Framework for Evaluation Expert Advice.

Descriptions

Research and development services and related consultancy services. Research and development services and related consultancy services. The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) wishes to tender for the appointment of a number of specialist evaluation experts to become part of a Framework Contract to advise on evaluation design and execution, to conduct evaluation planning and design work and to coach and develop departmental staff. The contract is expected to run for 3 years with an option to extend for 1 further year. The framework will be divided into two Lots. Lot 1: Individual Evaluation Experts. There will be a maximum of 12 Individual Contractors on LOT 1 who can provide strategic high-level advice, support and challenge across a range of policies and monitoring and evaluation activities. They might also be called on to offer workshops/master-classes and coaching where appropriate. Lot 2: Evaluation Services (organisation's). Lot 2 will provide access to up to 12 Contractors individuals/organisations/groups who can provide hands-on expertise to develop high quality, fit-for-purpose evaluation plans and develop strong internal expertise (again through training, workshops and coaching). The Framework will also be eligible to be used by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Department for Transport (DfT), Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the regulator Ofgem. Tenders should set out which Lot is being applied for, and the skills and expertise and related costs of the individual or team being proposed. DECC's overall aims are to ‘power the country and protect the planet' and include maintaining energy security and resilience, tackling climate change and supporting consumers, jobs and economic growth. To achieve these ambitious goals, DECC holds the second largest portfolio of projects and programmes by value on the Government Major Projects Portfolio, and our policies and programmes are by necessity innovative. The need for robust evaluation evidence in this area is clear. It is crucial we understand how well our policies work in practice, how they interact, what elements of them work, for whom, when and that we use this understanding to improve policies and their delivery and maximise their chances of success. It is also important to develop a robust evidence base to demonstrate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of our policies for accountability purposes, and to help us respond to external scrutiny and challenge. We know this is no easy task, and our policies and programmes and the systems on which they operate are typically complex. We have multiple desired outcomes from our policies, which will work together and interact. Our goals are long-term, ambitious and hard to measure. Our delivery model is indirect — we deliver policies through others — and delivery chains tend to be long and complex with multiple players. Our policies are being implemented into systems in which changes in 1 part can have big implications for another. There are many external factors affecting success. The policy landscape is busy, with many policies attempting to work in a similar space, or on similar ambitions. The innovation of our policies means that many involve high levels of risk and uncertainty. Programme theories have a short shelf life because of poor existing evidence and the complexity of the system. Policies impact on individuals, communities, businesses and industry in different ways, with ever-changing stakeholders who have evolving stakes in the market. All of this makes designing and implementing robust evaluations in this space a real challenge. These challenges are shared by the other government departments and regulator who are keen to use this Framework. To respond to these challenges the two Lots in the Framework being tendered should provide: — expert advice, steering and challenge to help ensure the evaluations of our key policies stand the best chance of delivering useful findings, and findings that stand up to external challenge-practical assistance in the development of evaluation plans where no internal expertise is available, or where we the evaluation solution is not obvious- development opportunities (e.g. training, coaching) to help the evaluation specialists and the broader analytical community in DECC and in the other organisations included in this framework develop their evaluation expertise.