Participant recruitment and incentive payments

Tender description

How often research will happen Research happens regularly: we would generally expect 2-3 rounds of research to be underway at any one time. We aim to give suppliers a minimum of 3 to 4 weeks’ notice of every requirement. There are periods where we will be less likely to require participant recruitment. For example, around school holiday periods or over the Christmas period. Some recruitment activity may be paused in the 4-6 weeks before any election (general election, local elections, assembly elections etc). Evening or weekend research Weekday evenings Evening or weekend research Weekends Research location Research may take place remotely using either standard video conferencing software or specialist remote research software already available to DfE. Alternatively, research may take place in person, generally at the participants’ own location. Sometimes we may require participants from one or more specific regions, or we may ask for participants from a representative range of areas across England. As DfE policies and services mostly cover England only, we will mostly require participants who live and/or work in England. There may be a occasional requirement for participants who live and/or work in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. We will also sometimes require recruitment of participants from outside of the UK (specifically people interested in a UK teaching career – see ‘description of participants, below). This could be from any country, but the most likely countries are Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Jamaica, India, Ireland, USA, Spain and Hong Kong. These research interviews will always be conducted remotely. Access restrictions at location Any access restrictions would be specific to each round of research. Description of your participants We need to recruit participants from a range of user groups who use DfE services and policies. Frequently recruited (primary) groups are: • Leadership, administration and other non-teaching roles in schools, academies and academy trusts • Teachers and teaching assistants • People considering a career in teaching (in the UK) • Childminders and nursery practitioners • Nursery management and administration staff • Apprentices and people in training or further education • General public UK adults (including job searchers, and parents and carers of children) Less frequently recruited (secondary) groups are: • People considering a career in teaching (from non-UK countries – see list in “Research Location” above) • Employers of apprentices and other training roles • Commercial training and learning providers • Suppliers of goods and services to schools, academy trusts and colleges • Local authority staff • Young people/teenagers (secondary school age) Across our research rounds, we will ask for a diverse set of participants, and may ask for people under-represented or under-achieving in UK education, early years and skills, for example: • People with a disability, including use of assistive technologies when accessing the internet, and neurodivergence • People with other protected characteristics • People with low digital skills (nb in non-professional user groups only) Research plan Typically, DfE’s user research uses qualitative moderated methods (e.g. depth interviews, usability testing, co-design activities). Research sessions are generally planned at 45 minutes to an hour. Occasionally, we will require participants for longer sessions, or longitudinal/multi-touchpoint methods (e.g. diary studies or pre- and post-activity interviews), or other non-qualitative or non-moderated methods (e.g. tree testing, remote unmoderated research). A plan will be produced for each round of research that describes the research goals and method. Special terms and conditions Bidders must respond to the opportunity using the response template found within the project attachments. Only essential and nice to have criteria require responses at stage 1. Special terms and conditions In order to participate in this opportunity, DOS6 awarded suppliers should have followed all necessary registration steps through the Public Procurement Gateway, operated by Crown Commercial Service (CCS). Please follow instructions sent to you at the email address supplied during the DOS6 application process. Special terms and conditions All work must be conducted in line with the Buyer’s security policy and securely within in the United Kingdom. Special terms and conditions All Project-Specific IPRs (as defined) and the Deliverables shall vest in the Buyer unconditionally and immediately upon their creation. Special terms and conditions General Information Standard Framework and Call Off Terms and Conditions will apply Suppliers must agree to all DFE security clearance policies and processes. Suppliers must comply with the Regulation (GDPR) Regulation May 2018; the (DPA) Act 2018, the Law Enforcement Directive and any subsequent amendments/changes to date including providing sufficient guarantees to meet the requirements of GDPR in line with Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 02/18 May 2018 which updates PPN 03/17 Special terms and conditions Shortlisted suppliers will be required to undertake Financial and Security Due Diligence at stage 2 as part of the tender process, Special terms and conditions Non-Solicitation Clause: 1.1 The Supplier shall not, either directly or indirectly, by or through itself, its affiliate, its agent or otherwise, or in conjunction with its affiliate, its agent or otherwise, whether for its own benefit or for the benefit of any other person solicit, entice or induce, or endeavour to solicit, entice or induce, any employees of the Buyer who are employed or engaged in the performance of the Services with a view to employing or engaging the employee of the Buyer during the Call-Off Contract Period and for a period of [9 months] thereafter. 1.2. Notwithstanding clause 1.1 the Supplier may employ or engage any employees of the Buyer which have responded directly to a bona fide recruitment drive either through a recruitment agency engaged by the Supplier or via an advertisement placed publicly by the Supplier (either in the press, social media, online or in trade and industry publications). Are you prepared to show your budget details?: Yes Indicative maximum: 300000 Indicative minimum: 250000 Provide further information: A budget of up to £300000 has been allocated for this contract for up to 2yrs duration. £150000 has been allocated for a 12 months contract extension if required Write the term or acronym: DfE Write a definition for the term or acronym explaining what it means: Department for Education Summary of work 1. Participant recruitment from various user groups to take part in user research activities that contribute to the design of DfE services. Recruitment will be from user groups across children’s services, education and skills in England, and occasionally the rest of the UK and international. This includes a diverse range of people who work in or are users of services in early years, schools, teaching, further education, apprenticeships and wider skills. 2. Payment of incentives to recruited participants. 3. Payment of a small number of incentives-only (i.e. to participants self-recruited by DfE, as a secondary supplier alongside a separate payment solutions supplier). Where the research will take place North East England Where the research will take place North West England Where the research will take place Yorkshire and the Humber Where the research will take place East Midlands Where the research will take place West Midlands Where the research will take place East of England Where the research will take place London Where the research will take place South East England Where the research will take place South West England Where the research will take place International (outside the UK) Pre-market engagement We conducted a pre-market engagement event on 6th March 2024 to provide all suppliers with more detailed background on the requirements. The content from this session is available in the uploaded document. We had explored splitting this contract into two (‘mainstream’ and ‘specialist’ users). Suppliers were less confident about the specialist group. In response, we have combined the user groups into a single contract, analysed which user groups are most likely to require recruitment, and reduced the mainstream requirement. The proposed requirement to recruit people with access needs and from under-represented groups was seen as challenging. In response, we have simplified this requirement. The proposed requirement for recruitment of people outside of the UK interested in UK teaching careers was seen as challenging. In response we have analysed which countries we are most likely to need to recruit from and simplified this requirement. Number of research rounds Estimated 100 research rounds (statements of work) across 2 years. Number of participants per round Estimated 15-25 participants per round of research Research dates Latest start date: 1 Nov2024