OCUMENT 1

INVITATION TO TENDER FOR Bright Water Partnership Communications Partner

Tender Manager – Abbie OsguthorpeTel: 01325 327342Email: abbie@bwlp.co.uk

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Contents

Introduction...........................................................................................................................3

The Bright Water Landscape Partnership.............................................................................3Invitation to Tender...............................................................................................................3

Context - The Project and Vision.........................................................................................4Key Elements of the Contract...............................................................................................4

The Heritage Lottery Fund....................................................................................................5ITT and Contract Timescales................................................................................................5

Payment................................................................................................................................6Contractor Specification........................................................................................................6

Tenders and deadline for submission...................................................................................7Further information................................................................................................................7

Assessment of Tenders........................................................................................................7Conditions of Tender.............................................................................................................7

Terms and Conditions...........................................................................................................9

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Introduction

This document sets out the specification for a Communications Partner for the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) funded Bright Water Landscape Partnership.

Bright Water covers an area of approximately 200km2 within lowland County Durham and Darlington, focusing on the River Skerne catchment from Hurworth Burn reservoir to South Park in Darlington (see Figure 1). The project area includes the communities of Newton Aycliffe, Sedgefield, Bishop Middleham, Fishburn, Heighington, Brafferton, Barmpton and Darlington. The project’s Delivery Phase runs from July 2018-March 2022.

Further details of the project are available from the development phase website: www.discoverbrightwater.org

The Bright Water Landscape PartnershipThe Bright Water Landscape Partnership comprises: Durham Wildlife Trust (Lead partner and Contracting Organisation for this tender), the Environment Agency, Groundwork North East, Durham County Council, Darlington Borough Council, Durham County Local Access Forum, Tees Rivers Trust, Architectural and Archaeological Society of Durham, and numerous other community representatives. The Partnership works closely with a range of regional bodies including Visit Durham, Natural England, Historic England and the North East England Nature Partnership.

Invitation to Tender Durham Wildlife Trust (DWT) as lead partner for the Bright Water Landscape Partnership invites tenders for the works specified in this document.

Tenderers are advised to read the documents carefully to ensure that they are familiar with the nature and content of their obligations if their tender is accepted.

Communications Partner Outline Requirements This Invitation to tender is to appoint a Communications Partner to support the Delivery Team over the remainder of the programme until the spring/summer of 2022. The Communications partner will work to the Communications and Business Liaison Officer and help the Bright Water Partnership to:

• Further develop, support and deliver our strategic communications plan• Support the architecture, design, hosting, development and management of the

Bright Water website in such a way as to allow the delivery team and partners to retain day-to-day access and control of content, media, emails and administrator rights

• Provide creative and graphic design, typography, copywriting and artwork concepts and advice as required to support the programme

• Provide ad hoc support on a range of printed and electronic publications with regards to a variety of inputs which may include end to end support from concept to production and delivery or specific individual production requirements

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• Support the development, monitoring and management of our social media platforms working to, and in partnership with, the Bright Water Communications and Business Liaison officer

• Provide PR and media management, monitoring and support as and when required• Support the evaluation, data collection, metrics and analysis of Bright Water

Communications, in partnership with the Bright Water Independent Evaluator

Tenderers can clarify any points of doubt or difficulty by contacting:

Abbie Osguthorpe Tel: 01325 327342Email: abbie@bwlp.co.uk

Any questions will be answered and posted on the relevant section of the discoverbrighwater.org website to enable all potential bidders to access the information.

Context - The Project and VisionOver the last two hundred years, the landscape of this area has been significantly altered, including the River Skerne itself. There is an important history of globally significant innovation occurring within the area that influenced both the agricultural and industrial revolutions. However, there is a general lack of awareness and appreciation of this local heritage. Many people are not well connected to the landscape on their doorstep. There are physical barriers to access, with the A1 and the East Coast main line bisecting the landscape and intellectual barriers with limited information available on what the landscape has to offer.The vision of the Bright Water Landscape Partnership is to reveal a heritage of change and innovation, supporting opportunities to enhance and enjoy the natural, built and farmed landscape, realising benefits for now and the future, raising aspirations and inspiring communities. To achieve this vision the partnership will:Work to reveal the landscape of the past, showing how it has been shaped by man (human activity) over thousands of years

Work with landowners, local communities and other partners to reveal, restore and enhance key elements of the natural, built and cultural landscape

Enable more people to access the heritage of the landscape, helping to improve health and well-being

Highlight the cultural heritage of the area, a story of wide-ranging innovation that has shaped the modern world –which includes both the birth of the railways and cattle breeding programmes which produced the magnificent Durham Ox

Provide opportunities for learning and training, ensuring the heritage of the area is better known and conserved

Provide new opportunities for businesses, making them more resilient in the future.

Key Elements of the Contract

There are two key elements to this contract. Bright Water Partnership is seeking to appoint and retain a Communications Partner for the duration of the programme until summer 2022for a fixed fee of £7500 (including VAT) per annum for 4 years. Total £30,000 for the retainer. Bidders are invited to outline what support, in terms of deliverables and/or hours or days of work, would be provided for this basic retainer fee.

