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

ITT Food and Agri Specialist Support

2.2

Description of the goods or services required

Menter Môn have secured funding via the Welsh Government Cooperation and Supply Chain Scheme for each of these projects. Menter Môn is looking to procure a supplier(s) to provide services to support the delivery of each of these projects

A consortium approach between prospective suppliers is encouraged in order to gather a comprehensive skill-set within a delivery team.

This work will be split into three Lots:

Lot 1 - Provision of specialist support to deliver the Larder Cymru project

Lot 2 - Provision of specialist support to deliver the Neges@home project

Lot 3 - Provision of specialist support to deliver the Made with Wool project

5.1 Menter Môn have been involved in projects in the agri food sector over many years and has recently been successful with several funding bids to continue this work. This is a unique opportunity to deliver a range of innovative projects across rural Wales and join the dots between different activities. Provided below is an overview of this activities along with a summary of the successful funding activities.

Larder Môn (formerly Môn Larder)

Larder Cymru is a local food and drink hub bringing regional producers and processors together so that they are in a better position to respond to the opportunities arising from major infrastructure development projects and public procurement requirements in north Wales. The project has been delivered since 2018 and we have recently secured £400,000 to continue the work. Below is an extract from the application:

Môn Larder was established in spring 2018 with the objective of bringing regional food and drink producers and processors together so they are in a better position to respond to opportunities arising from major infrastructure development projects and public procurement requirements in north Wales.

This project will continue to open more opportunities for food and drink SME’s to supply into the public sector and respond to short, and medium-term issues for the sector, helping businesses in the region to survive and recover from the pandemic. Supporting businesses to develop capacity and capability to respond to the opportunities and challenges presented by Brexit and to embrace and plan for a future that will be guided by agricultural and environment legislation.

The total spend on food and drink by public sector organisations in Wales is estimated to be in excess of £70 million per annum. Working with stakeholders across the public sector supply chain, the project will inform and support Welsh food and drink business to access this route to market and evaluate the social value and local multiplier effects of shorter supply chains.

Proposed key activities for the project includes:

1. Developing a strategic relationship with Crown Commercial Services in Wales.

2. Open up opportunities for Welsh produce to be used in public sector in Wales and beyond Wales.

3. Form a public sector buyers’ network and discussion group to meet monthly.

4. Evolve the ‘Category Leads’ group to help to shape ‘best practice’ for the sector & encourage collaboration between suppliers.

5. Develop a multi-media communication strategy to regularly brief and engage with the sector (primary producers, processors, buyers). Applicable to all Welsh food and drink producers and processors with a regional focus.

6. Coordinate further accreditation workshops.

7. Offer ‘One to One Support Model / Toolkit’ for 50 businesses,

Neges@home

Menter Môn developed the Neges project in 2020 to deliver food to vulnerable people during the pandemic. This established a broad partnership and demonstrated what could be achieved in a short period of time. Valuable lessons were learnt, and it was decided to build on them to develop the Neges@home project. A funding application was submitted with a value of £390,000 and an overview is provided below.

Neges@home will build on the success of Neges (food for vulnerable people project) to create ‘local food’ boxes. These will provide visitors with a sense of place through local produce. To help deliver Neges@home we’ve established a cross sector partnership including leading private sector food and tourism business, local authorities, Snowdonia National Park, North Wales Tourism and the Food Technology Centre.

The target market will be tourists staying in self-catering accommodation. This sector has seen a circa 300% growth since 2017 with 5,852 rentals in Gwynedd, Conwy and Ynys Môn (data via airdna.co)

Sales will be driven through Siop.io. This local e-commerce site allows customers to ‘click ‘n collect’ or arrange delivery. Information will be provided on opportunities to purchase locally.

The main work packages are:

1. Partnership facilitation: Work with producers and local chefs to develop food offer. These will include ‘recipe kits and local food hampers.

2. Specialist support: Provide support to create the boxes. This will include packaging, branding, recipe development, distribution, food-safety and online content.

3. Communication and stakeholder engagement: Collaborate with the tourism industry to align key messages and establish partnership with tourism businesses.

4. Evaluation and share best practice: The project will set criteria for participation and will support a range of responses. This will provide an opportunity to learn and share best practice.

It’s needed to provide a local option rather than arranging supermarket deliveries on arrival. It will establish links between the food and tourism sectors, develop short supply chains and provide new outlet for producers.

Gwnaed â Gwlan – Made with Wool

Menter Môn started to investigate opportunities in the sector in 2019 as part of the study commissioned through the Arloesi Gwynedd Wledig project. The link to that work is https://www.arloesigwyneddwledig.cymru/en/prosiectau/gwlan-gwynedd/ This created a lot of interest and we have since engaged more widely throughout Wales and submitted an application to scale up the work. The £670,000 application successed and an overview has been provided below.

