UK Public Sector Contracts & Tenders

Fair4All Finance is seeking an agency to provide external communications and PR support to secure better coverage and publicity of our work on Financial Exclusion. Our mission is to improve the provision of financial products and services to people in financially vulnerable circumstances. We work with government, mainstream finance and the affordable credit sector to increase the availability of appropriate and affordable financial products and services. Alongside this we work with consumer groups and other stakeholders like housing associations and price comparison websites to ensure that these products are accessible, and that financially vulnerable consumers have increased awareness of their choices and the value that each product offers them. We would like to work with a partner who has the relevant expertise and knowledge to refine and develop our message and help communicate it clearly to our multiple and diverse stakeholder groups both directly and via industry and national media channels.

The procurement documents will be available on Friday 29th July (or early w/c 1 August, subject to sign off).Fair4All Finance is looking to appoint a provider (or a prime contractor with consortium partners - i.e. two or more organisations working together) to deliver a process and impact evaluation of the core No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) pilot which is aimed at supporting people in vulnerable circumstances who are financially excluded or underserved- please refer to the additional information pack for background which can be obtained from Georgia Kewley at email address: georgia@fair4allfinance.org.uk There may also be additional budget available to cover a subsequent evaluation of the ramping up of scale for NILS and the piloting of other products in response to the cost of living crisis, and /or additional evaluations required for other unrelated Fair4All Finance programmes and so we are also seeking some flexibility during this procurement to commission additional work through the appointed partner(s) in a framework type model. The budget range for this tender could therefore be between £200k to £880k. Our experience would suggest that delivering the three core NILS core pilot evaluation components (1. Process, 2. Social impact & 3. Economic impact including the cost / benefit analysis of distinct delivery models) will require a wide range of experience and expertise, and therefore that a consortium approach may be the most likely outcome of this tender. We envisage that the three evaluation components will collate into an overall assessment of the effectiveness of the NILS delivery. This assessment will balance the cost and efficiency elements - per the process evaluation - with the social impact and economic impact elements, to assess the overall viability of the no-interest loan construct. Our core hypothesis is that the positive impact exceeds the cost element; we would like the overall evaluation to robustly test this. The evaluations should also assess whether NILS works for, and what its value and impacts are on the key audiences: the borrowers (people in vulnerable circumstances some of whom are underserved or financially excluded, lenders (community lenders including Credit Unions and Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) as well as commercial lenders, funders (including HMT, devolved administrations and JP Morgan), referral partners (including local authorities and Housing Associations) and wider society. We are open to providers proposing the methodology they plan to use to meet the aims and objectives of this work, but we anticipate that it will comprise the following principles: Continued under: Additional Text Section Additional information: We are open to providers proposing the methodology they plan to use to meet the aims and objectives of this work, but we anticipate that it will comprise the following principles: Process evaluation The process evaluation should analyse the efficiency, effectiveness and suitability of the NILS pilot processes (including design, set up, delivery, referrals and performance) in order to identify improvements that can be made during the pilot, and test whether there is way to build a long-term, sustainable, permanent solution. Financial services evaluation work specific on loan or other relevant financial services products will be essential. Borrower perspectives on the NILS experience will be crucial and therefore bidders will need to demonstrate strong qualitative techniques engaging with people in vulnerable circumstances. Impact evaluation We expect the impact evaluation to have two key elements - a social impact review and an economic impact review. Social impact evaluation The social impact evaluation should assess if there are positive customer benefits resulting from the NILS loans, as delivered by the 5-7 lenders involved in the pilot. We would expect this to consider both qualitative and quantitative evidence and seek to answer at least the following questions: What impact - if any - does access to a NILS product have on financial wellbeing and resilience for low-income households currently excluded from access to mainstream or affordable credit? What is the short and long term impact? What are customers able to do having accessed a NILS loan which they wouldn't otherwise be able to; has it enabled them to access more mainstream financial products and services? What are the impacts outside of a customer's initial financial position - on their wider life, mental health, physical health, their children's wellbeing, their employment/education/training situation, their housing situation? Economic impact evaluation The economic impact evaluation should assess whether there are wider societal benefits generated as a result of the NILS scheme, such as changes in employability and economic activity, income, physical and mental health, and ability to engage in society, eg avoiding benefit uptake, and may result in findings that the NILS scheme generated a £X cost saving for society. To support this evaluation we will have data about the actual cost of delivery through the open book accounting arrangements we have with lenders and require a cost benefit analysis to examine the optimal delivery model reflecting on the range of models we are testing in this pilot with varying degrees of automation and borrower support. NILS core pilot evaluation timelines The evaluation will run alongside three proposed waves of lending. The pauses between each wave will allow for a review of learnings through an interim report, which will inform any changes to the pilot ahead of the subsequent wave.

