St David Awards 2015 Sponsorship

Descriptions

The Welsh Ministers wish to invite potential sources of commercial and business sponsorship for the Saint David Awards 2015.The First Minister Carwyn Jones announced in the Senedd on 27 February 2013 his intention to recognise and celebrate the exceptional achievements of people in Wales from all walks of life by instituting a national awards scheme – the St David Awards. His announcement received majority cross-party support in the Welsh Assembly.Although there are a number of sectoral and community awards schemes of varying quality in existence in Wales there is no other scheme like the St David Awards which operates over the entire country recognising the achievements of all people regardless of origin or background who live here and serve this nation.The St David Awards are given to people who have done exceptional things and make a real difference to the quality of life in Wales. They celebrate and recognise inspirational people making a difference for our country, either at home or on the international stage.The Awards also recognise the contribution of individuals who contribute to improving social and economic wellbeing. They reflect and promote the aspirations of Wales and its citizens to be a modern, vibrant country, with a growing reputation as a confident and clever nation valuing innovation, community spirit, and above all its people.The St David Awards will be awarded at a prestigious evening Ceremony and Dinner at the Senedd in Cardiff on the evening of 12 March 2015.There are nine awards categories:•St David Award for Bravery•St David Award for Citizenship•St David Award for Culture•St David Award for Enterprise•St David Award for Innovation and Technology•St David Award for Sport•St David International Award•St David Young Person Award•The First Minister’s Special St David AwardThere will normally be three final nominees shortlisted for each category, and one of these shall be adjudged category winner. All finalist nominees in each category will be invited to the Awards Ceremony and Dinner with their choice of partners or companion. Senior politicians from all national parties, category Judges and the overall Chair of Judges, significant national opinion makers and celebrities and other key stakeholders will also be invited to attend the Ceremony and Dinner by the First Minister who will preside in person.The St David Awards Team within Welsh Government will determine the eligibility of any offers of sponsorship received. The following general criteria shall be applied in assessing all proposals of sponsorship.•Any sponsorship relationship will have to add value rather than detract from the St David Awards.•Issues of propriety, which will include matters of unethical association (i.e. companies which have poor public reputation and perception) and also how various national audiences may react to various types of commercial involvement.•Welsh Government policy may preclude sponsorship which is explicitly associated with theoAlcohol industryoTobacco industryoDefence industryoEnvironmentally unsound companiesoCompanies with political connections and those giving substantial political donationsoCompanies likely to try to use the activity as a market to sell productsoCompanies undergoing government or financial investigationoCompanies in contractual negotiations concerning arrangements to provide particular Welsh Government goods or services.All St David Awards sponsors will be selected in an even-handed manner and with a consistent strategy of approach, thus avoiding accusations of partiality.All potential sponsors will be vetted before entering into a sponsorship agreement and shall be monitored during the lifetime of any agreement in liaison with Sell2Wales. Vetting will examine the propriety of the business ethics and policies relating to areas of activity pertaining to the Awards. The extent of sponsor vetting will directly relate to the expected benefits and value to the Welsh Government and commercial judgement shall be used in these instances to determine the appropriate level of vetting e.g. in the context of lower value sponsorship in uncontentious areas the simplest of background checks on the sponsor shall be undertaken.Prospective sponsors who volunteer an activity or service should provide a genuine and plausible reason for wishing to support the St David Awards. Care shall be taken by the Welsh Government to ensure that all benefits to the sponsor have been identified before a decision to enter into a sponsorship agreement is concluded. All sponsors should demonstrate what added value they bring to the St David Awards.On receipt of any initial offer of sponsorship a member of the St David Awards team will contact the respondent for further consideration and negotiation and, if eligible, to meet to assess and discuss the proposed sponsorship. Following this meeting the respondent will need to draw up a detailed itemised specification of proposed sponsorship. A completed sponsorship proposal with supporting information should then be submitted by the respondent.The Welsh Government may not appoint sponsors through this process and reserves the right to appoint sponsors by other means.Prospective sponsors should contact the Welsh Government St David Awards Team with their proposals for sponsorship or to discuss matters via email - stdavidawards@wales.gsi.gov.ukAny proposals for sponsorship for the St David Awards should be sent by email as soon as possible and before a deadline of 5.00 PM Thursday 22 January 2015 to stdavidawards@wales.gsi.gov.ukNOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Sell2Wales Web Site at http://www.sell2wales.gov.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=1148.The buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Postbox facility. A user guide is available at http://www.sell2wales.gov.uk/sitehelp/help_guides.aspx.Suppliers are advised to allow adequate time for uploading documents and to dispatch the electronic response well in advance of the closing time to avoid any last minute problems.