Public procurement notice: Contract Notice
Published: 2017-04-01
Buyer: National Records of Scotland
Country: UK
Region: SCOTLAND
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Restricted procedure
CPV classification: 72314000: Data collection and collation services
Estimated value: 8000000 GBP
Submission deadline: 2017-05-02
Award criteria: The most economic tender

Technical requirements: Scotland's Census is a population survey of everyone in Scotland which currently takes place once every ten years. The next census in Scotland will be conducted primarily on-line. While the 2021 Census will be similar to previous censuses in Scotland, there are some significant differences in its design. Whilst around 20 % of households opted to respond online during the 2011 Census, we anticipate the 2021 Census responses will be received predominantly through a Census Online Collection Instrument in 2021, with others participating on paper or by other means.
Such a level of online response should improve both the accuracy of the collected data and the ability to publish census outputs/ statistics within intended timescales. This will not only reflect a stepped change in how NRS conducts the census, NRS believes it can also potentially contribute to wider digital initiatives in Scotland by, for example, helping to encourage increased online participation.
We are looking for a Service Provider to provide the Census Online Collection Instrument for the 2021 census in Scotland to enable all households and communal establishments (e.g. prisons, care homes, Student Halls of Residency)to participate in the census and provide their census information online.
— Securely hosted, intelligent and responsive online questionnaires with complex user journeys, to enable census returns to be submitted electronically (in English or Gaelic). This data will then be processed within other systems to enable NRS to produce census outputs/ statistics.
— Deliver responsive and user-centred design to maximise response and quality, whilst ensuring consistency with paper questionnaires and previous censuses. This should be iteratively developed and available to test during the build and design phase.
— Integration with an interactive response and tracking system, Census Capture and Coding System, Content Management and other data sources, including NRS Geography and key reference data feeds.
— A secure, robust and resilient Census Online Collection Instrument for NRS, that meets public users' online peak demands over the 2019 census rehearsal and 2021 Census period.
— Online guidance and support for the Census Online Collection Instrument and associated questionnaires in agreed translated language formats, including British Sign Language (BSL)
This Procurement will be conducted through the use of the Restricted Procedure. All queries about this procurement must be made via the Public Contracts Scotland messaging system. The process we will apply will be:
— Statements including the specific requirements which can be found within Section III.1.2 and III.1.3 of the Contract Notice.
Part III. and Sections B and D of Part IV will be scored on a pass/fail basis, and Section C of Part IV of the ESPD (Scotland) will be scored in the following way:
0 — Unacceptable. Nil or inadequate response. Fails to demonstrate previous experience/capacity/capability relevant to this criterion.
1 — Poor. Response is partially relevant but generally poor. The response shows some elements of relevance to the criterion but contains insufficient/limited detail or explanation to demonstrate previous relevant experience/ capacity/capability.
2 — Acceptable. Response is relevant and acceptable. The response demonstrates broad previous experience, knowledge and skills/capacity/capability but may lack in some aspects of similarity e.g. previous experience, knowledge or skills may not be of a similar nature.
3 — Good. Response is relevant and good. The response is sufficiently detailed to demonstrate a good amount of experience, knowledge or skills/capacity/capability relevant to providing similar services to similar clients.

Eligibility requirements: Not applicable.

Award value: 8000000