Bringing Welsh Wool stakeholders together to realise the potential of wool as a natural, sustainable and versatile material, by building on its rich heritage, enhancing understanding, facilitating collaboration and offering innovative product solutions to current challenges.”

The Welsh Wool sector is in crisis with the cost of shearing on many farms outstripping the income generated by wool. Further disruption has been caused by the COVID19 pandemic and its impact on global wool sales, and the completion of Brexit affecting established supply chains.

Uncertainty in the sheep industry, a backbone of rural communities across Wales, has focused attention on finding ways forward.

This pan Wales project brings together an extensive network of stakeholders that represent every part of the wool supply chain.

Built on the back of 2 years of engagement activities and working closely with project partner ‘British Wool’ (www.britishwool.org.uk), the project will deliver:

1. Support to develop a vibrant ecosystem for a Welsh Wool Cluster, to facilitate capacity building, networking, knowledge sharing, signposting and training opportunities.

2. Identify and facilitate the take-up of existing opportunities for supply chain integration through animation support, commissioning specialist guidance for micro and SME businesses, piloting a mentoring provision for wool stakeholders and raising awareness of how to measure and improve the quality of wool.

3. Pilot high-value innovative products made from Welsh wool by partnering with ‘The BioComposites Centre’ (www.biocomposites.bangor.ac.uk) to identify opportunities free of Intellectual Property conflict and undertake a product development process leading to piloting 5 commercially viable novel applications of wool.

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=113112.

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

Lot 1 - Provision of specialist support to deliver the Larder Cymru project

The successful tenderer will be expected to work with the Menter Môn team and other key stakeholders in order to undertake:

• Specialist support for the Larder Cymru project

Specifically, we are looking for specialist suppliers who can provide support for the project staff to deliver the following:

1. Strategic relationship with the Crown Commercial Services: Work with CCS to inform, advise and enable SME food and drink suppliers to participate in the new strategy.

2. Opportunities in the public sector: Promote opportunities and support businesses wishing to tender and collaborate.

3. Form a public sector buyers forum: Establish the group's remit and scope and identify other participants on a pan Wales basis.

4. Category Leads Group - Evolve the Category Leads group to help to shape 'best practice' for the sector and encourage collaboration between suppliers.

5. Coordinate accreditation workshops - Clarify status and use of GBSF (and any other standards) in Wales vs UK government. Track likely changes in requirements, identify which accreditations suppliers will need support and deliver workshops.

6. One to One Business Support: Deliver support for businesses registered with the project. The support will be available that is tailored to the specific needs of each beneficiary.

The successful tenderer will be required to help steer the development of the project and proactively contribute where required. Due to this project involving stakeholders in predominantly Welsh-speaking areas, and will involve running events, producing bilingual content and attending bilingual meetings, it will be necessary for the delivery staff of prospective suppliers to be fluent in Welsh.

Experience of delivering similar specialist support in the food sector pre-requisite for this role, along with knowledge of local food supply chains in the north Wales. Utilising previous experience, the successful tenderer will be expected to help develop a delivery plan and methodology for the project.

Allocation = £120,000 (ex VAT)

Lot 2 - Provision of specialist support to deliver the Neges@home project

The successful tenderer will be expected to work with the Menter Môn team and other key stakeholders in order to undertake:

• Facilitation and specialist support for the Neges@home project

Specifically, we are looking for suppliers who can provide specialist support in the following four areas:

1. Strategic support – Provide strategic guidance to ensure the project aligns with regional and national objectives, adds value to existing activities and meets with requirement (and expectations) of the food and drink sector.

2. Establish producer partnerships – Engage with producers, suppliers and restaurants across three Counties, facilitate cooperation and establish partnerships in order to create food boxes. This will be delivered in partnership with the project staff.

3. Specialist support for producer partnerships – Work with the producer partnerships and wider stakeholder group to identify and source the support reqired to develop the product. This will be delivered in partnership with the project staff.

4. Establish food-tourism links - Engage with the wider tourism sector and facilitate co-operation and collaboration on the design and development of the food boxes. This will be delivered in partnership with the project staff and specialist tourism consultants (to be procured separately).

The successful tenderer will be required to help steer the development of the project and proactively contribute where required. Due to this project involving stakeholders in predominantly Welsh-speaking areas, and will involve running events, producing bilingual content and attending bilingual meetings, it will be necessary for the delivery staff of prospective suppliers to be fluent in Welsh.

Experience of delivering similar specialist support in the food sector pre-requisite for this role, along with knowledge of local food supply chains in the north Wales. Utilising previous experience, the successful tenderer will be expected to help develop a delivery plan and methodology for the project.