The procurement documents will be available on Friday 29th July (or early w/c 1 August, subject to sign off). Fair4All Finance is looking to appoint a provider (or a prime contractor with consortium partners - i.e. two or more organisations working together) to deliver a process and impact evaluation of the core No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) pilot which is aimed at supporting people in vulnerable circumstances who are financially excluded or underserved- please refer to the additional information pack for background which can be obtained from Georgia Kewley at email address:  georgia@fair4allfinance.org.uk There may also be additional budget available to cover a subsequent evaluation of the ramping up of scale for NILS and the piloting of other products in response to the cost of living crisis, and /or additional evaluations required for other unrelated Fair4All Finance programmes and so we are also seeking some flexibility during this procurement to commission additional work through the appointed partner(s) in a framework type model. The budget range for this tender could therefore be between £200k to £880k. Our experience would suggest that delivering the three core NILS core pilot evaluation components (1. Process, 2. Social impact & 3. Economic impact including the cost / benefit analysis of distinct delivery models) will require a wide range of experience and expertise, and therefore that a consortium approach may be the most likely outcome of this tender. We envisage that the three evaluation components will collate into an overall assessment of the effectiveness of the NILS delivery. This assessment will balance the cost and efficiency elements - per the process evaluation - with the social impact and economic impact elements, to assess the overall viability of the no-interest loan construct. Our core hypothesis is that the positive impact exceeds the cost element; we would like the overall evaluation to robustly test this. The evaluations should also assess whether NILS works for, and what its value and impacts are on the key audiences: the borrowers (people in vulnerable circumstances some of whom are underserved or financially excluded, lenders (community lenders including Credit Unions and Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) as well as commercial lenders, funders (including HMT, devolved administrations and JP Morgan), referral partners (including local authorities and Housing Associations) and wider society. We are open to providers proposing the methodology they plan to use to meet the aims and objectives of this work, but we anticipate that it will comprise the following principles: Continued under 11.2.4

The purpose of this piece of work is to increase our understanding of relevant UK and non-UK legislative frameworks and subsidy mechanisms that support the provision of affordable credit to people in financially vulnerable circumstances. Fair4All Finance is seeking an analysis of what works and what doesn't in these policies that incentivise or provide a legislative framework for mainstream financial services organisations to deliver services (either directly or indirectly) to people in financially vulnerable circumstances. This RFP is structured into two distinct lots. • Lot 1. Fair4All Finance is seeking support to accelerate our understanding of alterative subsidy mechanisms, with the potential for use in the provision of affordable credit by community finance and commercial providers. This short report will complement our existing real-life 'tests', with the aim of influencing the wider market and government policy in 2023/24. • Lot 2. Fair4All Finance is seeking support to accelerate our understanding of the Community Reinvestment Act (US) and other similar international policy approaches. Fair4All Finance is seeking an analysis of what works and what doesn't in these policies that incentivise or provide a legislative framework for mainstream financial services organisations to deliver services (either directly or indirectly) to people in financially vulnerable circumstances. Ideally, Fair4All Finance would like to identify a single partner to deliver both requirements but will consider proposals for individual lots.

Fair4All Finance is seeking a consultant to lead a collaborative consultation and 'co-design' process for our new Community Finance Resilience Fund. Fair4All Finance has recently been allocated further dormant asset funding, including additional funds allocated for scaling and preserving the provision of affordable credit. Through our new £5m+ Community Finance Resilience Fund our intention is to provide grant and some investment funding for community finance lenders (credit unions, CDFIs) to support them and their borrowers through the cost of living crisis. We are seeking a consultant to lead the consultation for this Fund - this is an exciting opportunity to work collaboratively and at pace on an important source of funding for lenders supporting customers in vulnerable financial circumstances. Full details of this opportunity are on our website.

Fair4All Finance is seeking provider(s) who can create support the design and implementation of appropriate special purpose vehicles where it works with providers to achieve its mission through the provision of capital for various activities. Providers with experience of working in social / not for profit and commercial contexts are sought. All tender documents for this requirement will be available by Friday 12th May 2023 on the Market Dojo e-tendering system. All potential providers will need to undergo a simple registration process and once you have clicked on the tender opportunity you will be able to review the tender documentation.

Fair4All Finance is seeking experience marketing provider(s) for a 3-year contract with the objective of raising awareness and consideration of the community finance sector. The requirement covers key deliverables as follows: a Lot 1 - Strategic PR & Marketing • PR & Earned Media Press Office (year 1 and beyond) • Strategic Sector Positioning & Messaging Framework (year 1 only) • 5-10 Year Strategic Marketing & Communications Plan (year 1 only) • Ad Hoc Requirements (year 1 and beyond) b Lot 2 - Measurement & Reporting (Year 1 and beyond) • Delivery of a usable measurement and reporting framework to monitor the impact of our PR and marketing activity on an ongoing basis

Fair4All Finance is seeking a data partnership with a provider to support us better understand the historic, current, and ongoing demand and supply in the consumer credit market, with the objective of informing our ongoing strategy development and addressing changes in customer needs.

