Director has collected as well as consultation with delivery partners and the Arts Council of Wales.

5. Key outputs, tender timetable and commissioning body

Advertise tender 22 June 2016

Closing date for tenders 6 July 2016

Acknowledgement of tender receipt by 8 July 2016

Contract awarded 11 July 2016

Project inception meeting 14 July 2016

Year 1 Evaluation report submitted 7 October 2016

Year 2 Evaluation report submitted 6 October 2017

You will be expected to provide quarterly progress reports and will be invited to discuss and present your final Evaluation report to us in person.

NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Sell2Wales Web Site at http://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=47850.

2.3

Notice Coding and Classification

2.4

Total quantity or scope of tender

6. Guide Price

We do not envisage this project exceeding £15,000 (including VAT) and therefore welcome submissions up to (but not exceeding) this amount.

3 Conditions for Participation

3.1

Minimum standards and qualification required

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

Welsh

4.6

Tender Submission Postbox

5 Other Information

5.1

Additional Information

The Small Print:

Instructions and information for tenderers

Submission instructions

Tenders must be submitted in accordance with these instructions and any further instructions contained in other documentation issued by Arts Council of Wales.

Return of Tender

7.1 Please submit your proposal for this work in either MS Word or PDF format. Your submission should include:

¿ Details of how you will meet all of our requirements as detailed;

¿ a summary of your track record and qualifications as well as evidence of previous experience of providing similar services;

¿ Your project plan and approach, including your proposed methodology;

¿ a full budget (including necessary expenses and VAT where appropriate);

¿ your proposed timescale;

You can email your submission to sally.lewis@arts.wales including ‘RawFfest Evaluation’ in the subject line. Alternatively, post two hard copies of your proposal in a plain envelope, bearing no indications of the tenderer’s identity to ensure anonymity, with guaranteed delivery by the tender deadline to:

7.2 Sally Lewis

Portfolio Manager

Arts Council of Wales

Bute Place

Cardiff

CF10 5AL

All submissions must be received by 4pm on 6 July 2016

Alterations

7.3 The tenderer may not alter this document. Any proposed alteration is to be given in a separate letter accompanying the tender.

Non-compliant or incomplete tenders

7.4 Tenders may be rejected if any of the requested information is not supplied with the tender, or if the submission fails to comply with the format and presentation guidance in this document.

7.5 Envelopes/packages should be plain and must not show any reference to the tenderer’s identity. Tenderers should note that this also applies to any tenders sent via couriers. Tenders in envelopes which in any way identify the tenderer, may be rejected. Tenders will be received up to the date and time stated. It is the tenderer’s responsibility to ensure that their tender is received on time. Arts Council of Wales will not consider tenders received after that time.

7.6 Arts Council of Wales accepts no responsibility for loss or non-receipt of applications.

7.7 Tenderers shall ensure that they are fully familiar with the nature and extent of the obligations to be performed by them if their submission is accepted.

7.8 Whilst reasonable care has been taken in preparing this invitation, the information within it does not purport to be exhaustive or to have been independently verified.

7.9 Each tenderer shall be deemed to have satisfied themselves before submitting a proposal as to the accuracy of the financial information in its proposal, which shall (unless otherwise provided) cover all obligations under the contract. Each tenderer will also be deemed to have obtained for itself all necessary information as to risks, contingencies, and any other circumstances, which might reasonably affect its submission. Each tenderer will also provide an accurate estimate of whatever services or support of the proposal may be guaranteed in kind or via direct support of collaborators in the proposal.

7.10 Arts Council of Wales shall not be under any liability in respect of any expenses or losses that may be incurred by the Tenderer in the preparation and submission of its proposal and any further costs incurred prior to the appointment of a successful tenderer(s) for such services under the contract.

7.11 Arts Council of Wales expressly reserves the right not to award any contract as a result of this procurement process and it shall not be liable for any costs incurred by the tenderers. We also reserve the right to accept all or any part of a tender.

