---
title: "Award of CR/2021/20 - Understanding how children and young people in Scotland engage, connect wit..."
ocid: "ocds-r6ebe6-0000671814"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-r6ebe6-0000671814"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000671814.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000671814.json"
source: "Public Contracts Scotland"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT"
published: "2021-12-07"
---

# Award of CR/2021/20 - Understanding how children and young people in Scotland engage, connect wit...

Buyer: SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-r6ebe6-0000671814

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## Summary

NHS Lanarkshire, along with other regional authorities, has awarded a contract titled "Award of CR/2021/20 - Understanding how children and young people in Scotland engage, connect with...", focusing on research and development services within the public sector. This project, which is at the award stage, aims to enhance understanding of children's outdoor engagement and nature connectedness. The tender started on 6 December 2021 and runs until 31 March 2022, with the awarded supplier being The Diffley Partnership, at a contract value of £45,350. The procurement method employed was a tender process facilitated by the Scottish Government.

This tender presents significant opportunities for consultancy and research firms specialising in outdoor education, youth engagement, and health and wellbeing studies. Businesses with expertise in social research, data analysis, and outdoor recreational programming would find this procurement particularly relevant. Engaging with this contract could foster business growth by contributing to key research initiatives aimed at improving children's experiences in nature, ultimately supporting public health and environmental stewardship in Scotland.

