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

A Technical Review of the Design Principles for the Essential Skills Wales Suite of Qualifications

2.2

Description of the goods or services required

Qualifications Wales wishes to award a contract for a desk-based review of the Design Principles for the Essential Skills Wales (ESW) suite of qualifications

The Design Principles is a regulatory document that outlines the rationale, structure, aims, learning outcomes and assessment requirements for the ESW suite of qualifications. They specify the criteria that all awarding bodies must meet when developing and awarding Approved ESW qualifications.

We are allocating a total of six months for the completion of the technical review. This includes approximately eighteen weeks for the completion of the review and a first draft of the Report (June to October 2022). This will be followed by a period of feedback and review of the findings with Qualifications Wales and members of our Essential Skills Oversight Board (November 2022). We are also allocating an additional three weeks for the completion of a final version of the Report following the period of review and feedback on the initial draft (December 2022), although this may not be needed.

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=119565.

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

Due to the volume of the qualifications in the suite, we do not expect the Technical Review to cover all the ESW qualifications in the Design Principles. A sampling approach should be taken with a focus on Level 1 and Level 2 Essential Application of Number Skills, Essential Communication Skills and Essential Digital Literacy Skills - the qualifications with the highest profile and number of certifications .

Entry Level Application of Number Skills and Entry Level Communication Skills are Designated qualifications and are not covered by the requirements in the Design Principles. They are outside the scope of this work.

The maximum budget available for this work is £60,000 including VAT.

3 Conditions for Participation

3.1

Minimum standards and qualification required

To avoid perceptions of a conflict of interest, we are unable to accept bids from suppliers directly involved in the assessment and awarding of Approved qualifications in Wales.

Where suppliers perceive any potential conflict of interest with the work outlined in this specification, this should be declared in the Form of Tender. Should a supplier have any questions and/or concerns about a potential conflict of interest, please contact us using Sell2Wales question and answers.

4 Administrative Information

4.1

Type of Procedure

Single stage

4.2

Reference number attributed to the notice by the contracting authority

QW212234

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

Please see additional documents for full specification and response templates.

(WA Ref:119565)

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

5.2

Additional Documentation

5.3

Publication date of this notice