Allocation = £70,000 (ex VAT)

Lot 3 - Provision of specialist support to deliver the Gwnaed â Gwlân project

The successful tenderer will be expected to work with the Menter Môn team and other key stakeholders in order to undertake:

• Specialist support for the Made with Wool project

Specifically, we are looking for suppliers who can provide specialist support in the following three areas:

1. Priority 1: Building a vibrant ecosystem for the Welsh wool sector. Contributing to the ‘Manifesto for Welsh Wool’, forge commercial partnerships and help build relationships with stakeholders (including project partners)

2. Priority 2: Facilitating existing supply chain opportunities. Knowledge and advice that supports the capacity building and closer collaboration within the Welsh wool industry supply chain, supporting the skills development within the Welsh wool industry, advising where necessary on training events for stakeholders, and design the Welsh wool businesses mentoring programme

3. Priority 3: Piloting high value innovative products made from Welsh wool. Provide specialist support where necessary (the vast majority of this work will be executed by an external project partner)

The successful tenderer will be part of the Project Steering Group (and subsequently the Project Delivery Team) and will support the delivery team in the management of the project.

The successful tenderer will be required to proactively contribute where required. Due to this project involving stakeholders in predominantly Welsh-speaking areas, and will involve running events, producing bilingual content and attending bilingual meetings, it will be necessary for the delivery staff of prospective suppliers to be fluent in Welsh.

Experience of delivering similar specialist support to agricultural projects will be a pre-requisite for this role, along with knowledge of the Welsh wool industry supply chain.

Allocation = £40,000 (ex VAT)

3 Conditions for Participation

3.1

Minimum standards and qualification required

The objective of the evaluation process is to assess the responses to the Tender and select an organisation to deliver the contract for Menter Môn at best value.

Tenders will be evaluated on the basis of the most economically advantageous offer i.e. the offer that is considered to provide best value to Menter Môn based on an effective combination of quality and price factors.

The evaluation will be carried out in two stages:

STAGE ONE – EXCLUSION & SELECTION: A Tenderer must first meet the minimum compliance requirements of questions 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8.1, 8.2, 8.4 and 8.5 of the tenderer questionnaire (Schedule 8) and achieve a minimum overall weighted score of 70 on question 6. If all aspects of this part of the evaluation are passed then the submission will be subject to the price and qualitative evaluation. Any Tenderer who does not meet these minimum standards may not proceed to the next stage of the evaluation.

STAGE TWO - AWARD: The price/quality split can be seen below and the Tenderers will be allocated a weighted score against questions 1 and 2 in Schedule 10. The pricing schedule can be seen labelled Schedule 9 and the qualitative criteria responses must be provided within Schedule 10.

Menter Môn may disqualify any Tenderer who:

• Fails to meet the minimum requirements set out in sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8.1, 8.2, 8.4 and 8.5

• Fails to provide a satisfactory response to any questions in the Tender or inadequately or incorrectly completes any question;

• Is awarded a score of ‘0’ for any of the qualitative questions;

• Submits its completed Tender after the deadline.

PLEASE SEE FULL DETAILS IN THE ATTACHEMENT DOCUMENT.

4 Administrative Information

4.1

Type of Procedure

Single stage

4.2

Reference number attributed to the notice by the contracting authority

MM2021/08

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

Menter Môn is seeking to appoint a suitable supplier to provide specialist support for 3 agri food projects. A separate ‘lot’ has been created for each of the projects.

Menter Môn invites Tenders from suitably qualified, experienced and successful providers to support the 3 projects.

Menter Môn is a third sector economic development agency, delivering projects across North Wales in various sectors. As managers of the three agri food projects we are eager to support the innovation, diversification and entrepreneurship within the rural economy

This work packages have been placed into seperate lots and bidders have the option of bidding for 1, 2 or 3 of the lots.

The closing date for receipt of Tenders is 7/9/21 (Please refer to Section 3.6 for further details).

Persons proposing to submit a Tender are advised to read this Invitation to Tender carefully to ensure that they are fully familiar with the nature and extent of the obligations to be accepted by them if their Tender is accepted. Menter Môn’s Authorised Officer for the purposes of this Invitation to Tender is:

Name: Dafydd Gruffydd

Please note that questions regarding the Tender should be addressed via the Q&A facility on the Sell2Wales portal.

This notice has been sent as a region specific notice. If you did not receive an alert about this you are not based in the specific region selected by the buying authority. Questions on why this was sent as a region specific notice should be sent to the buying authority.

(WA Ref:113112)

Download the ESPD document here: https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/ESPD/ESPD_Download.aspx?id=113112

Relates to the following project/programme financed by EU Community Funds: Co-operation and Supply Chain Development Scheme – (Food-Covid Recovery Plan)

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

5.2

Additional Documentation

5.3

Publication date of this notice