INVITATION TO TENDER – OVERVIEW

Contract: Gaelic Research Services

3 August 2023

1. MG ALBA invites you to tender for the provision of the above services.
2. Your Tender must be submitted via email to tender@mgalba.com
3. Tenders must arrive no later than 2pm on 14 August 2023. Tenders submitted after this may not be considered.
4. MG ALBA is not bound to accept any Tender offer received.
5. Enquiries should be sent to tender@mgalba.com
6. Your Tender may not be considered if it does not meet the requirements of the following documents:

1. 1. Services Sought
   2. Information and Instructions for Tenderers
   3. Award Criteria and Scoring Matrix
   4. Questionnaire: Essential Information and Declaration

A. SERVICES SOUGHT

1. About MG ALBA

MG ALBA aims to inform, entertain, and educate through Gaelic media. MG ALBA delivers BBC ALBA platforms in partnership with the BBC and also oversees the LearnGaelic and SpeakGaelic brands.

MG ALBA needs to understand how the BBC ALBA brand is performing with audiences in the fast-changing world of media consumption.  Measurement and analysis of the performance of Gaelic media is key to understanding our audience and supports robust commissioning decisions. MG ALBA also needs to understand wider patterns of Gaelic video consumption on non-broadcast platforms.

Tenderers are invited to visit MG ALBA’s website for information about the company, its activities and its route map for Gaelic media. See MG ALBA’s website.

2. Services sought

Applications are invited from service providers to recruit, operate and maintain a Gaelic Audience Panel (“the panel”) primarily aimed at measuring viewership of BBC ALBA video content on linear television and non-linear (iPlayer, online and social media) platforms as well as capturing data on listenership of BBC Radio nan Gàidheal and on how consumption of SpeakGaelic and LearnGaelic video content on non-linear platforms intersects with BBC ALBA viewership.

The panel must have a minimum of 300 active members who complete a weekly diary recording their media consumption and qualitative assessment of content consumed during the specified week.  Reporting of the survey results to MG ALBA will be on a weekly basis.

This contract will commence on 2 October 2023 for three years with an option to extend for one further year at MG ALBA’s discretion (and with the agreement of both MG ALBA and the service provider).

3. Deliverables / Outcomes

• A panel comprised of not less than 550 people aged 16+ with a response rate of 300+ people per week;

• successful delivery of research based on a demographically – including life stage, disposable income, lifestyle, range of media behaviours and age factors – and geographically representative panel comprising users of Gaelic, both speakers and learners;

• Weekly reports based on designed surveys capturing daily and weekly Gaelic media consumption;

• Measurement and reporting on how under 35s and other audiences with a multi-platform, digital-first approach consume Gaelic media;

• The creation and management of quarterly moderated on-line focus groups per annum with a focus on specific demographic, linguistic or geographic groups of the panel and/or specific Gaelic content propositions, to be agreed in advance with MG ALBA, and the quarterly reporting of findings.

In order to ensure delivery, the successful applicant will be expected to provide the following, which will form part of the contract:

Strategy and Planning

1. Deliver a panel operating and maintenance strategy including a panel member replenisher programme;
2. Plans to incentivise hard to reach respondents i.e. under 35’s;
3. Design and maintenance of surveys capturing daily and weekly Gaelic media consumption, including 10% of surveys offline/paper-based to the extent agreed to be necessary for completeness of data;
4. Design quarterly moderated online focus groups to add additional information to the quarterly reports;
5. Regularly assess the implementation and impact of the panel and if necessary adjust accordingly;
6. Breakdown of how the budget will be spent.

Execution 

7. Be the key delivery partner for MG ALBA’s Gaelic audience research;
8. Meet quarterly with MG ALBA and senior BBC ALBA executives to analyse reports;
9. Collection and collation of offline/paper-based panellist raw data, to the extent agreed to be necessary for completeness of data;
10. Processing and weighting of panellist raw data;
11. Creation of weekly/monthly/annual reports and data files with designs bespoke to MG ALBA’s requirements;
12. Weekly/monthly/annual reporting including presentations and excel data files delivered via email;
13. Understand the BBC ALBA and Radio nan Gàidheal services;
14. Provide insights at agreed intervals into the attitudes of Gaelic learners to the SpeakGaelic and, if appropriate, the LearnGaelic brands;
15. Provide strategy, insight and support at quarterly meetings or at agreed other key periods in the year;
16. Collaborate with BBC research colleagues.

The aim of the activity is:

• To measure, track and report on the consumption of Gaelic media providing insights into the panel’s range of media behaviours;
• To measure, track and report the panel’s use of different media platforms;
• To measure, track and report the panel’s awareness of the BBC ALBA brand and level of satisfaction with Gaelic media;
• To analyse the panel data to provide insights into audience consumption and behaviour and use these insights to support Gaelic media strategy including Gaelic language learning provision.

Outcomes:

• Weekly panel information and insight into Gaelic media consumption on all platforms including digital platforms;
• Quarterly insight into consumption and verbatim feedback on the SpeakGaelic media products and the LearnGaelic website.

Measurable KPIs will be agreed upon the appointment of the successful tenderer.

4. Experience and Skills

Tenderers must possess the relevant skills and experience to fulfil the aims of the Gaelic Research Services. These include but are not limited to: 

• Evidence of successful research projects
• Project management and delivery
• Understanding of Gaelic language content landscape
• Gaelic language skills (desirable)
• Strong reporting and analysis skills

5. Contract duration

This contract will commence on 2 October 2023 for three years with an option to extend for one further year at MG ALBA’s discretion (and with the agreement of both MG ALBA and the service provider).

