Closing date for receipt of tender: Monday 13th January 2020
Introduction
Age & Opportunity is the national organisation that provides a range of opportunities for older people who want to get more involved in arts and culture, sport and physical activity, civic engagement and personal development.
Our aim is to inspire people aged 50+ to live a dynamic life where they are more active, more visible, more creative and more connected.
Changing Gears is an Age & Opportunity initiative.
Tender Outline
Age & Opportunity is seeking tenders from suitably qualified individuals or organisations to carry out an independent external evaluation in the context of our Slaintecare Integration Fund project Changing Gears.
Details of the tender are set out in this document which is comprised of four parts:
Part 1: Background information
Part 2: Age & Opportunity’s requirements and other considerations
Part 3: Tender process
Part 4: General tender information, terms and conditions
Interested parties should submit a proposal by email to Mary Harkin, Policy, Research and Evaluation Manager, at mary.harkin@ageandopportunity.ie by close of business on Monday the 13th of January 2020.
Part 1: Background information
Who we are
Age & Opportunity is the leading national development organisation improving the quality of life of older people. We do this by:
• championing the creativity and value of older people;
• combating stereotypes and negative views of ageing;
• developing inclusive and engaging experiences which respond to the interests and needs of the diverse older adult population;
• developing, testing and measuring the impact of pioneering programmes and approaches;
• making evidence available to policy-makers and service providers;
working with partners and stakeholders to ensure that Ireland’s policies, strategies and programmes are directly informed by the needs and experiences of older people.Our Programmes
We provide opportunities for older people to be more active, more creative, more visible, more connected, more often in the following ways.
Age & Opportunity Arts is a dedicated arts and culture programme running throughout the year in local communities around Ireland. We host a range of different creative initiatives from our annual, high profile, Bealtaine Festival which takes place throughout the month of May through to other smaller events, organised day trips to museum, galleries and artist in residence in care settings. One of our most popular initiatives is ‘Cultural Companions’ which creates local networks of like-minded people interested in arts and culture who will accompany each other to cultural events.
Age & Opportunity Sport is a programme designed to get us more active and participate in recreational sport and physical activity. We run a range of initiatives including our Go for Life Programme, which is the National Physical Activity Programme for Older People, funded by Sport Ireland and the HSE.
Every June we run the Go for Life Games, when over 300 participants and teams from every county come together to take part in a full day of sport. Other initiatives we run include a telephone mentoring service called Fitline and our very popular PALs (Physical Activity Leaders) training suitable for anyone interested in leading physical activity programmes in their community.
Age & Opportunity Engage is a programme which offers a range of learning initiatives, courses and workshops – including Changing Gears – for our own personal development as well as opportunities for us to play an active role in our community. Our aim is to facilitate participants to develop resilience, build the skills, know-how and the foresight to achieve the best quality of life.
We believe that people who work directly with older people – or whose work affects the lives of older people – should be conscious of their needs and the value of their continuing contribution to society. As organisations become increasingly aware of the value of their older employees, customers and clients – will be able to benefit from our bespoke training and facilitation and range of national workshops and courses.
Read more about our work at https://ageandopportunity.ie/about-age-and-opportunity/governance/
Part 2: Age & Opportunity’s requirements and other considerations
Tender Outline
Age & Opportunity is seeking tenders from suitably qualified individuals or organisations to carry out an independent external evaluation in the context of our Slaintecare Integration project Changing Gears.
The main goal of this project is to implement a positive intervention for older people, especially vulnerable older people, resulting in reducing participants’ reliance and demand on Ireland’s healthcare system. Developed as a resource for promoting resilience in later life by focusing on self-management of health and wellbeing, it facilitates participants to be self-directive in making life style choices to optimise older age and to promote taking responsibility for life-enhancing choices and practices.
Changing Gears will be delivered to up to 140 older people in CHO 9 (Community Health Organisation) in 7 locations including hospital, primary care, community and prison settings from February to May 2020. Collection of evaluation data will be completed by end of August 2020 and final evaluation report will be delivered during November 2020.
The project aims to realise the following Deliverables and Outcomes:
1. Develop and implement an intervention for patients about taking stock, building resilience, making changes, and moving on from a hospital stay to better health and wellbeing.
2. Co-create with each participant a social prescription and support them to realise this prescription after they leave hospital
3. Increased health literacy and better health among older people who have participated
4. Increased community connection among older people who have participated
5. Greater awareness among stakeholders about the possibility of older people being active agents for their own positive health changes rather than passive recipients of service
The role of the external evaluator is foreseen as follows:
1. Identify elements of best practice and quality indicators in the project delivery
2. Measure the overall outputs achieved against the project work-plan
3. Measure the short and medium term impacts achieved against the project objectives
4. Contribute to the project’s reporting requirements and produce a final evaluation report (due in November 2020)
5. Make recommendations on how the project could be improved, developed and scaled up
Information to be submitted as part of the tender, should at a minimum address the following elements:
• Consultant(s) profile: capacity, skills, experience and knowledge
• Clear, well-defined evaluation methodology and work plan
• Resource Plan for the Evaluation Tender with a clear pricing structure
• Current Tax Clearance Details
We are looking for an individual/organisation who can demonstrate:
• Evaluation experience
• Good research and analysis skills
• Excellent communication skills
• Capacity to deliver a quality piece of work within a tight timescale
• Ability to draft reports in plain English and in a succinct way
Fee Proposal
The fee proposal submitted, shall be in the form of two payments in Euro (€), inclusive of VAT and all expenses. A breakdown of total costs should be provided. The budget for this contract is a maximum of €12,000 inclusive of all costs.
