--- title: "Let's Chat: Connecting People across the West Midlands" ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-73d1c71a-cb9f-494a-93b5-946d7c59c621" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-73d1c71a-cb9f-494a-93b5-946d7c59c621" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-73d1c71a-cb9f-494a-93b5-946d7c59c621.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-73d1c71a-cb9f-494a-93b5-946d7c59c621.json" source: "Contracts Finder" current_stage: "Tender" buyer: "WEST MIDLANDS COMBINED AUTHORITY" published: "2022-07-06" --- # Let's Chat: Connecting People across the West Midlands Buyer: WEST MIDLANDS COMBINED AUTHORITY Current stage: Tender OCID: ocds-b5fd17-73d1c71a-cb9f-494a-93b5-946d7c59c621 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-73d1c71a-cb9f-494a-93b5-946d7c59c621) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-73d1c71a-cb9f-494a-93b5-946d7c59c621.json) ## Summary The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is inviting tenders for the project titled "Let's Chat: Connecting People across the West Midlands." This initiative aims to tackle loneliness through pilot transport services across the region. The procurement process is currently in the Tender stage, with an open procedure allowing applications for grants to support the initiative. Interested parties must submit their proposals by 17:00 on 5 August 2022, with the contract commencing from 15 August 2022 and running until 31 May 2023. The project relates to the public road transport services industry, with a total available grant amounting to £411,440. This opportunity presents a significant avenue for growth, especially for voluntary and charitable organisations looking to expand their service offerings in community transport. Businesses equipped to deliver the described transport initiatives, particularly those with experience in social services, are well-suited to submit competitive bids. The WMCA will assess applications based on predefined criteria, allowing for the appointment of one, two, or three successful bidders to deliver specific services in the identified Lots across Coventry, Walsall, and South Birmingham. ## Notice As part of the Government's Strategy to Tackle Loneliness, it offered opportunities for Local Authorities and charitable bodies to seek funding for one-year pilot transport initiatives to tackle issues of loneliness in their areas. Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), submitted proposals for a 'Let's Chat' project, working with community transport operators to provide specific services across the West Midlands. TfWM's proposal was shortlisted and subsequently approved and this provides the funding to deliver a pilot project. 'Let's Chat' uses transport as a central focus and consists of going close to where people are and offering the opportunity for social contact, a chat and a coffee, please see the Specification document for further details. The WMCA is seeking applications from suitably qualified voluntary or charitable organisations who may 'bid' for a grant to provide one or more of the three Lots below. Applications for each Lot will be assessed independently and awarded on their own merits and the WMCA may appoint either 1, 2 or 3 applicants in total to deliver all three Lots: Lot 1 - Coventry, mid-Birmingham and Black Country areas Lot 2 - Walsall area Lot 3 - South Birmingham area The contract for this grant will be on the draft Grant Funding Agreement, a copy of which is provided, and applications are being assessed on the evaluation criteria outlined in the Commercial Envelope. Only those organisations that have responded satisfactorily to the questions in the Qualification Envelope will go on to have their applications assessed. The closing date for submissions is 1700 on 05/08/22 and if you have any clarification questions please submit these by 1700 on 29/07/22 In order to access the documents and submit your application please do so through BravoSolution, the WMCA's e-tendering portal (https://wmca.bravosolution.co.uk). The reference is itt_1133 and if you are not already registered on BravoSolution it is free and usually only takes a few minutes to do so. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Contracts Finder | | Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/3c090165-aa38-44b9-a637-e532c00684e6 | | Notice type | Tender Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Open | | Procurement method details | Open procedure (above threshold) | | Tender suitability | SME, VCSE | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Tender | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 6 Jul 2022 | | Submission deadline | 5 Aug 2022 | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 14 Aug 2022 - 31 May 2023 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £411,440 | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Active | | Lots status | Not specified | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | WEST MIDLANDS COMBINED AUTHORITY | | Locality | BIRMINGHAM | | Post town | Birmingham | | Postcode | B19 3SD | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLG West Midlands (England) | | ITL 2 | TLG3 West Midlands | | ITL 3 | TLG31 Birmingham | | Local authority | Birmingham | | Electoral ward | Newtown | | Westminster constituency | Birmingham Ladywood | | Delivery location | TLG West Midlands (England) | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport) - 98 - Other community, social and personal services ### Codes - 60112000 - Public road transport services - 98000000 - Other community, social and personal services ## Release History - 6 Jul 2022 at 16:35 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/3c090165-aa38-44b9-a637-e532c00684e6 ## Documents - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/3c090165-aa38-44b9-a637-e532c00684e6 6th July 2022 - Opportunity notice on Contracts Finder ## Notice URLs - http://www.wmca.org.uk - https://wmca.bravosolution.co.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-b5fd17-73d1c71a-cb9f-494a-93b5-946d7c59c621. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-73d1c71a-cb9f-494a-93b5-946d7c59c621.json.