Published date: 30 January 2024

Closed opportunity - This means that the contract is currently closed. The buying department may be considering suppliers that have already applied, or no suitable offers were made.


Closing: 16 February 2024, 12pm

Contract summary

Industry

  • Research and development consultancy services - 73200000

Location of contract

United Kingdom

Value of contract

£20,000 to £25,000

Procurement reference

NCT01

Published date

30 January 2024

Closing date

16 February 2024

Closing time

12pm

Contract start date

19 February 2024

Contract end date

3 May 2024

Contract type

Service contract

Procedure type

Open procedure (below threshold)

Any interested supplier may submit a tender in response to an opportunity notice.

This procedure can be used for procurements below the relevant contract value threshold.

Contract is suitable for SMEs?

Yes

Contract is suitable for VCSEs?

Yes


Description

Natural England, National Trust and National Lottery Heritage Fund are collaborating on a new initiative to inspire, incentivise and support UK towns and cities to take ambitious action to improve urban green space.

We believe access to high quality, nature-rich, connected green and natural infrastructure will drive significant benefits for people, place and climate. We want more urban areas to use nature recovery and nature-based solutions to tackle health inequalities and climate change, and to put nature at the heart of communities to grow their prosperity, connection and resilience.

It is likely to be a 10-year initiative, delivered in three-year phases. The primary audience for the first three-year phase is Local Authorities and their partners. It comprises five inter-related core elements:​ 
1. An inclusive network to help local authorities and communities design, develop and implement change by providing access to knowledge; demonstrating the art of the possible and facilitating great collaboration.​ 
2. A grant to provide much needed capacity​. 
3. Wrap around support and learning resources to help partnerships and organisations make progress quickly​. 
4. An accreditation scheme to benchmark progress and provide assurance to funders and investors​. 
5. An incentives package to enable ambitious delivery on the ground​. 

The purpose of this commission:

In order to help Local Authorities and their partners understand their strengths and weaknesses or identify where to start when it comes to making improvements, plus what support and advice might be most useful we want to commission a diagnostic or baseline assessment tool.

Our local authority co-design group have broadly validated the need for some form of baseline assessment as an entry point into the scheme. However further research is needed to fully scope out the need and design for this, looking at best practice in different sectors.

The tool will be the main entry point for many local authorities and be used by participants at the start of their journey to identify where they are doing well in relation to the quality, connectivity and accessibility of urban natural infrastructure, and where they should focus their efforts for improvement. It should complement the proposed accreditation as well as other core elements such as learning resources, peer network and specialist support. The tool must add value to the participant and avoid being unnecessarily bureaucratic.


Submission Process:

Please email your tender response (max 8 pages) to the address below. It should outline the following:
Your understanding of the brief
Approach to the commission including any method statement or similar
Budget and timeline
Suitability to deliver the contract, including experience and skills
Abridged CVs of the main members of the team

If you have any questions on this brief, please contact:
anne.mackinnon@nationaltrust.org.uk and she will direct your enquiry to the most suitable person.


More information

Attachments

Links


About the buyer

Contact name

Anne MacKinnon

Address

HEELIS, KEMBLE DRIVE
SWINDON
SN22NA
England

Telephone

+447890425276

Email

anne.mackinnon@nationaltrust.org.uk

Website

https://www.futureparks.org.uk/