Administration services

Tender description

1.1. This Invitation to Tender (ITT) invites bids to cover the administration of the application process and project-level monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of funded projects for the Darwin Initiative, Darwin Plus and the Illegal Wildlife Challenge Fund. Although the specification separates the activities between Darwin and IWT it will be issued as 1 contract covering both administration and project-level M&E for both. 1.2. This invitation to tender sets out 2 separate sets of requirements: 1 for Darwin (including Darwin Plus) and 1 for the IWT Challenge Fund. However, many aspects of the processes involved are the same. Whilst the schemes are expected to retain separate identities there may be opportunities to maximise the synergies and deliver efficiencies. Ideas on how this might be done (including any implications for timetabling) are very welcome. 1.3. Please note that it is anticipated that a separate contract will be let later this year to cover the more over-arching programmatic level M&E of the Darwin and IWT grant schemes. Due to a requirement for programmatic level M&E to be undertaken independently from Grant administration the Authority reserves the right to require that this is operated by a separate contractor to the 1 carrying out this contract, unless the organisation can conclusively demonstrate that it will be able to address any conflict of interest. The successful tenderer for this contract must build in capacity for liaison with the eventual programmatic M&E contractor. 1.4. Defra (hereafter referred to as ‘the Authority’) is the lead Government Department for these schemes.