Northern Innovation Hub Food and Drink TechHUB Strand 1: Business Support Services

Concepts

• business development
• northern innovation hub food
• food and drink techhub
• inverness
• hie’s northern innovation hub
• business support services
• drink techhub strand
• drink techhub project
• consultancy services
• business support services contract

Location

Highlands and Islands: Highland Council area

Description

The Food and Drink TechHUB project (TechHUB) is to be delivered across the Highland Council area as a project under HIE’s Northern Innovation Hub (NIH) programme. The NIH TechHUB Strand 1: Business Support Services contract which will be required to align with, and complement, existing HIE provision and that of our partners, to provide business support, technical advice and events to develop an existing and growing network of Food and Drink producers and supply chain businesses (SMEs).

Total Quantity or Scope

The key tasks are: - bringing F&D businesses together; - supporting businesses incl. brokering specialist/technical support; - raising awareness and increase implementation of new technologies and opportunities; - developing transformational local, national and international triple-helix collaborations between public sector, businesses and academia; - engaging with partners and stakeholders; - nurturing young entrepreneurs - provide complementary support to the relevant cohort(s) of IMPACT30 participants; - reporting, monitoring and evaluation. It is expected that these services will be required from April 2022 for an initial period of 3 years, with HIE having the option to extend for a period or periods together not exceeding 12 months following the Initial Term. The initial 3-year budget currently available to deliver this service is between GBP 325,000 and GBP 374,000 (excluding VAT). Additional information: Economic operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in Regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

Renewal Options

The Contract will be awarded for an initial period of 3 years with HIE having the option to extend for a period or periods together not exceeding 1 calendar year following the Initial Term.

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 79411100 - Business development consultancy services
• 79410000 - Business and management consultancy services
• 72221000 - Business analysis consultancy services
• 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services
• 73220000 - Development consultancy services
• 79400000 - Business and management consultancy and related services
• 80500000 - Training services

Indicators

• This is a recurring contract.
• Options are available.
• Renewals are available.
• Professional qualifications are sought.
• Staff qualifications are relevant.

Other Information

** PREVIEW NOTICE, please check Find a Tender for full details. ** HIE and the Supplier Development Programme are hosting a webinar on 18 January which will support, but not replace, the information provided through PCS. Attendance will not form part of the evaluation and following the event a link to the webinar recording, along with the presentation and any questions and answers raised will be made available via PCS. Link to the registration can be found in the Scope of Requirements. It is estimated that the maximum total value of the services over the maximum duration of 4 years will be GBP 524,000 (excluding VAT). This is the figure which has been used in II.1.5 & II.2.6. SPD 2A.3 (not scored) Where relevant, bidders are required to insert details of their Companies House (or equivalent) registration number. SPD 3D.12 Bidders should refer to the "Conflict of Interest" Section within the Scope of Requirements when completing this question. AWARD CRITERIA SCORING The Award criteria will be marked according to the following criteria: 0 - Unacceptable - Nil or inadequate response which fails to demonstrate an ability to meet the requirement. 1 - Poor - Response is partially relevant but generally poor. It addresses some elements of the requirement but contains insufficient/limited detail or explanation to demonstrate how the requirement will be fulfilled. 2 - Acceptable - Response is relevant and acceptable. It addresses a broad understanding of the requirement but may lack details on how the requirement will be fulfilled in certain areas. 3 - Good - Response is relevant and good. It is sufficiently detailed to demonstrate a good understanding and provides details on how the requirements will be fulfilled. 4 - Excellent - Response is completely relevant and excellent overall. It is comprehensive, unambiguous and demonstrate a thorough understanding of the requirement and provides details of how the requirement will be met in full. Tenders must be submitted via the PCS Postbox and must be received by the published deadline. Late tenders will not be accepted and HIE will reject any submissions received after the deadline. Email or hard copy responses will not be accepted. PCS also gives suppliers access to an on-line Question & Answer facility which allows queries to be submitted (anonymously), and answers published and shared with all potential bidders. This Contract will be non-exclusive i.e. HIE reserves the right, in certain circumstances, to procure out with the Contract as and when required. NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Public Contracts Scotland Web Site at https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=670312. The buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Postbox facility. A user guide is available at https://www.publiccontractsscotland.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. Community benefits are included in this requirement. For more information see: https://www.gov.scot/policies/public-sector-procurement/community-benefits-in-pr... A summary of the expected community benefits has been provided as follows: Community Benefits will not be evaluated as part of the tender process but bidders are expected to provide a Community Benefit proposal as part of their tender detailing how, if awarded the contract, these will be addressed. Please refer to the Scope of Requirements for further details. (SC Ref:670312) Download the ESPD document here: https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/ESPD/ESPD_Download.aspx?id=670312