Invitation to Tender (ITT)

ITT posted: 27th September 2016
Submit by: 10th October 2016
Start date: 4th November 2016
End date: 1st March 2017
Location: UK and Kazakhstan (can work remotely)

For a Kazakhstani research project titled:

“Understanding the contribution of young people to smart city development”

1.  Overview of the British Council

The British Council was founded to create a friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the United Kingdom and the wider world. The British Council creates international opportunities for the UK and other countries and builds trust between them worldwide. We work in over 100 countries, connecting millions of people with the UK through programmes and services in English language, Arts, Education and Society. We believe these are the most effective means of engaging with others, and we have been doing this work since 1934. We call this work ‘cultural relations’. www.britishcouncil.org

2.  Research introduction and background

As Kazakhstan prepares to hold EXPO 2017 both the host city, Astana, and the country’s commercial capital, Almaty, are developing ‘smart city’ plans. The intention is to guide the cities’ future evolution and growth along lines which are accessible, connected, and environmentally sustainable. However, while the technological aspects of the ‘smart cities’ agenda are well understood, the importance of the human interactions that underpin urban development are often forgotten. For example, while Almaty’s development plan includes comprehensive indicators across a wide range of different categories including comfortable city, safe city and involvement of private capital, the only indicators for community involvement are for the number of registered users of the city’s feedback portal and the number of queries corrected within the set period.

The British Council believes in the importance of civic engagement, citizen-led development, and inclusive decision-making. These approaches could play a role in supporting Kazakhstan’s on-going drive to diversify its economy away from a long-established reliance on the extractive industries. It is clear that much of this diversification must be driven by the younger generation, who will need to develop new sets of skills and acquire the ability and wherewithal to contribute to the development of policies that support economic diversification through new forms of social and economic organisation.

Inclusive approaches can also support the development of a culture of social and digital entrepreneurship to support cities to address economic and social disparities and to contribute to the growth of cities in a way that is inclusive and that promotes economic growth as well as good quality of life.

We are interested in learning from the UK’s experience of civic engagement, community led initiatives and social and digital entrepreneurship within cities, and exploring what relevance it might have for future policy development in Kazakhstan. Specifically, we are interested in understanding the contribution of some of the UK’s younger pioneers in the civic space, in local politics and in social, digital and creative entrepreneurship in driving forward the ‘smart’ development of the cities in which they live and work.

3.  Scope of work, specification and outputs

This research project aims to share insights into trends and developments in the UK about the ways in which UK cities are harnessing the energy, ideas and skills of younger people to drive and shape city economies, community wellbeing and liveability.

The main output of this research will be a report which will be published by the British Council and distributed to policymakers in the UK and Kazakhstan. It will be launched to the public at parallel events in the UK and Kazakhstan in May and June 2017.

The primary audience for this report will be local authority policymakers in Kazakhstan. The findings will also be of interest to members of the group of entrepreneurial, socially engaged young citizens contributing to their cities’ development in the UK, in Kazakhstan, and internationally.

Given the wide planned distribution, the report will need to be written in plain English.

NB: We are interested to receive applications from research institutions, universities and individuals in both the UK and Kazakhstan. The research will be split into two sections: part one will be carried out in the UK and part two will be carried out in Astana and Almaty. The British Council intends to appoint one supplier to deliver this work in each country. The total amount available for both parts of the research combined is £30k. We will accept individual proposals and proposals from partnerships or consortiums including a supplier in Kazakhstan and a supplier in the UK.

The appointed UK supplier will not be required to travel to Kazakhstan to deliver the service but will work in cooperation with the British Council Kazakhstan team and appointed Kazakhstani partner. The appointed Kazakhstani partner will need to have the capacity to conduct research and interviews in Russian.

Research objectives:

1.  Conduct case studies of policies from different UK cities chosen as providing strong and varied examples of where an innovative approach has been taken to engaging socially and entrepreneurially active young people in the development of the cities they live and work in – through both initiatives by local authorities (top down) or by young citizens themselves (bottom up).

2.  Conduct similar case studies of two cities in Kazakhstan (Astana and Almaty) to draw out examples of best practice. In both the UK and Kazakhstan, it may also be helpful to look at what has not worked, and what lessons can be drawn from this.

3.  Propose a research methodology to collect qualitative and quantitative data to explore:

a.  UK models of citizen-led engagement and good practice examples from cities that are ‘accessible, connected, and environmentally sustainable’

b.  Support mechanisms provided by cities to young citizens in the ‘creative class’ (technology entrepreneurs, social activists, social entrepreneurs or artists contributing to the creative economy)

c.  The frequency and depth of interaction between the ‘creative class’ and local authorities in the UK and in Kazakhstan, and the availability of formal and informal mechanisms for them to contribute to ‘smart’ city development

d.  The value – both financial and non-financial – of the contributions they make

4.  Extrapolate a series of recommendations for local authorities in the UK and Kazakhstan, based on what is and is not working in both countries, on how to involve young people in the development of smart cities.


