Writing an Invitation to Tender for Surveys/Research

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A guide to...
...Writing an Invitation to
Tender for
Surveys/Research
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Writing an Invitation to Tender for Surveys/Research
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This guide provides a template Invitation to Tender (ITT) for those people who are
commissioning surveys or research. Each section gives information on what you should
include in an effective ITT and wherever possible, an example of how you could do this.
You may also want to look at:
Questionnaire Design
Survey Design and Analysis
We have produced a series of guides which covers four broad areas:

Surveys
Performance management
Collecting and using data
Statistical processes
The series of guides is available electronically on our website,
www.dataunitwales.gov.uk/guides
We provide advice, guidance and training support relating to each of the documents in
the series. For further information contact:
Local Government Data Unit ~ Wales
029 2090 9500
or visit our website: www.dataunitwales.gov.uk
ISBN 978-1-907073-00-7
Published 2009
Published by:
Local Government Data Unit ~ Wales
37 Columbus Walk, Cardiff, CF10 4SD
Telephone: 029 2090 9500
Email: enquiries@dataunitwales.gov.uk
Web: www.dataunitwales.gov.uk
Local Government Data Unit ~ Wales, 2009 (Data Unit)
This material can be reproduced as long as the Data Unit is acknowledged as the original
author. Any queries should be sent to the Data Unit at the above address or via e-mail:
enquiries@dataunitwales.gov.uk
Writing an Invitation to Tender for Surveys/Research
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Contents
The rest of this document is a template ITT that those commissioning research can use
and adapt for their particular circumstances. It starts with an example of a front page
and then a contents page. The template then goes through which sections you might
need to include in an ITT, what each of these could contain and examples of how they
might be written (where possible).

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Writing an Invitation to Tender for Surveys/Research
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Writing an Invitation to Tender for Surveys/Research
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XX Local Authority
Invitation to Tender for XXX
XX Survey 20XX
Written by: XXXX
Version Number: XXX
Last Update: XX/XX/XX
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Writing an Invitation to Tender for Surveys/Research
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Contents page
1. Instructions for tendering 1
2. Projects purpose 2
3. Background information 2
4. Methodology 3
5. Timescale 4
6. Budget 4
7. Project management 5
8. Clients role 5
9. Expectation of services and products that will be delivered by the contractor 6
10. Welsh Language Scheme requirements 7
11. Data and output ownership 7
12. Travel and subsistence 7
13. Payment 7
14. Special terms 8
15. Freedom of Information 8
16. Data protection and confdentiality 8
17. What the response to the ITT document should include 9
18. How the tender will be evaluated 10


Writing an Invitation to Tender for Surveys/Research
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1. Instructions for tendering
In this section you should:
Give a brief description of what you are inviting people/organisations to tender
for;
Explain the tendering process for the work;
Give the submission deadline for their tender and their questions;
Give a contact point for any questions/queries;
Inform them whether responses to queries received will be sent to all who
tender for the work or not; and
Give the date that the contract for the work will be awarded on.

Example

This brief invites companies to tender for a contract to run/manage the XXXX
Survey 20XX.
Contractors must complete and submit X copies of the tender documents by post
and one copy via e-mail to the addresses shown below, demonstrating how they
would meet the requirements.
The submission deadline for this tender is:
Time: XX:XX
Date: XX/XX/20XX
Questions regarding particular aspects of the tender should be submitted by
XX/XX/XX and directed to:

Name: XXX
Email: XXX
Tel: XXX
Address: XXX
Contractors should note that XXXX will award the contract on XX/XX/XX.
After the appointment of the successful contractor, the contract will start on
XX/XX/XX. The contract duration will cover the delivery of the XXXX survey
including the analysis and reports.
XXX reserves the right to clarify with any or all contractor(s) concerning any
aspects arising from this Invitation to Tender after the tender submissions have
been received.


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Writing an Invitation to Tender for Surveys/Research
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2. Projects purpose
In this section you should give a brief description of the project/surveys purpose. You
should state:
What information you need to get/What the research question is - e.g. the
purpose of this research/survey is to fnd out how satisfed people are with X;
Where the information will come from - i.e. who you need to ask/survey (service
users, the public, children etc.); and
The objectives/Why this information is needed - e.g. to assess against a
standard? To decide on X or Y etc.
If you already have a questionnaire designed or a rough draft of questions, you should
state this and consider attaching as an annex to your ITT.
3. Background information
This section should give some background information on your local authority. It is
important to include any information that will be relevant for sampling. For example,
you should note if it is a particularly rural/urban authority, or the population sizes of any
area that you want to stratify by, or want to be able to get representative results by.
Examples of the things you could cover:

Where the local authority is situated;
Whether it is rural or urban;
Its size and where the majority of its population live (e.g. big towns etc.);
Its ethnic minority breakdown;
The populations age profle;
The populations average household size;
Deprivation scores from the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation; and
A list of the consultation work undertaken by the local authority/council in the
last three years and key fndings.