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In addition tenderers are required to provide a breakdown of indicative fees and charges for potential additional requirements. To enable fair comparisons with other tenderers a list of typical projects have been identified in the accompanying ITT 2 document in section x.

Organisations are invited to:• outline their approach to this project – bidders may wish to provide initial ideas for

the work, but please note this is not required as we are seeking a Communications Partner rather than using the Tender process as a source of free ideas. The Partnership reserves the right to implement any specific (or similar) ideas for the Bright Water Partnership presented as part of this process without any further acknowledgement to unsuccessful bidders and any specific ideas offered will be done so free of any charge or potential intellectual property rights issue.

• provide named members of the team who would be working on the project and their hourly / day rates for fees

• provide evidence in the form of a portfolio of clients representing relevant experience • indicate what level of service/time would be included within the fixed retainer fee

Tenderers must be able to demonstrate their ability and capacity to turnaround project and client requirements quickly, creatively and accurately. The Bright Water Partnership team are looking for a Communications Partner with the experience, directness, confidence and creativity to challenge and influence the delivery team to make better communications decisions and products.

The Heritage Lottery FundThe Heritage Lottery Fund [HLF] is the principal funder of the Bright Water Landscape project. HLF places a strong emphasis on the evaluation of Landscape Partnerships. Its guidance (available on the HLF website) recommends that evaluation:

Is built into a scheme from the start and involves regular reviews; The successful contractor will work with the Partnership Manager to support the

Delivery Team and Partner organisations to enable them all to carry out their role(s) in the monitoring and evaluation process.

Reporting Arrangements and FeesThe appointed contractor will report to Abbie Osguthorpe, Bright Water Partnership Communications and Business Liaison Officer, Flexspace G19, Business Incubation Centre, Durham Way, South, Newton Aycliffe

Payment for the works shall be paid quarterly in arrears on production of detailed invoices itemising all of the work carried out including any additional work commissioned and the amount due at each stage.

ITT and Contract Timescales Indicator DateITT issued Friday 23rd NovemberOpportunity for meet the client session / webinar

Week commencing Monday 3rd December 2018

Deadline for submission of tender 5.00pm Monday 17th December 2018

Opportunity for short listed bidders to present to Bright Water

Friday 21st December

Contract awarded ASAP after the deadline and following Bright Water Partnership tender/pitch evaluation and due diligence – target date w/c Monday 7th January 2019

Commencement of Contract January 2019Review of Strategy and January 2019

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RecommendationsRefreshment/Redesign of Branding, Website, Social Media and Publications

January – March 2019

Publication of Bright Water Times(working title) Issue 1

A5 magazine and business directory distributed free to 35,000 homes in the area March/April

Partner and Press Launch March 14th 2019 (World River Action Day)Bright Water YouTube/TV Ongoing regular features produced by the BW teamBright Water Big Weekend April 26th -28th 2019 (details still to be finalised but

assume a wide range of activities, special events and community involvement throughout the river Skerne catchment over the weekend)

Ongoing design, delivery and monitoring and support

May 2019 onwards

Data collection & metrics overview of first 6 months

June 2019

This timetable is indicative only. While Durham Wildlife Trust does not intend to depart from the timetable, it reserves the right to do so at any time.

Copyright / Intellectual PropertyAll title and copyright that may be assigned in all work commissioned for Bright Water shall pass to Durham Wildlife Trust on behalf of Bright Water Landscape Partnership on payment for the work completed. It is a condition of the funders that all copyrights and intellectual property shall be assigned in this way. It will be incumbent upon the Contractor that all necessary clearances, permissions, and rights for any works commissioned from or procured by the contractor on behalf of Bright Water Landscape Partnership will be produced as part of the successful completion and sign off of the contract.

PaymentPayment of the Retainer will be made quarterly in arrears upon production of an itemised invoice. Any additional work commissioned or procured (e.g. print advertising or PR sub-contracting) via the Contractor will be paid in arrears following satisfactory completion of the work and the production of a detailed invoice quoting the relevant Purchase Order Number.

Contractor SpecificationThe successful applicant will be expected to demonstrate substantial expertise in delivering similar work. Two referees of similar projects should be provided for the Trust to obtain references.

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Tenders and deadline for submissionThose submitting a tender should respond with the following:

Relevant experience and qualifications of the organisation and individuals including brief CV(s)of named key people leading and working on the project

Proposed approach to the project and carrying out the work, including methodology, work programme and reporting arrangements.