Tax Clearance
The successful Tenderer must be in possession of a valid tax clearance certificate for the duration of the contract. Such a valid tax clearance certificate from the Irish Revenue Commissioners must be produced by a successful Tenderer before execution of the contract. A valid tax clearance certificate means a tax clearance certificate issued by the Irish Revenue Commissioners, and Tenderers not resident in Ireland must make application to the Irish Revenue Commissioners for such a certificate if their tender is to be considered.
Insurance
The successful Tenderer must produce valid public liability insurance.
Part 3: Tender Process
Interested parties should submit a proposal to Mary Harkin, Policy, Research and Evaluation Manager, by close of business on Monday the 13th of January 2020.
The proposal should provide the following information:
• Three examples of relevant work and services
• Three references for the above three examples of work – client name, contact number and email. We will not contact your references without letting you know first.
• A short proposal based on how you plan to deliver on the above listed requirements, outlining your proposed approach to meet Age & Opportunity’s requirements as set out in this document.
• A detailed breakdown of costs.
• An outline of any added value or additional information you think is relevant.
Evaluation Criteria
Tenders will be evaluated on the information provided at the time of tender. Tenders received will be marked out of 100 as follows
• Understanding of tender requirements and approach to tender 10
• Value for money 20
• Qualification and relevant experience 30
• Methodology and Project Management Plan 30
• Other including additional suggestions 10
Based on the above criteria, shortlisted applicants may be asked to meet with Age & Opportunity on Thursday the 16th of January to discuss their proposal in more detail. Requirements for this meeting will be forwarded on selection.
Age & Opportunity shall notify acceptance of the tender to the successful Tenderer as soon as reasonably practicable and in any event by the 22nd of January.
Unsuccessful tenderers will be notified when the appointment of the successful tender has been confirmed.
Queries or clarifications:
Contact Mary Harkin, Policy, Research and Evaluation Manager at mary.harkin@ageandopportunity.ie
Or Karen Horgan, CEO, at Karen.horgan@ageandopportunity.ie
Closing date for receipt of tender: Monday 13th January 2020.
Return tender to: mary.harkin@ageandopportunity.ie
Late applications will not be accepted.
Part 4: General tendering information, terms and conditions
Terms of Appointment
The contract period shall be for a maximum duration of 12 months, or until the final evaluation report has been presented to Age & Opportunity whichever is the shorter. Where a group or consortium submits a proposal, a lead consultant must be nominated who shall be fully responsible for providing the services required by this brief. On appointment the successful tenderer shall prepare and agree an evaluation framework plan with Age & Opportunity. The plan shall detail all staff to be engaged on the project and shall indicate all tasks to be undertaken against time.
Notification of Tender Acceptance
Age & Opportunity shall notify acceptance of the tender to the successful Tenderer as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any event by 22 January 2020.
Currency
The currency to be used in this tender is euro and a tender proposal in any other currency will not be considered.
Costs
Age & Opportunity will not be liable in respect of any costs incurred by any Tenderer in the Preparation of tenders in response to this Invitation to Tender or any associated cost.
Tax Clearance
The successful Tenderer must be in possession of a valid tax clearance certificate for the duration of the contract. Such a valid tax clearance certificate from the Irish Revenue Commissioners must be produced by a successful Tenderer before execution of the contract. A valid tax clearance certificate means a tax clearance certificate issued by the Irish Revenue Commissioners, and Tenderers not resident in Ireland must make application to the Irish Revenue Commissioners for such a certificate if their tender is to be considered.
Ownership of Documents and Copyright
All documents produced by the consultant in connection with this appointment and submitted to Age & Opportunity will be considered the property of Age & Opportunity and may be used by Age & Opportunity at any time, including for other projects, without the prior approval of the consultant.
Exclusion
Tenderer shall be excluded who:
• is bankrupt or being wound up, whose affairs are being administered by the court, who have entered into an arrangement with creditors or who have suspended business activities
• is the subject of proceedings for declaration of bankruptcy or insolvency, for an order for compulsory winding up or a court liquidation, or who has a liquidator or receiver appointed over its assets, or for composition with creditors or any other similar proceedings
• has been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct
• has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions
• has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of taxes.
False or Misleading Information
Tenderers who intentionally or carelessly supply false or misleading information will be disqualified from this Tendering Procedure on the discovery of such information.
Compliance with Law
Tenderers should be able to provide on demand evidence of compliance with all laws applicable to the provision of the services which are the subject of the Invitation to Tender, and in particular should be able to produce evidence that they have particular regard for statutory terms relating to minimum pay and any legally binding or sectoral agreements if applicable.
Termination
The contract shall contain provisions reserving to Age & Opportunity the right to terminate any contract awarded if it is not satisfied with the performance by the successful Tenderer of the contract. The satisfaction or dissatisfaction of Age & Opportunity shall be evaluated in the context of the Tenderers proposal set out in Part 3 of this document.
Requirements of Invitation to Tender
Tenders not conforming to the requirements of this Invitation to Tender will not be considered and will be returned to the Tenderer.
Subject to Contract
This Invitation to Tender is not intended to, and does not, create or evidence any legal or binding relationship, obligation or commitment of any nature between Age & Opportunity and any Tenderer. No such legally binding obligation or commitment shall come into being unless and until a formal legal contract is duly executed and delivered by Age & Opportunity and the successful Tenderer.
Disclaimer
This document is for information only and does not constitute, and shall not be interpreted as, an offer for sale, prospectus, or the basis of a contract. Candidates are recommended to read the documents thoroughly. Age & Opportunity reserves the right to discontinue the procurement process at any time. No liability will be accepted for candidates’ costs in connection with the procurement procedure, irrespective of the outcome, whether or not the procedure is cancelled or postponed.
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