CR20063 - Strength in Places Fund (SIPF) Evaluation

Tender description

**This is not a call for competition**. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) have a requirement to procure a programme evaluation of the UKRI Strength in Places Fund (SIPF). The SIPF is a new competitive funding scheme that takes a place-based approach to research and innovation funding, to support significant regional economic growth. The aim of the evaluation is to inform ongoing and future improvements to the fund, to maximise the value of public funding (in particular, the possibility of future growth of the SIPF), to demonstrate what the fund delivered for taxpayers, and to help UKRI build the evidence base on 'what works' in place-based funding of Research and Innovation (R&I) as part of UKRI's wider efforts to understand 'what works' in R&I policy and delivery. The evaluation will consist of both impact and process evaluation, and will be at the fund-level, covering Waves 1 and 2 of the SIPF. This evaluation will be procured through the CCS DPS and is anticipated to commence January 2021 through to late 2026. The deliverables in sequential order include: a project plan, literature review report and an evaluation framework report (winter 2020), a baseline report (summer 2021), a number of interim process and impact evaluation reports for Waves 1 and 2 (approximately annually until 2025) and final impact and process evaluation reports (by summer 2026). For more information on the UKRI Strength in Places Fund, including details of awards made at Wave 1 Full Stage please see here https://www.ukri.org/funding/funding-opportunities/strength-in-places-fund/ The route to market will be via RM6018 Research Marketplace DPS. A market engagement event will be held on Thursday, 17th September 2020 via Zoom. This will provide an opportunity for potential providers to find out more about the aims of the procurement and the process. Providers wishing to attend need to RSVP by Tuesday, 15th September 2020 at 14.00 stating their name, title, email and phone numbers. This information should be sent to the following email address: Research@uksbs.co.uk Please ensure that the subject heading for the email is as follows: CR20063 Strength In Places Fund (SIPF) Evaluation. It is anticipated that the tender documentation will be released in October 2020.