Details of what work and time provision would be include within the fixed annual retainer of £7500 inc VAT

Proposed fee basis and time allocation for each of the specified indicative tasks Analysis of fee into number of days’ work and daily rate, materials, expenses and

other costs, VAT if applicable Complete ITT Schedule 2 – Tender Response Document including completed

Section A pro-forma Completed and signed Section J– Form of Tender Completed and Signed Section K– Non Collusive Tendering Certificate Completed Retainer Outline and Indicative fees response (Appendix 2) Environmental Policy and evidence of how your organisation is progressively working

towards reducing its carbon footprint and making a positive impact on the environment

Equal Opportunities statement Names and details of two site references/referees

The deadline for hard copy or signed and scanned electronic submissions is 5.00pm Monday 17th December . We will acknowledge receipt of all tenders as soon as practically possible after we have received them.

Further informationFurther information can be provided or an informal telephone discussion can be arranged with Abbie Osguthorpe, Communications and Business Liaison Officer or Paul Black, Partnership manager Tel:01325 327342. If sufficient potential bidders emerge, then a meet the client meeting or webinar will be arranged to provide an opportunity for a collective meeting.

Assessment of TendersThe tenders will be assessed for value for money, by comparison of the number of days’ activity proposed for the project budget and daily rates, and an assessment of quality based on previous experience of delivering similar work, and the approach outlined for this project.

The balance of assessment will be:Quality of application and ideas demonstrated with reference to the quality the bidder’s portfolio 40%Price and Value for money – based on delivery day rate(s) and number of days 40%Previous relevant experience, qualifications and references

10%Approach to Evaluation, environmental and equal opportunities 10%

Tenders will be assessed using the information provided and we plan to inform any bidders shortlisted to present on the 21st December by close of play on 18th December 2018.

Conditions of TenderPreparation of tenderTenderers must obtain for themselves, at their own responsibility and expense, all information they deem necessary for the preparation of their tenders.

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Great care should be taken in the preparation of this tender because, on receipt, Durham Wildlife Trust will not entertain any request for alteration on the grounds that an error has been made.

CanvassingAny Tenderer who directly or indirectly canvasses any person acting as a Trustee, committee member or member of staff of Durham Wildlife Trust or of the Bright Water Partnership concerning the award of the contract for the provision of services will be disqualified.Confidentiality of Tender Information and Documents All information supplied by Durham Wildlife Trust in connection with this Invitation to Tender shall be regarded as confidential to Durham Wildlife Trust.Collusive TenderingAny Tenderer who:

fixes or adjusts the work to be provided for in their Tender by or in accordance with any agreement or arrangement with any other person; or

communicates to any person other than Durham Wildlife Trust the details of their proposed Tender (except where such disclosure is made in confidence in order to obtain a quotation necessary for the preparation of the tender for insurance or a contract guarantee bond); or

enters into any agreement or arrangement with any other person that they shall refrain from tendering or as to the details of any tender to be submitted; or

offers or agrees to pay or give or does pay or gives any sum of money, inducement or valuable consideration directly or indirectly to any person for doing or having done or causing or having caused to be done in relation to any other tender or proposed tender for the Services any act or omission, is likely (without prejudice to any other civil remedies available and without prejudice to any criminal liability which such conduct by a tenderer may attract) to be disqualified.

Sub-Contractors Where a tenderer intends to use sub-contractors, it will be the responsibility of the tenderer to provide the sub-contractor with all necessary information.

The TenderTenders must be submitted on the enclosed forms provided within the attached documents.Tenders must be accompanied by appropriately signed copies of the following:

the enclosed 'Form of Tender' (ITT 2 Section H); the enclosed 'Non-Collusive Tendering Certificate' (ITT 2 Section K); and a list of sub-contractors (if applicable), the items that each will be providing and the

relationship with the tenderer if applicable. All prices tendered must include VAT if applicable. Durham Wildlife Trust is not VAT

registered – Although the Bright Water Partnership is able to reclaim an amount equal to VAT from relevant suppliers

All documents requiring a signature must be signed: where the Tenderer is an individual, by that individual; where the Tenderer is a partnership by two duly authorised partners; and where the Tenderer is a company, such persons being duly authorised for that

purpose.The Form of Tender and accompanying documents must be fully completed.

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TimeCompleted tenders must be returned to:

Abbie OsguthorpeBright Water Landscape Partnership

G19 FlexspaceBusiness Incubation CentreDurham Way SouthNewton AycliffeCo DurhamDL5 6XP

The deadline for submissions is 5.00pm Monday 17th December Electronic tenders may be accepted on the following email address:abbie@bwlp.co.uk

The Trust accepts no responsibility for non-receipt of tenders, electronic or otherwise.

Acceptance.Durham Wildlife Trust is not bound to accept the lowest or any Tender.

Tender Information Tenderers must submit all the information requested in this tender document; this is essential to evaluate the offers received.Tenderers attention is also drawn to the Non Collusive Tendering Certificate (ITT2 Section K), Environmental Impact (ITT2 Section G) and Equal Opportunities Statement (ITT2 Section E). Appropriate responses must be submitted with your bid.

Terms and ConditionsUnless specifically modified and agreed in writing at the time of contract, the Terms of this Contract will be as detailed in this Invitation to Tender Document, any attached instructions to bidders and within the attached standard Durham Wildlife Trust Terms and Conditions for the Purchase of a Service (Appendix 1).

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