--- title: "Soft-market testing: Communications and engagement for community, public and private sector audiences" ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-6286ab48-7747-45e3-afb0-1835ae98b276" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-6286ab48-7747-45e3-afb0-1835ae98b276" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-6286ab48-7747-45e3-afb0-1835ae98b276.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-6286ab48-7747-45e3-afb0-1835ae98b276.json" source: "Contracts Finder" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL" published: "2024-03-11" --- # Soft-market testing: Communications and engagement for community, public and private sector audiences Buyer: ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-b5fd17-6286ab48-7747-45e3-afb0-1835ae98b276 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-6286ab48-7747-45e3-afb0-1835ae98b276) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-6286ab48-7747-45e3-afb0-1835ae98b276.json) ## Summary Essex County Council is conducting soft-market testing for a procurement opportunity titled "Soft-market testing: Communications and engagement for community, public and private sector audiences" in the research and development services and related consultancy services industry category. The engagement end date for this opportunity is on 20th March 2024. The total budget for these requirements is estimated to be £80,000. The Council aims to attract interest from prospective suppliers to help achieve transformational change by building support for infrastructure projects and attracting investments. This tender initiated by Essex County Council is an opportunity for businesses specialising in research and development services, market and economic research, equal opportunities consultancy services, and communication and engagement services. Suitable businesses looking to provide support for deliberative resident and business engagement, consensus building, and promotional campaigns are encouraged to participate. The current stage of this opportunity is the planning phase, focusing on market testing to explore potential options and pave the way for future contract opportunities. ## Notice The Essex 2055 programme helps to achieve transformational change for residents and businesses. It does this by building support for infrastructure, land and property projects - and attracting the investment required to deliver them. Essex County Council ("ECC") intends to procure specialist advice to support deliberative resident and business engagement, consensus building amongst politicians and partners, and promotional material and campaigns for both private sector and central government audiences. ECC is considering how to structure this service. A survey has been created to capture insight from prospective suppliers. This survey can be accessed here: https://forms.office.com/e/EunctGCyV2 . At this stage, this opportunity is soft market testing only and not a call for competition. This market test exercise is to allow the Council to ascertain interest from the market, investigate potential options, and consider the best route for a potential future contract opportunity. The total budget for these requirements is estimated to be PS80,000 but the number of tender opportunities will be informed by this soft market testing exercise. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Contracts Finder | | Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/c4c9da36-9137-4376-ba5f-78ae84d758c9 | | Notice type | Market Engagement Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Not specified | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | SME | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 11 Mar 2024 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 20 Mar 2024 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | Not specified | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £80,000 | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planning | | Lots status | Not specified | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL | | Locality | CHELMSFORD | | Post town | Chelmsford | | Postcode | CM1 1QH | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLH East (England) | | ITL 2 | TLH3 Essex | | ITL 3 | TLH36 Heart of Essex | | Local authority | Chelmsford | | Electoral ward | Moulsham and Central | | Westminster constituency | Chelmsford | | Delivery location | TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England) | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services - 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security - 98 - Other community, social and personal services ### Codes - 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services - 79300000 - Market and economic research; polling and statistics - 98200000 - Equal opportunities consultancy services ## Release History - 11 Mar 2024 at 16:14 - Planning - Market Engagement Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/c4c9da36-9137-4376-ba5f-78ae84d758c9 ## Documents - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/c4c9da36-9137-4376-ba5f-78ae84d758c9 11th March 2024 - Early engagement notice on Contracts Finder ## Notice URLs - https://forms.office.com/e/EunctGCyV2 - https://www.essex.gov.uk/ ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-6286ab48-7747-45e3-afb0-1835ae98b276. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-6286ab48-7747-45e3-afb0-1835ae98b276.json.