6. Contract delivery timeline 

7. Pricing

MG ALBA has set aside up to £120K excl. VAT per annum for the contract.

8. Contract Management

The contract will be managed by MG ALBA’s Director of Content.

9. Timescale for Award
   The timescale for the Award is set out below. 

10. Evaluation of Tenders
    The decision criteria are set out below. These will be assessed by an evaluation panel. Feedback to unsuccessful Tenderers will be provided on request. 

If two or more applicants score within 5% of the other, preference will be given to the applicant which demonstrates the best commitment to usage or development of Gaelic in execution of the contract.

11. Enquiries and Submission
    Proposals should be no more than 3 pages, not including cost breakdown or credentials. They should set out the proposed approach to the job, the personnel and expertise to be applied to the engagement, and the proposed time commitment.

Unless advised to the contrary in the Invitation to Tender you may submit your proposals in the format that best suits you (e.g., Microsoft Word, PowerPoint etc).

The opportunity to discuss and develop these submissions may be given through interviews with applicants once the tender has closed.

Enquires associated with the Invitation to Tender can be made by email to tender@mgalba.com. Responses to questions raised during the tendering period and which disclose previously unpublished information not in the public domain will be published on MG ALBA’s website and/or circulated to all known potential Tenderers in the form of a Frequently Asked Questions note (FAQ). The relevant dates are set out above at 9. Timescale for Award.

B. INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR TENDERERS

It is your responsibility to obtain any additional information necessary for the preparation of a Tender.

Please treat as confidential all information supplied by MG ALBA unless you need to disclose it to obtain guarantees or quotations for your Tender.

You must submit completed Tenders as set out in A: SERVICE SOUGHT.

• MG ALBA may need to disclose information provided, for example, to comply with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, any other law, or, as a consequence of judicial order, or order by any court or tribunal or other body with the authority to order disclosure.
• Accordingly, if you consider that any of the information included in your Tender is commercially confidential, please identify it and explain (in broad terms) what harm might result from disclosure and/or publication.

MG ALBA reserves the right to reject any Tender which, in their opinion, does not comply with the requirements.

MG ALBA may not consider Tenders received after the closing date and time.

MG ALBA reserves the right to withdraw or amend the requirement at any stage prior to the award of the contract. Where amendments are significant, MG ALBA may, at its discretion, extend the deadline for receipt of Tenders.

The Tenderer will bear all costs associated with this Tendering exercise.

Please note that MG ALBA may ask the successful Tenderer to provide guarantees from a parent company or other relevant person or body.

MG ALBA asked Tenderers to note the following. 

• Nothing in the communication between the Tenderer and MG ALBA regarding the tendering process or the tender response shall constitute a contract for the provision of any service covered by this tender process nor a warranty or a representation that any contract will or may be awarded.
• MG ALBA reserves the right to withdraw from and/or abandon and/or defer this tender process at any time, not to award any contract as a result of this tender process, to supplement, revise and/or clarify the terms and conditions of this ITT and/or to require the Tenderer to clarify its tender responses and/or to provide additional information in relation thereto.
• You are required to provide details if it is envisaged that there may be a conflict of interest between individuals involved in the application and members of MG ALBA’s Board and/or staff.
• MG ALBA expects the terms to require the successful Tenderer to have the necessary insurances in place.
• MG ALBA will be granted a royalty free, perpetual, unencumbered licence of copyright and other rights in any and all deliverables created in the provision of the services, unless specifically agreed to the contrary.
• The successful Tenderer will be expected to act in MG ALBA’s best interests at all times.
• The successful Tenderer will be expected to warrant that it shall provide the services in accordance with all applicable laws.
• The successful Tenderer shall use MG ALBA’s confidential information solely for the purposes of performing its obligations under the agreement and it shall not disclose any confidential information to any person other than to its staff or to comply with any legal obligations;
• The successful Tenderer will be expected to provide all reasonable assistance to MG ALBA to enable MG ALBA to deal with any requests made in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000;
• It is expected that MG ALBA may terminate the agreement on giving 1 month’s notice. MG ALBA may also terminate the agreement immediately where the successful Tenderer is in material breach of any of its obligations, where any of the key personnel are unavailable to provide the services, where the Tenderer is wound up, where a receiver is appointed over any of the Tenderer’s assets, where the Tenderer is unable to pay its debts, where the Tenderer ceases to carry on its business, or where there is any change of control of the Tenderer.
• Following such termination of the agreement, it is expected that there shall be no obligation on MG ALBA to make any payments to the Tenderer other than for the work actually completed; the Tenderer shall return to MG ALBA all property belonging to MG ALBA; the Tenderer shall provide all reasonable assistance to MG ALBA to enable MG ALBA to complete the work of providing the services; and the main terms noted above shall remain in force.
• The successful Tenderer will be required to comply with the following codes of practice, legislation and guidelines (amongst others):
  • Health and Safety Legislation
  • GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018

 C. AWARD CRITERIA AND SCORING MATRIX

An evaluation panel will score the Tenderer’s responses.

Qualitative criteria are evaluated as follows:

A successful submission must obtain a score of at least 2 in each area.

The evaluation is then weighted to produce a score, as set out in the matrix.

The Tender with the lowest price and/or best value for money will be awarded the maximum score for Price/VFM. Other Tenders will be scored by reference to that.

D. QUESTIONNAIRE: ESSENTIAL INFORMATION & DECLARATION

Please complete and return this questionnaire.

All personal information supplied will be treated as confidential and will be subject to data protection laws.

Please access MG ALBA’s Privacy Notice for details of how we will handle and use your personal information.