## Notice

Background & Context3. The positive health and wellbeing benefits of spending time outdoors and in nature are well understood, and NatureScot has an active role in ensuring these benefits are enjoyed by everyone. The Scottish Government's Scottish Household Survey (SHS) and SNH's Scotland's People and Nature Survey (SPANS) (population-level quantitative surveys) provide evidence of attitudes and behaviours in respect to nature and outdoor activity in Scotland. Both surveys show a steady and significant increase in participation in outdoor recreation among adults in Scotland between 2012 and 2018. In 2018 participation reached its highest level since the 2006 baseline year (see Figure 1). Participation in outdoor recreation among 16-24 year olds is higher than the national average. Research undertaken in 2020 suggests that the Covid-19 pandemic may also have a long-lasting impact on how people in Scotland use, value and enjoy the natural environment.4. Neither the SHS nor SPANS currently address the attitudes and behaviours of under-16s in Scotland - the population-level quantitative surveys employed by NatureScot and many other organisations use 16 as the minimum age for participation. Several studies have shown the benefits of structured outdoor learning activities for children of all ages. The Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) project meanwhile suggests that access to private and public outdoor spaces have a positive impact on the behavioural development on younger children. However, studies focusing on primary age children and younger rely heavily on the account of parents and carers, which risk becoming less reliable for reporting the unsupervised behaviour of older children. This problem is more pronounced for older children and young adults, leading to poorer representation in research and evidence gathering. The teenage years have been identified as a particularly crucial stage for determining future behaviour as children develop more independence and gain greater autonomy over how they spend their time.5. To address this data gap, mixed quantitative and qualitative research was previously commissioned by SNH in 2011 that focused on 11-17 year olds. This important work found that there was a high level of interest in spending free time outdoors amongst young people in this age range. The qualitative research identified quality personal space and time to themselves, without adults (ideally with friends) as the main motivators to spending (increased) time in the outdoors.6. Engaging with nature on a sensory and emotional level can deliver a range of social, environmental and economic benefits, as well as developing a sense of connectedness with nature. Nature connectedness details the relationship between people and the rest of nature. It is increasingly recognised in psychology with evidence showing it to be associated with greater feelings of autonomy, personal growth, and purpose in life; lower levels of anxiety, depression and stress, and increasing attention span and cognitive function. People who feel connected with nature are also more likely to exhibit pro-environmental and pro-nature conservation (together pro-nature) attitudes and behaviours. Although being connected with nature does not require going outside, studies have pointed to links between nature connectedness and outdoor activity. Spending time outdoors and in nature, of course, have their own well-established benefits for health and wellbeing.7. It is understood that spending time outdoors and in nature can positively impact nature connectedness among children and young adults, with those having higher levels of access and broader ranges of experience showing higher levels of connection. However, less understood are the ways in which different kinds of places and the things young people do in these places impact this connectedness. This follows the 'moments, not minutes' principle which suggests that how people 'notice' or experience the outdoors is more significant in establishing feelings of connectedness than simply the duration of time spent there.8. The benefits of nature connectedness are particularly valuable for children and young adults in their physical and mental development and the formation of habits. It has been found that young people's connection to nature, as measured directly using the University of Derby's Nature Connectedness Index, often drops sharply from the age of 11, reaching a low between 13 and 18, which doesn't recover until they are 30. These results indicate the importance of better understanding the teenage years and how young people independently access and spend time in nature.9. Further research is now required to provide an updated picture of children's and young people's engagement with the natural world and to explore the concept of nature connectedness, shown in research undertaken by Natural England to have a positive relationship to wellbeing and pro- nature behaviours among both children and adults. In particular, NatureScot are keen to better understand how unstructured, unsupervised time is spent outdoors by children and young people, the kinds of places that they visit, and the activities they do there, in order to more fully understand how these in turn affect nature connectedness and the benefits this brings for people and planet.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Public Contracts Scotland |
| Latest notice | https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=DEC434995 |
| Notice type | PCS Notice - Quick Quote Award |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Not specified |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 7 Dec 2021 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 12 Mar 2021 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £45,350 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Not specified |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT |
| Additional buyers | ABERDEENSHIRE COUNCIL; ARGYLL COMMUNITY HOUSING ASSOCIATION LIMITED; CLACKMANNANSHIRE COUNCIL; COMHAIRLE NAN EILEAN SIAR; EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL; FIFE COUNCIL; FORESTRY AND LAND SCOTLAND; FORTH VALLEY COLLEGE; HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS ENTERPRISE; MORAY COUNCIL; NHS AYRSHIRE & ARRAN; NHS LANARKSHIRE; NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL; PERTH & KINROSS COUNCIL; SASA - SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT; SASA SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT; SCOTTISH BORDERS HOUSING ASSOCIATION; SCOTTISH COURTS AND TRIBUNALS SERVICE; SCOTTISH POLICE AUTHORITY; SOCIAL SECURITY SCOTLAND; THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL; UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW |
| Locality | BOTHWELL |
| Post town | Glasgow |
| Postcode | G71 8BB |
| Country | Scotland |
| ITL 1 | TLM Scotland |
| ITL 2 | TLM3 West Central Scotland |
| ITL 3 | TLM32 Glasgow City |
| Local authority | Glasgow City |
| Electoral ward | Govan |
| Westminster constituency | Glasgow South West |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 62 |
| Supplier names | ACT FIRE CONSULTANCY; AECOM; AIRE VALLEY GAS LTD T/A RECOVERCYL; AMEY OW; ANDERSON SOLUTIONS (CONSULTING; ARCADIS CONSULTING (UK; ARNOLD CLARK FINANCE; ASA RECRUITMENT (QUICK QUOTES; AZETS; BIOTAGE; BOXXE; CAMERONS STRACHAN YUILL ARCHITECTS; CAMPBELL CONSTRUCTION SERVICES; CAPITA BUSINESS SERVICES; CASTLEVIEW PLANT; CEBOTEC; CELLO SIGNAL LTD (T/A LEITH AGENCY; CGF SERVICES; CIPFA; CLAREMONT OFFICE FURNITURE; COMMON PURPOSE; CONTRACT BUILDING SERVICES (SCOTLAND; CR CONTRACTING NORTH; D.N. MUNRO PLANT HIRE; DFFC; DUNCAN WEMYSS; ENTERPRISE CONTROLS ENGINEERS; GAVIN & DOHERTY GEOSOLUTIONS; GEORGE BEATTIE & SONS; GETMAPPING; GOING BALLISTIC; GOODSONS ASSOCIATES; HALL AITKEN; HARVEY NASH; ICD; INSOURCE MEDICARE; JGM - JOHN G MACKINTOSH; KEVIN MURRAY ASSOCIATES; LOGIE BUILDING SERVICES; LOGIE GLAZING&BUILDING SERVICES; LORIEN RESOURCING; MARK GARRICK; MEDINET; MURRAY FORESTRY; OLYMPUS KEYMED; OUTDOOR FIRST AID; PAGODA PUBLIC RELATIONS; PERTEMPS RECRUITMENT PARTNERSHIP; PHOENIX SOFTWARE; QUEST (SCOTLAND; RAVENHILL; ROSS MACARTHUR CONTRACTOR; RS FLEET INSTALLATIONS LTD T/A RS CONNECT; SCMG; SICO EUROPE; SOCIAL VALUE LAB; STAND; SWECO; THE DIFFLEY PARTNERSHIP; THOMAS SHERRIFF; VENESKY BROWN; VENESKY-BROWN RECRUITMENT |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

## Release History

- 7 Dec 2021 at 13:21 - Award - PCS Notice - Quick Quote Award - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=DEC434995

## Notice URLs

- http://https://forestryandland.gov.scot
- http://https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/
- http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk
- http://www.acha.co.uk
- http://www.clacks.gov.uk/business/corporateprocurementprocess/
- http://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk
- http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk
- http://www.fife.gov.uk
- http://www.forthvalley.ac.uk
- http://www.gla.ac.uk/
- http://www.hie.co.uk
- http://www.moray.gov.uk
- http://www.nhsaaa.net
- http://www.nhslanarkshire.org.uk
- http://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk
- http://www.pkc.gov.uk
- http://www.sasa.gov.uk
- http://www.sbha.org.uk
- http://www.scotcourtstribunals.gov.uk
- http://www.scotland.gov.uk
- http://www.spa.police.uk
- https://www.cne-siar.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-r6ebe6-0000671814. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000671814.json.