UK SBS OJEU-CR150073BIS Analytical Support for Science and Innovation Audits (SIAs)

The Government announced in the Summer Budget 2015 its intention to invite consortia of universities, cities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and businesses to map strengths and identify potential areas of strategic focus for different regions through a series of Science and Innovation Audits (SIAs). The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) wishes to issue a contract for analytical expertise to support consortia in the development of these SIAs.

BIS has regularly assessed the overall impact of its science and research investments and the performance of the UK research base, publishing reports on the international competitiveness of the UK research base. The latest of these was published in 2013 .

The Government will soon invite consortia to undertake analysis at a local level in the form of Science and Innovation Audits (SIAs) . Through these SIAs, consortia will map local research and innovation strengths and infrastructure, providing new innovative ways to identify and build on areas of greatest potential across the UK. Elsevier (2015) carried out a study looking at the comparative advantage of Amsterdam compared to other key European cities in terms of research and innovation , which bidders may find useful to consider when developing their approach to SIAs.

This specification is for rigorous analytical support to the consortia as they develop their SIAs. Drawing on the expertise and analytical support of the contractor, the consortia will use local level data or local subsets of national data to identify strengths and potential areas of strategic focus for their areas. As well as mapping future growth potential, the SIAs will examine the current mechanisms through which investment in science and innovation in their area leads to local productivity, international trade and investment, and growth, and any barriers to this growth being realised. This will be done by linking the following:

Additional information: UK Shared Business Services eSourcing

As part of the strategic alliance between UK Shared Business Services Ltd (UK SBS) and Crown Commercial Service (CCS), UK SBS can use the CCS eSourcing Suite for future procurements.

If you have not yet registered on the eSourcing Suite, this can be done online at https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk by following the link ‘Register for CCS eSourcing’. Please note that, to register, you must have a valid DUNS number (as provided by Dun and Bradstreet) for the organisation which you are registering, who will be entering into a contract if invited to do so.

Once you have registered on the eSourcing Suite, a registered user can express an interest for a specific procurement. This is done by emailing expressionofinterest@crowncommercial.gov.uk.

Your email must clearly state: the name and reference for the procurement you wish to register for; the name of the registered Bidder; and the name and contact details for the registered individual sending the email.

Crown Commercial Service will process the email and then enable the Bidder to access the procurement online via the e-Sourcing Suite. The registered user will receive a notification email to alert them once this has been done.

The Sourcing documents can then be accessed on the eSourcing Suite at: https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk using the instructions detailed in the Specification documents within Contracts Finder.

As a user of the e-Sourcing Suite you will have access to Emptoris email messaging service which facilitates all messages sent to you and from you in relation to any specific RFX event. Please note it is your responsibility to access these emails on a regular basis to ensure you have sight of all relevant information.

For technical assistance on use of the e-Sourcing Suite please contact Crown Commercial Service Helpdesk : Telephone: 0345 010 3503

Training documents to support Bidders utilise Emptoris CCS eSourcing are available in the Contracts Finder Tender documents section.