7.12 All responses to this Invitation to tender can be submitted in either Welsh or English.

7.13 Tenderers should note that during this tender process they should not contact any of Arts Council of Wales’ respective Council members, National Advisers, employees or any third parties connected to us or any advisers to this procurement, outside of the process outlined within this section and elsewhere within this document. Such contact not through channels indicated in this document would result in the submission being disqualified.

Anti-collusion instructions

7.14 Confidentiality of tenders: The tenderer, whether an individual supplier or a member of a consortium bid, must not inform anyone else of their tendered details. The only exception is if the tenderer is required to obtain an insurance quotation to calculate the tender price then the tenderer may give details of their bid to the insurance company or brokers, if requested.

7.15 The tenderer must not try to obtain any information about any other party’s tender or proposed tender before the contract is awarded.

7.16 The tenderer must not arrange with any other party the submission of a tender, except in the circumstances where sub-contracting and/or joint ventures are applicable. Use of subcontractors is permitted but must be clearly identified within the tender submission. All terms and conditions of this contract apply to any subcontractors used.

Queries on the Invitation to Tender

7.17 Should you have any questions in relation to this ITT or the task as a whole, the question should be addressed via email: sally.lewis@artscouncilofwales.org.uk. Questions must be received no less than 7 days prior to the closing date for submissions. Arts Council of Wales will endeavour to answer questions as quickly as possible. Please also note that any questions and answers in relation to this project will be anonymised and sent to ALL participating tenderers to ensure fairness throughout the process.

7.18 Arts Council of Wales reserves the right, at its discretion, to request clarification in writing, or further relevant information, from any tenderer post submission of the tender.

Freedom of Information

7.19 Arts Council of Wales may be obliged to disclose information provided by tenderers in response to this Invitation to Tender under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or subordinate legislation made under this and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (“The Freedom of Information Legislation”).

7.20 Tenderers should be aware that the information they provide could be disclosed in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Legislation. We will proceed on the basis of disclosure unless an appropriate exemption applies. Tenderers should be aware that despite the availability of some exemptions, information may still be disclosed if the public interest in its disclosure outweighs the public interest in maintaining the exemption. No response to this Tender should be covered by a general statement regarding its overall confidentiality; instead any specific areas of confidential information should be highlighted in accordance with the information outlined below. Arts Council of Wales accepts no liability (including for negligence) for loss as a result of any information disclosed in response to a request under the Freedom of Information legislation.

7.21 Tenderers should highlight information in their responses which they consider to be commercially sensitive or confidential in nature, and should state the precise reasons why they consider this. You should be aware that, even where you have indicated that information is commercially sensitive, we may be required to disclose it under the Act if a request is received. You would be consulted in this situation.

Confidentiality

7.22 Subject to clauses 7.20 to 7.22 Arts Council of Wales and its advisers will keep confidential the tenders and any other information supplied by tenderers during the tendering process and will use best endeavours to prevent any disclosures by their officers and employees. We acknowledge and understand the commercially sensitive nature of some information disclosed within tenders and we will not discuss specifics of individual tender submissions with other tenderers.

Canvassing and Non-Collusion

7.23 Except as specifically authorised by Arts Council of Wales, tenderers shall not approach any other tenderer or member of Arts Council of Wales staff with a view to seeking information in respect of any part of their submission or proposals or attempting to support or enhance their prospects of their tender being selected. Any collusion between tenderers, combining of tenderers or transfer of any equity partner, development manager, adviser or subcontractor from one tenderer to another may lead to the exclusion of the tenderers involved at the discretion of Arts Council of Wales.

Price / Budget

7.24 It is the express responsibility of the tenderer to provide Arts Council of Wales with a suitable price/quotation for the provision and completion of the required service. Arts Council of Wales will therefore not enter into correspondence in relation to budget. We expect all prospective tenderers to provide us with a competitive bid based on the information supplied within this document.

7.25 A payment plan which allows for, a 50% payment on the start of the work, a 25% payment on production of the Interim Report and a final 25% payment on the production of the final report, is anticipated.

Jurisdiction and Governing Laws

7.26 This ITT and all aspects of the tendering process shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales as applied in Wales, and each tenderer submits to the jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts.

(WA Ref:47850)

5.2

Additional Documentation

5.3

Publication date of this notice