Fair4All Finance is seeking a provider to lead and manage recruitment of board members, including the CEO, a Non Executive Board member and a Non Executive sub committee member. We are looking for provider(s) who can demonstrate a track record of sourcing a diverse range of candidates with relevant experience for roles and who can also design and deliver a suitable selection/development programme for internal candidates for the CEO role.

Fair4All Finance is seeking an Investment Management Solution. The requirements cover the installation and ongoing management of the solution. The ideal Investment Management System (IMS) will be a robust and scalable platform designed specifically to meet the unique needs of organisations engaged in social impact investment. It will offer a comprehensive suite of features and functionalities tailored to support the end-to-end lifecycle of social impact investments, including loans, interest-bearing equity, dividend-bearing equity, grants, guarantees, and impact measurement. Full details are enclosed within the procurement documents on Market Dojo.

Fair4All Finance is inviting proposals to scope and deliver an independent impact evaluation of its Community Finance Resilience Fund. Please see the attached RfP for full details. The submission deadline is 9;00a.m. Monday 2d December 2024. Fair4All Finance is seeking a provider to: 1. Scope an independent impact evaluation of the Community Finance Resilience Fund (the 'Fund'), including refining the existing monitoring framework 2. Deliver an independent impact evaluation of the Fund 3. Review how the Fund has been delivered, if it was delivered as intended and to capture any lessons learned around the efficiency and effectiveness of its delivery. The Fund, offering over £5 million in grant and investment funding, supports community finance organisations (such as credit unions, community development finance institutions (CDFIs), and related entities) with the goals to: • Strengthen the resilience of the community finance sector during the cost of living crisis. • Preserve and expand access to affordable credit for individuals in financially vulnerable circumstances. Due to funding restrictions, the Fund's remit is limited to supporting borrowers in England only.

Fair4All Finance is seeking a provide to deliver: 1. An evaluation of our three leadership programmes, assessing impact and providing insight for future initiatives. 2. Transformational leadership market review - to identify options that could equip senior leaders in the community finance sector to drive systemic change and foster sector wide transformation.

Fair4All Finance is looking for a contractor to support us on a short term basis to lead a new piece of work on financial capability and education. The work will be to help Fair4All Finance to define a possible role in supporting the development of financial capability among customers in financially vulnerable circumstances. We are seeking a contractor with a strong background in financial capability, who can navigate the complexities and nuances of the issue, along with the response to that issue by government policy, social sector, and commercial providers.

Framework covering a range of legal service categories, including: - Financial Legal and Regulatory Compliance - Data Protection - Structure Finance - Competition Law & Procurement - General Advisory

Fair4All Finance is seeking an organisation to write a comprehensive report on the landscape of financial services and disability. We know that financial services firms are active in disability inclusion however people with disabilities are still reporting barriers and feeling excluded from financial services. While progress has been made, we want to do more to ensure the 5As (Awareness, Available, Appropriate, Affordable, Accessible) for financial products and services for people with disabilities. We want the report to do the following comprehensively as possible: • Map the landscape of financial services provision for people with disabilities. • Identify gaps, barriers, and inclusive practices. • Identify hygiene features in service provision for all disabilities • Provide actionable recommendations for providers and funders

Fair4All Finance is requesting proposals for an organisation to lead the development of proposition design principles for our Home Contents Insurance Pilot. The challenge: Our analysis shows that only 30% of people in financially vulnerable circumstances have contents insurance, as opposed to 46% of all UK adults. For the social tenant cohort specifically, there are few contents insurance products that serve the needs of this group, and uptake of the ones that exist is low. Alongside this, this cohort is potentially at greater risk of exposure to adverse events which contents insurance may help protect against. Our Home Contents Insurance Pilot, delivered as part of the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy, will support the market to develop and deliver one or more home contents insurance propositions for social tenants, delivered alongside the tenancy agreement. We will be launching a subsidy fund to support this later in the year. Prior to launching the fund, we are working with key stakeholders to define the ideal product and delivery mechanism attributes from a tenant (and social landlord) perspective, which will support the setting of expectations for the fund applicants.

Fair4All Finance is seeking a provider that can undertake an annual survey of adults in Great Britain examining issues relating to financial product usage and financial exclusion. A key goal of the survey is for us to gain a better understanding of those using unregulated borrowing e.g. friends, family and unlicenced lenders. The survey can be conducted online or in person but must use a minimum sample of 4,000 adults aged 18-75. The survey must be nationally representative, weighted for a range of demographic characteristics.