Period product scheme: evaluation

Suppliers are sought for an evaluation of the Department for Education's (the Department's) national period product scheme. The period product scheme, launched in January 2020, allows schools, colleges and other eligible education organisations (education organisations) to order period products and have them delivered to their premises free of charge. The Period Product contract is being delivered across England by Personnel Hygiene Services (phs).

This national, demand-led approach to the distribution of period products to eligible English education organisations is novel and evidence provided by the evaluation will enable the Department to review and improve policy implementation and delivery arrangements. In addition, the evaluation will present an opportunity to understand why learners may access the scheme and how education organisations make period products available in their settings. Finally, findings from the evaluation will enable the Department to review its scheme communications strategy and inform scheme guidance to support education organisations distributing period products as part of the scheme.

Work on the period product scheme evaluation is expected to commence in May 2020 and be completed by December 2020. The Department requires the Supplier to deliver a series of timely insight papers throughout the lifetime of the evaluation and draw these together into a final report for publication from late 2020.

The aim of the evaluation is to understand how education organisations and their learners become aware, access and make use of the period product scheme. The Supplier will engage with learners, teachers, leaders and other staff at education organisations to address the following objectives:

1. Establish the extent to which the period product scheme logic model describes how the policy is delivered in education organisations (work package 1)
2. Understand how education organisations utilise and implement the period product scheme (work package 2)
3. Understand the reasons learners use the period product scheme, how they access it and their perspectives on it (work package 3)

In conducting the project, the Supplier will undertake a theory-based evaluation. To enable the Supplier to address work package 1 and provide context for the evaluation, the Department will provide the Supplier with scheme management information and associated analysis at the outset of the study.

Further information is provided in the EOI Advert attachment to this notice.

The deadline for receipt of expressions of interest is 23.59 on Friday 13th March 2020

Additional information: EOI responses should be no more than 1,500 words