Technical services

Tender description

The authority is seeking to establish a framework to provide access to quantitative modelling capability and tools for animal and plant pest and disease modelling and expert analysis to meet occasional ad hoc policy requests. The authority requires Providers to be available to respond to emergency situations in the form of expert consultation and/or input to modelling exercises. The purpose of carrying out this analysis is to inform policy decisions which may need to be made quickly, sometimes based on evidence that is not complete. Lot 1 covers the provision of modelling services and expertise for animal health. This may include expertise in areas such as species distribution, movement dynamics and host interaction. The authority and/or contracting bodies may require some or all of the services outlined in relation to government’s current or future policy interests in animal health. Current exotic diseases of interest include, but are not limited to, foot and mouth disease, ASF, classical swine fever, vector borne including bluetongue virus and african horse sickness, avian influenza, swine vesicular disease, newcastle disease and equine infectious anaemia. Modelling of endemic diseases such as Salmonella or PRRS may also be required. The purpose of Lot 1 of this framework is to provide access to quantitative animal health modelling capability and expert advice for domestic animals and wildlife hosts in the form of a consortium of modelling expertise. This will provide quantitative modelling knowledge, tools and techniques which are available to be applied potentially at short-notice, for example, to respond in an emergency or to answer an ad hoc policy request. A secondary purpose of the animal health lot is to bring modelling groups and analysts closer to government for the purposes of sharing data and improving the modellers’ understanding of data, in both cases to enhance the quality of model outputs. Quantitative modelling for plant health contributes to the evidence base required by government to assess risk and manage outbreaks of pest and disease. Recent policy interests include but are not limited to Phytophthora Ramorum, Phytophthora Kernoviae, Chalara, Oak Processionary Moth, Emerald Ash Borer, Xylella Fastidiosa, Acute Oak Decline, Varroa and Asian Hornet. An assigned budget is available for plant health modelling and may be used to fund one or two larger projects or a series of small projects. The distribution of the budget will be determined annually based on the needs of policy and operations. The provider shall provide modelling services in relation to one (as a minimum) or more of the pests/diseases listed above. The provider must have access to their own pest/disease simulation tool(s). The authority may also ask Providers to develop models for new priority pests and diseases as identified by prioritisation activities, such as the Plant Health Risk Register (PHRR). The provider’s pest/disease simulation model(s) should be applicable to as wide a range of questions about the spread and control of pest/disease outbreak as possible.