PS22407 - The Procurement of the Office for Product Safety and Standards Research Collaboration Network

Award outcome

Description

** Please note this is not a call for competition. This is a PIN notice for a Department for Business, Energy and industrial Strategy (BEIS) requirement** This OPSS Research Collaboration Network is being commissioned to support the delivery of the Office for Product Safety & Standards (OPSS) Strategic Research Programme (SRP). OPSS was established by BEIS in January 2018 in order to enhance protections for consumers and drive forward increased productivity, growth and business confidence. The OPSS SRP provides high quality, strategic, science-based research to strengthen the evidence base for OPSS policy development, delivery and enforcement activities. As an evidence-led organisation, OPSS places great importance on research which gathers insights on a number of evidence bases and challenges the product safety system faces. We intend that by setting up a Research Collaboration Network OPSS will bring together suppliers and create a community of researchers dedicated to the OPSS objectives of keeping people safe and driving forward increased productivity, growth and business confidence. We propose that a joined-up approach for research commissioning will attract more suppliers and will create lists of subject matter experts we can call upon for peer review and technical advice. The aim of the OPSS Research Framework is to identify and utilise contractors with skill and expertise in the following areas to support the aims of our Strategic Research Programme (SRP): - Lot 1: Risk (communications, management, measurement, prioritisation and tolerance); - Lot 2: Chemicals and Materials (Identification, measurement, characterisation techniques and exposure studies and toxicological limits); - Lot 3: Economic (Impact analysis, market analysis and consumer/business behaviours and attitudes); - Lot 4: Technology hardware and software. (Literature reviews, SWOT analysis and research testing, focusing on batteries, mechanical and software engineering challenges). The purpose of the Research Collaboration Network is to make it easier and faster for both contractors and OPSS to apply for and commission research, with contractors only required to make one large bid at the beginning of the framework start which will onboard them into a 'lot' relevant to their expertise. Research requests from OPSS will be ad hoc and throughout the year but will relate to these four lots. The research requests will then be distributed to suppliers through much shorter 'mini competitions' which require less paperwork (usual turn-around time is approx. one week). Additional information: We hope this Research Collaboration Network will also attract smaller research businesses and academic institutions, who may struggle with the demands of bidding of individual research from contracts finder or other government procurement routes. It is worth nothing that this will not subsume other methods of procurement and in some cases other frameworks could be used for some research when appropriate. We are particularly interested in suppliers who have experience in applying their research methods to nonmedical and non-food consumer products. Please see Annex A for more details on areas of work the framework is helping to support and OPSS Strategic research programme lot structure Please note that the route to market will be via Find a Tender and Contracts Finder. Supplier day details This Prior Information Notice is being issued in order to undertake a market consultation exercise with regards to the current view of requirements detailed above and in Annex A of this document. The supplier engagement session is due to take place on Wednesday, 25th January 2023 10:00 - 12:00 via Microsoft Teams. The supplier engagement session will last approximately 2 hours, comprising of the following: - Overview of the requirements for each lot - Explanation of the bidding process - Open floor Q&A Feedback from the day and Q&A sessions may be used to inform the final tender documentation, ensuring all valid options are considered. If you believe that this will be of interest to you and your organisation, please register your interest by Tuesday, 24th January 2023 providing the following information to [email protected] marking the email FAO Victoria Clewer and our reference number PS22407 Research Collaboration Hub confirming your organisation and the name of attendees. - Organisation Name - Attendee(s) Name - Attendee(s) Email Address Space is limited on the supplier day, and attendance is restricted to 3 people per supplier. We would request that attendance is restricted to key members of your organisation. By registering and attending you will be engaging in non-competitive dialogue which will enable BEIS to develop and assess the market's appetite, concerns, and views on formulation of its requirements. BEIS may consider the information and responses received as part of the preliminary market consultation to help inform the specification and further decision making in relation to the planning and conduct of the procurement, ensuring all valid options are considered. For the avoidance of doubt, this notice is not a Call for Competition; a Contract Notice will be issued as a call for competition. Not registering an interest shall not prevent any supplier participating in a future procurement, nor is it intended that any information supplied as part of the preliminary market consultation shall place any supplier at an advantage in a potential procurement process.

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