China Rule of Law for Business - Standards Strand

Tender description

The Prosperity Fund was announced in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, and represents a key component of the prosperity pillar of the UK Aid Strategy. It is a cross-government Fund that aims to reduce poverty through inclusive economic growth. Many developing countries, including middle income countries where around 70% of the world's poor live, still face considerable challenges such as rapid urbanisation, climate change and high and persistent inequality, including gender inequality, which can lower long-term growth prospects. The Prosperity Fund supports the broad-based and inclusive growth needed for poverty reduction to make development sustainable in line with International Development Act 2002 ("IDA"), the Gender Equality Act 2014 ("GEA") and the Sustainable Development Goals ("SDGs"). The UK has expertise in a range of sectors which countries will need as they develop, including education, healthcare, energy, finance and infrastructure. Helping partner countries develop these sectors and improve their business environment will give firms and people, greater opportunities to work in a stronger, more productive economy. The Prosperity Fund also seeks to improve trade links between partner countries and the rest of the world, including the UK. Higher growth in a partner country offers greater trade opportunities for international and UK business. The purpose of this Procurement is to procure a Delivery Partner to design and implement a £4m technical assistance programme in the area of Standards in China (the 'Programme'). The overall impact of the Programme is to improve adoption, enforcement and development of international standards in China, thereby supporting inclusive and sustainable economic development and increasing trade and investment between Chinese and international (including UK) business. The key expected Outcomes for this Programme are: I. Improvement in the adoption and enforcement of international standards in China. II. Improvement in China's ability to develop and propose its own international standards. III. Successful pilot projects that permit the testing of new international standards in China and catalyse adoption of international standards. IV. Improvement in the understanding of the economic and social impact of international standards adoption in China, both across sectors and regions. The Contract is expected to begin in May 2019. The Delivery Partner will be contracted up to March 2022. The Programme will consist of three Phases: Inception Phase, Implementation Phase and Closure Phase. The Contract will be let for the full Term with a review point at the end of the Inception Phase (estimated: August 2019) and a Break Clause in March 2021 to align with the UK Government's Spending Review. There will be the opportunity for extensions for up to a further 24 months.