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4. Methodology
This section should give either some information on the methodology you would like the
contractor to use, or it should invite the contractor to advise on their various
methodologies.
If you are fully aware of the methodology that the contractor would need to use, then
you need to let them know what you require. For example:
The survey mode (i.e. postal/telephone/face to face/focus groups) and reason
for doing so;
The sampling frame - e.g. The Post Offce small users Address File (PAF), Council
Tax list, a list of service users etc;
The sampling method - i.e. random probability/cluster/stratifed;
The respondents - i.e. a random adult, service user, the head of the household,
etc;
The target number of responses to be achieved - note any particular groups you
need representative views from; and
The method you would like them to use to maximise the response rate - e.g. X
number of reminders/call-backs, interviewers to call up to 10 times etc.
If you are inviting the contractor to identify and propose a methodology, please state this
clearly asking them to provide options if necessary. However, you may still need to let
them know what it is you require.
For example, you will want to inform them of the following:
How you would like to receive the results - i.e. by sex, by age, by street etc;
Whether the information you need is qualitative or quantitative or both;
Whether you need particular groups representative views; and
The target number of responses you want to achieve.
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Writing an Invitation to Tender for Surveys/Research
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5. Timescale
This section should either give a rough timetable of the surveys various stages or invite
the contractor to give a detailed project schedule, (to meet your fnal deadline if you
have one), with the critical path and key stages clearly identifed.
Also, you should state if there are any reasons why certain elements of the survey need
to be completed at certain times, for example, to be consistent with previous surveys, to
avoid major holiday periods or so that results are available in time for xxx etc.
You should refer to your procurement team for advice on the timetable.
Example
Stage Date
Tender period 29/07/xx - 19/08/xx
Contract awarded 24/08/xx
Inception meeting held 30/08/xx
Questionnaire development (including other materials) 14/09/xx
Questionnaire fnalised for pilot (including other
materials)
17/09/xx
Sampling (strategy agreed and sample drawn) 17/09/xx
Questionnaire translated (including other materials) 24/09/xx
Questionnaire formatted 01/10/xx
Piloting questionnaire, revising and fnalising 15/10/xx
Fieldwork period 17/10/xx 12/12/xx
Initial/headline results submitted 16/01/xx
Draft fnal report submitted 06/02/xx
Final report submitted (revised following comments) 20/02/xx
Presentation of fndings 06/03/xx
6. Budget
This section should include information on the budget available for this work. This will
help the potential contractor decide whether or not they are going to tender for the
work. If an exact amount is not available then you should give a range.

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7. Project management
This section should include information on how the project will be managed. It should
state who the client is, what their relationship will be with the contractor and who the
contacts are. If applicable, include information on partnerships and contact details of lead
partners etc.
Example
The client for this project is XXXX LA.
We would expect the contractor undertaking the research project to liaise closely
with the client, reporting at key stages in the project.

(You may wish to list them.)
The contact for day to day issues as well as any complaints about the survey will
be

XXXX

Other key contacts XXX
We would also require the contractor to appoint a day to day contact.
8. Clients role
This section should make it clear how involved or not the client will be and what tasks
they will undertake to try to ensure that the project runs to schedule.
Example
The client will undertake the following tasks:
Work with the contractor to develop the questions;
Sign off the fnal questionnaire (pre-pilot);
Sign off the fnal questionnaire (for feldwork);
Translate questionnaire and all materials;
Sign off the sampling strategy;
Sign off end of feldwork (when suffcient responses have been received);
Specify the results tables that the contractor should supply; and
Sign off the fnal report.


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Writing an Invitation to Tender for Surveys/Research
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9. Expectation of services and products that will be
delivered by the contractor
This section should list the services that you expect from the contractor.
Example
Preparation
Agree fnal brief and timetable with the client.
Draft/design questions on agreed topics and test the questionnaire.
Prepare and draw a sample of XXX to refect the local authoritys
population structure.
Prepare explanatory material to encourage interviewees to complete
interview.

Questionnaire printing (the questionnaire to be no more than XX questions
over XX pages).
Implementation
Initial mailing/face-to-face interview in Welsh and English.
Up to two attempts to contact any selected respondent.
To achieve more than XXXX responses.

Provide telephone and email help lines.

Receipt handling and logging, issuing reminders.
Data processing, cleaning and validation.
Administer payment of any incentives as agreed with client at cost.
Weight results appropriately.
Provide raw data and metadata to client in XXX format, e.g. SPSS .sav
fle.
Analysis and reporting
Analyse data, including comments and responses to open questions.
Interpret the results.
Electronic report to client to include summary tables, graphs and
diagrams, with comparative information as available.
Provide detailed tabulations electronically including thematically organised
responses to open questions.
The report will highlight areas for further consideration and proposed
actions for the client.
Presentation of fndings to Management Team, Cabinet, Scrutiny Board,
and Full Council.
Writing an Invitation to Tender for Surveys/Research
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10. Welsh Language Scheme requirements
All surveys in Wales need to be available in both Welsh and English and you should
remind potential contractors of this requirement. The requirement will vary for different
local authorities, but you must think about interviewer contact as well as written
material.
You will need to state that the services provided through the contract must comply with
your Welsh Language Scheme. You could attach a link to the relevant extracts for
information.
You should inform the potential contractor of whether you expect them to translate
materials or whether you will translate materials.
11. Data and output ownership
In this section, you should state who will own the data sets and any outputs at the end of
the contract.
You may want to mention the following:

