Provision of Short-Term Interviewer Capacity for ONS Surveys

About the Office for National Statistics (ONS)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the UK's largest independent producer of official statistics and the National Statistical Institute. We collect, analyse, and publish high‑quality data about the UK's economy, population, and society to support decision‑making across government, academia, and the private and voluntary sectors. ONS surveys-including flagship household and social surveys-play a critical role in providing robust evidence that informs public policy, resource allocation, and national understanding of social and

Introduction

ONS is exploring potential commercial options to meet a short‑term capacity requirement for experienced interviewers to support ongoing ONS survey operations. The requirement spans a 12‑month period and is expected to involve approximately 100 interviewers located across the UK (locations will be refined during further design and engagement).

The interviewer roles will include a mixture of:

• "Knock to Nudge" field engagement-encouraging selected households to participate in ONS surveys;
• Social Survey Interviewers-undertaking structured interviews to ONS standards.

ONS will provide survey‑specific training; however, to ensure quality and reduce attrition, we are seeking individuals with prior interviewing experience, ideally within large‑scale social or household surveys.

At this exploratory stage, ONS is interested in all potential delivery models, including but not limited to:

• Agencies or organisations supplying experienced interviewer staff
• Freelance or self‑employed interviewers
• Survey organisations with capacity to second field staff
• Consortia or hybrid models combining different sources of capacity

ONS may fulfil this requirement through one or multiple suppliers and welcomes innovative and scalable solutions that can be deployed rapidly.

Detailed Scope of Requirement

1. Workforce Requirement

Approx. 100 interviewers, subject to refinement

Interviewer profiles required:

• Engagement‑focused staff (Knock to Nudge)
• Survey‑delivery interviewers (conducting structured interviews)

Interviewers must be:

• Experienced in household or social survey interviewing
• Comfortable with face‑to‑face engagement
• Able to work flexibly, including evenings/weekends when needed
• Willing to complete mandatory ONS training and assessments

2. Coverage and Deployment

UK‑wide coverage, including urban, rural and hard‑to‑reach areas

Supplier must demonstrate capacity to deploy and redeploy staff as sampling needs evolve

Ability to scale coverage regionally at short notice

Ability to maintain service levels during:

• seasonal fluctuations
• interviewer attrition
• regional surges in response‑chasing

3. Training and Onboarding

ONS will provide:

Survey‑specific training on content and protocols

Mandatory learning for: data protection, safeguarding, field safety and quality standards

Suppliers will be expected to:

• Ensure interviewer attendance and completion of training
• Provide additional induction on employment/agency processes
• Certify readiness of interviewers before deployment
• Monitor learning compliance throughout the contract

4. Technology & Equipment Requirements

Interviewers must be able to:

• Use ONS‑provided laptops/tablets and secure data‑collection software
• Adhere to strict data‑handling and home‑working protocols
• Complete digital reporting of outcomes, productivity and operational issues

Suppliers may need to support interviewers with:

• Basic IT troubleshooting
• Secure storage arrangements

-Return of equipment at end of engagement

5. Management, Quality and Oversight

Depending on the delivery model, suppliers may be required to provide:

• Day‑to‑day performance management
• Supervision of interviewer conduct and adherence to procedures
• Quality assurance checks (e.g., validation calls, shadow visits)

-HR, payroll and welfare support

• Incident reporting pathways
• MI reporting to ONS, including workforce levels, productivity and completion rates

6. Compliance Requirements

All interviewers must meet ONS standards for:

• Safeguarding and lone‑working
• Data protection and confidentiality
• Respect, impartiality and ethical conduct
• Secure storage and handling of respondent information
• Health and safety requirements for field‑based work
• Suppliers may be required to support DBS checks or equivalent vetting.

7. Commercial & Operational Considerations

The solution should enable:

• Rapid mobilisation
• Consistent workforce availability
• Scalable support, including contingency capacity
• Clear cost models (e.g., hourly, per‑interview, blended rates, day rates)
• Efficient communication and issue escalation

ONS is particularly interested in innovations that reduce operational risks, improve staff retention or streamline field deployment.

Questions for Potential Suppliers

To shape our commercial approach, suppliers are invited to respond to the following:

• What delivery model(s) would you recommend for supplying up to ~100 experienced interviewers for 12 months?
• How would you provide UK‑wide coverage, including hard‑to‑reach areas, with flexible deployment?
• What strategies would you use to attract, train and retain experienced interviewers, including freelancers or loaned staff?
• What are the key operational risks, and what mitigation approaches would you propose?
• What lead‑in time would your organisation require before interviewers could become fully operational?
• How would you manage performance, quality assurance and compliance to ONS standards?
• What innovative or alternative solutions (e.g., hybrid staffing models, shared resourcing) should ONS consider?

How to Register

Please register on the ONS e‑tendering portal:

in-tendhost.co.uk/ons/aspx/Home ↗

Once registered:

Express interest under Current Tenders

Respond via the Correspondence function, including:

Summary of your organisation or freelance capability

Potential delivery model(s)

Relevant experience in survey fieldwork

Initial responses to the questions listed above

Additional Information

This market engagement exercise is for information-gathering only.

It is not:

• part of any pre‑qualification process
• a commitment to purchase
• a guarantee of future procurement activity

Participation does not affect eligibility for any future tender.