The Provision of a Service offering advice, guidance and support for Responsible Research and Innovation to the Information & Communications Technologies research community

Tender description

UK SBS on behalf of the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) undertakes a procurement exercise for the Provision of a Service offering advice, guidance, and support for Responsible Research and Innovation to the Information & Communications Technologies (ICT) Research Community. The purpose of this tender is to source a service that the ICT community can draw on in looking at the potential consequences of its innovations. Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is an approach that seeks to promote creativity and opportunities for science and innovation that are socially desirable and undertaken in the public’s interest. The consideration of RRI often raises questions and dilemmas, it is sometimes ambiguous in terms of purposes and motivations, and unpredictable in terms of impacts, beneficial or otherwise. The application of RRI requires spaces and processes to explore these aspects of innovation in an open, inclusive, and timely way. In order to encourage RRI in ICT research there is a need to provide a service that will offer advice, guidance, and support. EPSRC is looking to appoint a contractor that will provide this service and will recognise and meet the needs of the UK community. The estimated cost of the service over the five-year period is £1 million. Over the course of the contract period, the expectation is that a significant portion of the costs will be met by subscriptions by the community to the service, such that by the end of the contract, the service will be self-sustaining. EPSRC will provide £450,000 of the service costs. About UK Shared Business Services UK Shared Business Services Ltd (UK SBS) brings a commercial attitude to the public sector; helping our customers improve efficiency, generate savings and modernise. It is our vision to become the leading provider for our customers of shared business services in the UK public sector, continuously reducing cost and improving quality of business services for Government and the public sector. Our broad range of expert services is shared by our customers. This allows our customers the freedom to focus resources on core activities; innovating and transforming their own organisations. Core services include Procurement, Finance, Human Resources, Payroll, ISS, and Property Asset Management all underpinned by our Service Delivery and Contact Centre teams. UK SBS is a people rather than task focused business. It’s what makes us different to the traditional transactional shared services centre. What is more, being a not-for-profit organisation owned by its customers, UK SBS’ goals are aligned with the public sector and delivering best value for the UK taxpayer. If UK SBS is procuring the Contract or Framework as a central purchasing body for multiple Customers who are other contracting authorities.This means that other contracting authorities named in this OJEU Notice may use the Contract or Framework.