Who will own the datas copyright;
What you expect the contractor to do with the data once the contract is
completed;
Whether, and, if so, how the contractor should share data/information or draft
fndings with any third parties; and
Who the data controller is and who will deal with Freedom of Information and
Data Protection requests.
12. Travel and subsistence
In this section, you need to be clear about any expenses that the contractor will incur.
Please include any relevant rates that will apply. You should also mention whether you
will need to receive any receipts.
Example
Any travel and subsistence expenses incurred by the successful contractor in
delivering of the contract will be paid at the following rate.
Standard rate per mile..................XX
Day subsistence allowance.............XX
Overnight subsistence allowance....XX
13. Payment
In this section, you must be clear about how and when you will pay the contractor. You
should consider whether you will pay the contractor at key stages in the project, monthly
or on completion of the contract. You should then state exactly when they will be paid -
e.g. 25% upon completion of stage X.
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14. Special terms
Use this section to state any legal provisions that you want the contractor to comply
with. For example, you may want the contractor to demonstrate how they would comply
with the Market Research Society Code of Conduct.
15. Freedom of Information
Be clear about who will have access to their tender under Freedom of Information (FOI).
Example
Any information that you submit in connection with this tender may need to be
disclosed in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
If you consider that any of the information included in your tender is
commercially sensitive, please identify it and explain (in broad terms) what harm
may result from disclosing it if we receive a request, and the time period
applicable to that sensitivity. 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.
We will consult with you if we receive a request for disclosure of any of the
information you have identifed as commercially sensitive.
16. Data protection and confdentiality
In this section, be clear about data protection and any of the contracts confdentiality
requirements.
Ensure that you mention that:

Personal data should be processed in accordance with the requirements of the
Data Protection Act;
Any data released should never identify an individual without the individuals
permission; and
The data needs to be stored securely and for an agreed period.

Writing an Invitation to Tender for Surveys/Research
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17. What the response to the ITT document should
include
In this section, make it clear what the response to the ITT document should include. This
is useful for the potential contractor so that they know how they should set out their
tender document. Also, when the tenders are submitted, it will make it easier for the
client to compare contractors if they have set out their tender documents in a similar
way.
Example
The document should contain the following information:
How the contractor would approach the job (all tasks including proposed
timescale and methodologies) with justifcations;
Details on who exactly would be working on the project, each team
members experience noted in the form of a CV, the time they would as
sign to each element of the work, including their daily rate; and
Quotation schedule/budget indicating the cost of each component of the
project in the format shown below. Please state whether costs include
VAT.

No Item Description Cost
1
2
3
Total Cost:
Examples of similar/previous work e.g. A previous report to show their
ability to meet the requirements detailed in the contract and the capacity
to meet the volume of the contract;
A quality assurance document to explain what the contractor will do to
ensure the survey, the data and all outputs will be of good quality;
A risk assessment to identify how the contractor will deal with general and
specifc risks (e.g. A general risk would be a key member of staff leaving
the organisation and a specifc risk could be that the survey had a poor
response rate);
Information on how complaints will be dealt with (details of contact for
complaints and the process for how they will be dealt with);

A copy of the contractors insurance certifcate and their references; and
Submissions may propose any additional areas considered as important to
the success of the project that the client has not included but, in their
experience, would enhance the fnal product.
It is the potential contractors responsibility to get all information necessary for
preparing their tenders at their own expense, and they must satisfy themselves that they
fully understand the contracts requirements.

This Invitation to Tender and its accompanying documents and publications are, and will
remain, the property of XXX.
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Writing an Invitation to Tender for Surveys/Research
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18. How the tender will be evaluated
This section should contain details of how the tenders will be assessed. You should state
the criteria you will use. This information will also help potential contractors when writing
their tender.
Example
The following criteria will be used for evaluation purposes:
Evaluation Criteria Weighting
Financial
Price quoted for all identifed aspects of the work set
out in quotation schedule
10% (or scale 1 to 5)
Value for money 20%
Technical
The ability to meet the requirements detailed in the
specifcation
15%
Comprehensive approach to data gathering and
appropriate methodologies
15%
Experience in providing similar services 10%
Organisational
Clear and realistic project planning demonstrating
delivery of the project on time and within the agreed
budget
15%
Professional competence and experience of the
consultancy team proposed, including satisfactory
references
10%
Tender submissions clarity 5%
Total 100%
Writing an Invitation to Tender for Surveys/Research
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Writing an Invitation to Tender for Surveys/Research
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Local Government Data Unit ~ Wales
3-7 Columbus Walk, Cardiff, CF10 4SD
Telephone: 029 2090 9500
Email: enquiries@dataunitwales.gov.uk
Web: www.dataunitwales.gov.uk