Project 4693 - Provision of domestic and overseas research participant recruitment

Tender description

How often research will happen Ad-hoc, as required Research location Required location(s) will be identified to the successful tenderer as part of the research plan. It is anticipated that a large part of the research sessions will be conducted remote/online. There will be times we're targeting businesses in a particular region/location. It should also be noted that when we are requesting UK participants, we'll need the supplier to find participants across a diverse spread of the UK and not just in one region/area. Description of your participants Examples of specific research participants we may seek to recruit include: Participants in strategic decision making or decision influencing roles in businesses who are: 1. seeking to grow their UK business domestically 2. interested in starting or growing exports from the UK in the next 5 years 3. pre-trading and want to start a UK business 4. looking to expand their business or start a new business from overseas into the UK. 5. responsible for meeting legislation, legal, compliance regulations regarding the day-to-day running of the business. Other users engaged with our services at DBT include, but are not limited to, third parties involved in trade, banks, consultants, freight forwarders, campaign groups, trade bodies, trade unions, universities, legal organizations, and arms-length bodies. The supplier must also be capable of recruiting within these areas. It may be necessary within our research to request participants from specific sectors, job roles, and varying levels of experience using government digital services. Participants will be required to take part in a range of research activities including, but not limited to usability tests, interviews, surveys and diary studies. We will also be looking to test device usage therefore will need the supplier to find us people willing to test our services using mobile, tablet or laptop. Participant specifications may change throughout the life of the contract depending on DBT requirements. Assisted digital and accessibility requirements The recruiter should, over the contract term, be able to recruit a full range of users with accessibility requirements (visual, hearing, cognitive, mobility, etc), at least one person per round (i.e. 1/5) should have access needs of some sort. The recruiter should also ensure participants have a range of digital skills (from low to high). We may also need to run dedicated rounds where we need all participants to have access needs. Research plan The Contract will cover multiple research plans. The recruiter will be expected to adapt to new requirements as new plans emerge. The successful tenderer must be able to manage multiple research projects concurrently whilst maintaining a quality service. Are you prepared to show your budget details?: Yes Indicative maximum: Maximum budget is £400,000 (excluding VAT). Write the term or acronym: DBT Write the term or acronym: DDaT Summary of work The DDaT User Research Profession is seeking a supplier to recruit research participants on an as-required basis to ensure DBT have access to participants for completing user research. The supplier must ensure that DBT projects have access to a diverse range of research participants to attend user research sessions. This will specifically include participants working in a business context in a decision making or decision influencing role within businesses of all sizes, phases, levels of maturity and experience, both domestically (within the UK) and internationally. These requests will be made on demand, according to the needs of the researchers. Understanding users is crucial for DBT to create services that meet their needs. Without this understanding, it would be challenging to identify the problems to solve, determine what to build, or ensure the service works well for users. The insights gained from this research will inform decisions that help deliver services tailored to user needs, enhancing digital products and services to improve customer experience. The DDaT User Research Profession will notify the supplier of the specific research requirements, and the supplier will be expected to deliver participants within an agreed timeframe. Typically, supplier responses to DBT requests will be required within a maximum of 3 weeks from DBT approval. 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 Scotland Where the research will take place Wales Where the research will take place Northern Ireland Where the research will take place International (outside the UK) Who the organisation using the products or services is Department for Business and Trade Pre-market engagement A pre-tender market engagement event was held on 17 October 2024 to help define requirements and identify key considerations ahead of this procurement activity. Number of research rounds This is a Call-Off Contract. There will not be a set number of research rounds. Number of participants per round The number of research participants will vary depending on the nature of the research project. This will vary and be specified in the brief, typically we expect a round of research to involve speaking to 5-6 participants over 2-3 days. Research dates Call-Off Contract from May 2025 to April 2027