Find a TenderAwarded without competition

Published 6 Dec 2022, 15:18 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

NEIRF Evaluation Execution CCN

Official notice

Authority: Defra Network eTendering Portal

ServicesAward procedure without prior publication of a call for competition

Sectors: Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services (77) Delivery: UK

Awarded value£302,582published contract · exc. VAT

Awarded 6 Dec 2022no call for competition

Awarded to Ecory's UK Ltd

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Defra is designing a Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (hereafter

referred to as the NEIRF); a grant programme to address market failures,

develop capacity and support investment in natural environment projects which

enable the outcomes contained in Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan (25

YEP) and the Green Finance Strategy.

Initially, this commission is for a policy evaluation across the first year of the

NEIRF scheme but will continue for a further two years subject to annual review.

The role of evaluation is to assess evidence on the process, impact and value for

money of NEIRF grant-funded projects. Through the evaluation we will want to

know the extent to which NEIRF aims and objectives have been achieved, to

recommend adjustments to ongoing and future projects, capture and disseminate

policy learning and evidence on developing private sector investment to deliver

environmental outcomes and make recommendations on, and arrangements for,

long term achievement of scheme outcomes.

The change to the contract is to include the HIVE initiative and case studies that were not in existence or applicable at original formulation of the project.

CPV: Forest monitoring or evaluation services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published

Lot #1Ecorys is carrying out an independent evaluation of the NEIRF as set out inAwarded

Ecorys is carrying out an independent evaluation of the NEIRF as set out in

Specification 1 of this contract. The role of evaluation is to assess evidence on the

process, impact and value for money of NEIRF grant-funded projects. Through the

evaluation we will establish the extent to which NEIRF aims and objectives have been

achieved, to recommend adjustments to ongoing and future projects, capture and

disseminate policy learning and evidence on developing private sector investment to

deliver environmental outcomes and make recommendations on, and arrangements

for, long term achievement of scheme outcomes.

a) Evaluation of the Defra funded elements of GFI HIVE3 initiative, which will continue

the provision of support for nature projects that are seeking private sector funding,

and the facilitation of those relationships; and

b) The production of standalone case studies of NEIRF projects, which can be

disseminated to a wide audience, developed to the specification of the Coalition for

Private Investment into Conservation.

Delivery: UK

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record

Procedure method: Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Legal basis: CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
Procurement category: Services
Notice status: Awarded without competition
Procurement threshold: Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime: Standard
Commercial structure: Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type: Direct award (no call for competition)
GPA / WTO covered: Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement: Unspecified in notice
First published: 6 Dec 2022, 15:18 GMT
Last source update: 6 Dec 2022, 15:18 GMT
FTS notice number: 2022/S 000-034520
Classification (CPV): Forest monitoring or evaluation services
Delivery area: UK
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-038b1d Find a Tender

Why no open competition

The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive

Published justification

The justification for using Ecory’s is for the work to build upon what they have already undertaken as part of the original contract.

Justification: this will be a straightforward extension to the NEIRF evaluation which looks at the NEIRF community of practice. Therefore, we expect this extension to present the most Value for Money as data collection procedures are already being designed which can apply to the Hive initiative. Therefore, there are overwhelming efficiency gains to be secured by using Ecorys for this work, in particular:

Interviews will be merged with those carried out for NEIRF stakeholder interviews, and so the resources needed to design and conduct this exercise are reduced;
The NEIRF survey will be the basis for the additional survey work carried out for the Hive, and so a large degree of the preparation works, and execution methods already undertaken will benefit the Hive survey

Ecory’s will have built up necessary knowledge of the Green Finance Institute’s initiatives, for example they have attended a number of the NEIRF events already as observers and will have the capability to discharge this additional ask without any significant onboarding or induction.

a) Expanding case study work: create stand alone and public facing case studies of the projects supported by the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF), developed to the specification of the Coalition for Private Investment into Conservation.

Justification: Ecory’s will already be producing case studies by way of box texts in their annual reports, and they have also produced project profiles as an annex of their reports, which are being developed using information collected through their existing data collection and analysis processes, however as the contract has progressed, we have identified a need to produce stand-alone case studies for public consumption which follow the blueprint guidance offered by the Coalition of Private Investment into Conservation. This guidance was not in existence at the inception of the existing contract. The extension involves:

developing set templates of various levels of detail from a short (bronze) three-page study to a seven-page case study (silver plus) including more in depth information;
fact checking on the outcomes of NEIRF funded projects and, for the more in-depth studies (silver plus), visiting projects to interview teams and collect additional data and reflections on project work – not otherwise available from other data collection methods;
working with a graphic designer to produce 64 accessible public facing and standalone case studies, which are visually stimulating and impactful;
developing, with a graphic designer, a half page summary infographic for 71 projects funded by the NEIRF, which will increase accessibility, for a wider audience, to the outputs and outcomes projects are seeking to deliver.

Delivery of the above can be achieved through building on the existing supplier’s workplan and utilising the contract resource that has been put in place during the existing contract.

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Awards 1

Awarded value £302,5821 contract exc. VAT

Bids received 1

Contracts signed 1latest 6 Dec 2022

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
Ecory's UK Ltd	£302,582 †	—	Awarded

Contracts

Contract 034520-2022-62175-1 · Ecory's UK Ltd
Signed
6 Dec 2022
Value
£302,582
Status
active

Bid statistics published by the authority

Bids	SME	VCSE	Valid bid range
1bids	—	—	—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Defra Network eTendering Portal

Contracting authorityMinistry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisionsEnvironmental protection 17 Nobel House, London, UK, SW1P 3JRContact email, phone

Dispute resolution & review bodies

Department for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsReview body LONDON

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

Ecory's UK LtdAwarded supplier Birmingham, UK

Official documents & specifications

Official links; attachments are not copied

No document links were published on the notice.