Public procurement notice: Prior Information Notice Without Call For Competition
Published: 2020-09-25
Buyer: Office for National Statistics
Country: UK
Contract type: Services
CPV classification: 18530000 | 22000000 | 22100000 | 22458000 | 22900000
Estimated value: 633000000 GBP

Technical requirements: This procurement is being conducted by ONS and may include other devolved authorities. This means the government of the United Kingdom.
Covid-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation on 12 March 2020. Effective surveillance has rapidly become an integral component of the long-term solution to the pandemic. There are also critical policy questions regarding viral immunity that need to be answered, including the possibility of onward transmission and waning immunity in individuals who are positive, whether such individuals can be re-infected symptomatically or asymptomatically and about incidence of new infection in individuals without prior exposure. ONS was commissioned at the end of April 2020 to conduct the Covid-19 infection survey to collect the data which can help to answer these questions and inform HMG’s policies and operational interventions regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. The CIS is a repeated cross-sectional household survey with additional serial sampling and longitudinal follow-up which provides an estimate of the proportion and number of people living in private households who would have had Covid-19 at any given time in the last week based on trend modelling. The study is led by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and draws on the world-leading scientific expertise of the University of Oxford. The CIS is now the flagship surveillance study and is the key source of data on Covid-19 infection, incidence and antibody prevalence in communities across the UK. We work with our key stakeholder partners including Public Health England, Scotland and Wales, the Joint Biosecurity Centre, Ministers, SAGE, and the wider Test and Trace programmes across the UK to inform required policy and operational interventions.
Lot 1: Field Force (CIS Field Data Collection). The contracting authority has a requirement for the delivery of all operational aspects of a UK field force for the ONS Covid-19 infection survey throughout the period March 2021-May 2022 (with the potential for this to be extended beyond this date). The field force shall comprise trained interviewers who support participant self-administration of swabs testing and trained phlebotomists for the collection of swab and blood samples. The contract shall include: full field force management (including recruitment, training and logistical planning), supply chain management, sample management system, data collection system, appointment scheduling, end-to-end data flow management, quality assurance and information security, helpdesk support, the delivery of swab samples for virus testing, appropriate handling and delivery of blood samples for antibody testing. The geographical coverage of the field force shall cover England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Study health workers will follow NHS guidance regarding protective equipment. The study parameters are estimated and these may change due to epidemiological requirements. All parameters and study design are subject to medical ethics approval. The study shall recruit on average approximately 30 000 participants per month throughout the period until May 2022. During this time, the number of active participants will typically be approximately 450 000, although we will only be testing at peak effort approximately 100 000 a week. All participants shall be swab tested and up to 20 % of participants shall also receive blood tests for antibodies. The number of health worker visits shall therefore scale accordingly based on an average household of approximately 2. The estimated number of health worker visits throughout the period is 2 900 000 based on an estimated 950 000 health worker days. The estimated annual contract value is GBP 380 million excl of vat.
ONS will reserve the right to decide whether to aggregate the lots up to a turn key solution, or award variations of the lots.
Lot 2: Incentives. The contracting authority has a requirement for a service provider to support the study with a method of incentivising respondents undertaking surveys throughout July 2020-May 2022. The requirement will provide incentives to the respondents for their participation during the study. The service provider will supply an e-voucher to every participant during each interview to which there will be over 1 million respondent interviews a year to ensure high participation of surveys. The estimated value of incentives required is GBP 190 million.
ONS will reserve the right to decide whether to aggregate the lots up to a turn key solution or award variations of the lots.
Lot 3: Print and Post – Main Covid-19 Infection Survey. The contracting authority has a requirement for a service provider to support the study by printing personalised letters containing name, address and a URN for each record/person in connection to CIS. Data provided by the ONS, via SFTP, is to be downloaded by the service provider and uploaded for print on the day of provision. As a base average 400 000 Packs a month will require printing. The est annual value GBP 8 million excl vat.
Awarding lots to one supplier ONS will reserve the right to decide whether to aggregate the lots up to a turn key solution or award variations of the lots.
Lot 4: Print and Post — Participant Recruitment. The contracting authority has a requirement for a service provider to support the study by printing and posting letters containing address and a unique access code (UAC) for each household. Some mailings also contain an additional insert (leaflet/information sheet). Data provided by the ONS, via SFTP, is to be downloaded by the service provider and uploaded for printing and posting over an agreed 3 week period to support a four letter engagement strategy. As a base average 214 000 packs a month will require printing and posting. The estimated annual contract value is GBP 5.3 million excl of vat.
Awarding lots to one supplier ONS will reserve the right to decide whether to aggregate the lots up to a turn key solution or award variations of the lots.
Lot 5: Additional Field Data Collection Requirements. The contracting authority in partnership with other government bodies is exploring the potential of broader Covid-19 based infection surveys and further innovations in carrying our surveys of this nature. The design and details of these surveys are still being developed in order to meet the information needs of the government. Further information on this and the requirements will be made available to interested parties as more information becomes available. The estimated annual contract value is GBP 50 million excl of vat.
ONS will reserve the right to decide whether to aggregate the lots up to a turn key solution or award variations of the lots.
The authority is planning to hold a two stage market engagement approach with potential suppliers to help us determine whether our requirement is feasible based on market capacity and capability and to provide further information to potential suppliers on our requirement. The provisional date for this event is during the week commencing Monday 19 October 2020 or as otherwise advised. Further information will be provided to interested parties. It is anticipated that the event will take place ‘virtually’ and will last about 2 hours. Please note that the date and arrangements for this event may be subject to change. In order to register your interest for this event you must set up as a supplier on the authority's eTendering portal, InTend https://in-tendhost.co.uk/ons/aspx/Home All interested suppliers are asked to email natalie.rogers@ons.gov.uk and john.marchrones@ons.gov.uk confirming their company name and their attendance at the event. All further correspondence in relation to this requirement will be carried out via the Authorities eTendering portal InTend. Please note that all suppliers will be permitted to submit a bid for subsequent tender exercises that may follow the market engagement event, regardless of attendance at the market engagement event. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) will be using the accelerated open competition procedure for this requirement. Further details will follow in the contract notice, however, suppliers will need to register on the eTendering portal here: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/ons/aspx/Home to participate in the procurement.


Award value: 633000000