--- title: "Blended Finance Evaluation Partner" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-043b92" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-043b92" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-043b92.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-043b92.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Tender" buyer: "ACCESS - THE FOUNDATION FOR SOCIAL INVESTMENT" published: "2024-02-20" --- # Blended Finance Evaluation Partner Buyer: ACCESS - THE FOUNDATION FOR SOCIAL INVESTMENT Current stage: Tender OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-043b92 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-043b92) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-043b92.json) ## Summary The buying organization, Access - The Foundation for Social Investment, is seeking an evaluation partner for their blended finance programmes. The procurement is in the services category under the CPV scheme for research consultancy services. The procurement stage is active, with a total value of £300,000 GBP. The tender deadline is set for March 26, 2024, with a contract period of four years until December 2027. The location of the procurement is in London, United Kingdom. This tender presents an opportunity for businesses in the research consultancy services sector to collaborate with Access and contribute to the evaluation of blended finance programmes. Businesses with expertise in social investment and the charity sector are well-suited to compete. The procurement method is open, allowing a variety of evaluation approaches to be proposed, with a focus on participatory methods and inclusivity. Successful bidders will work closely with Access over the four-year contract period, engaging with various stakeholders and contributing to the growth and impact of blended finance initiatives. ## Notice Access - The Foundation for Social Investment (Access) are looking for an evaluation partner for our blended finance programmes. We welcome a range of proposed methodologies and approaches to this role, as long as they are participatory and inclusive. We are looking for an evaluation partner who ideally has an in-depth knowledge of social investment and the charity and social enterprise sector. They will work closely with us, gaining an in-depth understanding of programmes and ways of working. ### Lot Information Lot 1 We are seeking an evaluation partner to work across our blended finance programmes to help us to assess the achievements and outcomes (both positive and unintended) of both the individual programmes, and our overall approach to blended finance. We would also hope that this partner would help us to fill some of the current gaps in the research around blended finance in the UK social investment and charitable sectors. We would also like the this partner to help us contextualise our work in terms of the wider economy, to help us understand our successes and challenges within a broader context. Blended finance is at the core of what we do at Access and we think it is an essential tool for driving capital into the communities which need it most, and in creating a more diverse and equitable social investment sector in the UK. In order to do this we need a partner who can help us build on the evidence we and the wider sector already have about what does and doesn't work. We are open to a variety of different evaluation approaches, and would expect those tendering to outline their proposed approach and methodology and why they believe it is appropriate. We'd also like to emphasise that we are looking for a partner that will work alongside us and really get to know how our programmes, and how Access as an organisation works, rather than simply delivering an evaluation at a distance. We imagine this may involve sitting in on internal meetings (such as our Blended Finance Investment Committee, Blended Finance Management Group etc), regular meetings with different staff members, and taking the time to truly understand our purpose and the role of blended finance within it. Whatever evaluation approach is selected we would like it to include: * Participatory Approaches * The creation of a partner-led research fund * A balance of programme insights and overall blended finance lessons * Learning-led * A consideration of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Budget and Timescales We would expect to contract the evaluation partner on a rolling basis, with review points, and the possibility of it being extended based on performance. The initial evaluation contract is anticipated to run for four years to the end of December 2027 and the annual budget is PS90,000 maximum including VAT, so PS360,000 for the full duration of the initial evaluation. Please read all sections of this document for information on how to apply. The specific nature of analysis and reporting will be agreed with the appointed evaluation partner and we welcome a broad range of approaches to answering the questions and delivering on the evaluation purpose. We would expect all bids to include an outline of how their approach will appropriately deal with the nature of our blended finance programmes, particularly how to balance programme level insights with cross programme ones, and how their team will offer the right levels of expertise to deliver the evaluation. Evaluation Management The evaluation will be managed by Access, although we plan for our social investment partners to play a key role in evaluation design and delivery. The primary audiences for the evaluation are: * Internally for Access decision making * Our Social Investment Intermediary partners * The social enterprises and charities funded using blended finance * Government, specifically the Department of Culture, Media and Sport * Mainstream and impact investors who may participate in blended finance structures * Foundations and other potential providers of concessional capital * Other stakeholders currently working on, or interested in delivering blended finance programmes (other social investment wholesalers, charitable foundations, social investment funds) Renewal: Access reserves the right to renew the contract beyond the stated term end, in the event that our blended finance work is continuing ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/005575-2024 | | Notice type | Tender Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Open | | Procurement method details | Open procedure | | Tender suitability | Not specified | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Tender | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 20 Feb 2024 | | Submission deadline | 26 Mar 2024 | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | Not specified | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £300,000 | | Lots value | £300,000 | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Active | | Lots status | Active | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | ACCESS - THE FOUNDATION FOR SOCIAL INVESTMENT | | Locality | LONDON | | Post town | Central London | | Postcode | EC4A 1AZ | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLI London | | ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West | | ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London | | Local authority | City of London | | Electoral ward | Castle Baynard | | Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster | | Delivery location | TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England) | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services ### Codes - 73210000 - Research consultancy services ## Release History - 20 Feb 2024 at 17:21 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/005575-2024 ## Notice URLs - http://www.access-si.org.uk - https://access-socialinvestment.org.uk/us/vacancies/ ## 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-h6vhtk-043b92. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-043b92.json.