CAPITAL AMBITIONS ENQUIRIES

Questions/Queries asked 

Response

1

Do you expect the 500 leaders identified to remain the same group throughout the project (taking account of staff turnover) or will it change depending on focus of the themes chosen?

There is bound to be some churn as managers leave and it is likely that different groups of managers will become involved depending on the themes chosen. Tenderers are expected to put forward their own proposals for how this group would be maintained. 

2

When can spend be incurred under theme D? much of the research which would be needed to inform it may need to begin early in the project. Should this be incorporated within theme C?    

Pricing for theme D is not required at this stage. Theme C related to the scenario planning work and should only include that. 

     3

Does delivery on the four themes of work in theme F have to be run sequentially, or could they be run in parallel?    

It is open to tenderers to put their own proposals on this. 

4

In order to provide a more detailed approach, could the number of themes investigated in theme F be reduced from four to three if this emerged as the best way forward?   

This was always meant to be an example of how many themes there could be (if 

anything, we would expect there to be more) with the detail to be agreed with the 

contractor as part of theme D.       

5

Pilots are referred to in theme D on page 13. Do you expect these to be pilots of physical work or activity on the ground to test an approach or pilots of network and other ways of joint working?

Could be one or both.  

Questions/Queries asked 

Response

6

Can we clarify that 3.1 on page 26 means Capital Ambition intend the tender to be priced at a maximum of 600K with VAT in addition, rather than 600K including VAT? 

We would not expect to receive tenders to the value of £600K. Funding of £600K has been allocated for the completion of all themes and any other additional works required. The expectation is that the majority of the grant funding will be available for additional works including themes D and F for which we are not currently asking for a price. The funding is exclusive of VAT.

7

Should all themes in the tender add up to £600K or just A, B, C, E and G? 

Funding of £600K has been allocated for the completion of all themes and any other additional works required. The expectation is that the majority of the grant funding will be available for additional works including themes D and F.

8

Who else have you asked to tender? 

It is not the Council's practice to identify other tenderers. 

9 

How many groups did you turn down after the PQQ stage.

In total 15 bids were received, and 7 were short listed. Eight bids were rejected.

10

Could we have access to top 500 list that you have already begun preparing (as mentioned in the prospectus)? 

No, it is the expectation that contractors will do most of this work.    

11

Which organisations do you include within ‘public sector’?  

Examples include local authorities, police, fire authorities, PCTs, GLA, LDA etc

12

Do you already have a list of organisations?  

No

13

Are you considering third sector partners, arm’s length organisations?  

We do no divulge details of others tenderers.

14

Are councillors eligible? 

Don’t understand the question? Can you clarify?

Questions/Queries asked 

Response

15

In the prospectus you suggest you have started the process of identifying the Top 500. We would be keen to know what work has been done at this stage.

Some initial work has been done but we are keen to hear Tenderers proposals.

16

Have you identified the criteria through which the Top 500 will be selected? If so, what are those criteria? 

No – Tenderers are asked to put forward an approach.  

17

Has this programme already been advertised on LBHF?  

No 

18 

Have you already designed / started to build a database for the Top 500 or 

will you expect the contractor to do this? 

No the contractor is expected to do this. 

19

How much will the Top 500 be expected to contribute to their training? (I.e. approximately how many days a month / quarter) 

This is not known at present. Tenderers are asked to put forward an outline methodology for delivering this element (Theme D) 

20

We would anticipate a certain number of the Top 500 dropping out over the course of the 18 months programme. We therefore wanted to clarify the following issues: Are you aiming for 500 at the beginning or the end of the process.

It’s a matter for Tenderers to submit their proposals on how they will engage the top 500 managers throughout the process.  

Questions/Queries asked 

Response

21

What is considered our responsibility:  those who leave the programme for being dissatisfied, those that leave because they have moved job or both?  

Responsibilities are identified in the specification and contract conditions. Providers will not be held responsible if managers move job and can no longer participate but will have a role in ensuring the programme sufficiently engages senior managers.

22

Do we keep individuals in the Top 500 list if they move job or leave London? 

Only if they are still able to engage in the programme otherwise it would be pointless. 

23

On page 13 of the documentation, under theme D ‘challenges’ are referred to several times. In this context, do ‘challenges’ mean challenges to service delivery, or challenges to leadership capacity?   

It means challenges to Londonpublic services. For example if the research indicated that there is likely to be an ever increasing lack of affordable housing in London, this will impact on a range of public services. 

24

The PQQ and supporting documents contained information on our capacity to deliver, experience in the field, proposed governance structures etc. Do you expect this information to be repeated in the tender submission?  

Not directly but you are required to submit detailed proposals identifying how the service will be delivered and the method and resources to be deployed against the key themes identified. It must be sufficient to enable a full and comprehensive evaluation to be undertaken. This may require elaborating on any information given in the PQQ.

25

What date do you anticipate interviewing organisations submitting a tender?  

Presentations to the Capital Ambitions Future Board are programmed to take place on Thursday 30th August. Given the difficulties in scheduling this time for senior managers, we will find it difficult to reschedule so it is important to put this date in your diary now.

Questions/Queries asked 

Response

26

Do we need to use the London Council’s procurement policies when subcontracting a piece of work over a certain amount?

No - but you will need to consult London Councils and they will need to agree the approach. Please refer to para 3 Commissioning guidelines in the specifications.

27

Delivery is anticipated to commence from October 2007. When do you anticipate making a decision to award the contract (as this will affect recruitment, and consequently delivery, in the first quarter)? 

We are aiming to award the contract in September 2007