Expected outputs:

1.  Design a research methodology, data collection tools, and identify a representative sample to allow the development of an accurate picture of the most successful trends, approaches and innovations in citizen-centred smart city development.

2.  Produce a report which includes:

a)  Contents

b)  Foreword (writer to be identified by the British Council)

c)  Executive summary

d)  Main body including findings and setting the scene and context for citizen-centred city development in each country

e)  Case studies illustrating best practice for creating models of citizen-led city planning

f)  Recommendations

g)  Acknowledgements

h)  References

NB: the report should be submitted in English. The British Council will be responsible for the branding, design, and printing of the final report.

4.  Expertise required

Methodology and approach:

1.  Strong appreciation of the policy context and of the enabling factors that can support citizen driven initiatives (including political leadership, access to finance, public procurement, strategic agencies, education, research etc.) (essential)

2.  Strong appreciation of the UK (or Kazakhstan) context in relation to citizen-centred cities, social and digital entrepreneurship and civic engagement in cities.

3.  An understanding of the British Council’s objectives (desirable)

4.  Ability to act as a hub to bring together knowledge and expertise on smart cities from across the UK (desirable)

5.  Ability to conduct research and interviews in Russian (if applying to conduct the Kazakhstani part of the research)

Track record of similar projects:

6.  Experience of conducting research projects related to urban development and/or civic engagement (essential)

7.  Evidence of ability to interpret and apply UK context to different international contexts (essential)

8.  Experience of managing international research projects with multiple partners across two or more countries (desirable)

9.  Experience of developing research methodologies and data collection tools - which can be shown in at least two reports which were published in UK or international publications (desirable)

As a part of the bid, we require a brief summary of the team that will conduct this research project. This summary will highlight any relevant experience or expertise in these fields and their particular research skills (please see Annex 3)

The intellectual property generated during the course of the project will be transferred to the British Council. The terms and conditions for this arrangement will be stipulated in the eventual contract with the supplier.

The appointed supplier will be obliged to abide by the British Council’s brand guidelines for the editorial style of the report. For detailed information please visit www.brand.britishcouncil.org. However, the supplier will not be required to format or lay out the report or source suitable imagery.

5. Timescale

Activity / Date
Invitation to Tender (ITT) Released / 27th September 2016
Clarification / Questions from suppliers (includes T&Cs queries) / 4th October 2016
Clarification Responses from the British Council (includes T&Cs responses) / 7th October 2016
ITT Return Date / 10th October 2016
Evaluation of all received ITTs complete / 17th October 2016
Selection of Preferred Supplier / 21st October 2016
Contract signed and work commences / 4th November 2016
Completed research report delivered / 1st March 2017

NB: Timescales are estimated and may be subject to change

6.  Instructions for responding

1.  Provide up to date contact details using the template provided in ANNEX 2

2.  Complete the ‘Supplier response’ using the template given in ANNEX 3, ensuring all of the answers are inserted below each section of the British Council requirements. Include examples of previous work.

3.  Submit all mandatory documentation by email to: by 10th October 2016, with the email subject title: ‘Smart Cities Proposal’.

In addition, the following key points must be considered when responding to this ITT:

·  Please keep in mind the evaluation methodology and weighting given in ANNEX 4

·  Supporting evidence can be provided to substantiate your response – please ensure that all attachments/supporting evidence are clearly labelled and in PDF, Word or Excel formats only

·  Any supporting marketing materials should be provided separately to the main ITT response. All the references to such marketing content should be explicitly annotated in the ITT response.

·  Completion and submission of your response does not guarantee award of any contract from the British Council.

·  Please ensure that your responses are concise, unambiguous, and directly address the requirement stated or question posed.

4.  Clarification questions:

Any questions on the ITT, project outline or contracting details, should be submitted via email to by 4th October 2016.

ANNEX 1 –

1.  Conditions and contractual requirements

The Contracting Authority is the British Council which includes any subsidiary companies and other organisations that control or are controlled by the British Council. The contract awarded will be for the duration of the project, subject to the submission of the final report. The British Council reserves the right to demand that the chosen supplier works in partnership with one or more other parties for the delivery of this project. Any such decision will be undertaken in consultation with the chosen bidder.

The appointed supplier will only process personal data accessed in performance of the services in accordance with the British Council ’s instructions and will not use such data for any other purpose. The contracted supplier will undertake to process any personal data on the British Council’s behalf in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 and ensure appropriate and legislative consent is acquired where necessary.

The British Council is committed to equality and to positive action to promote this. It believes that an Equal Opportunities Policy helps to ensure that there is no unjustified discrimination in the recruitment, retention, training and development of staff on the basis of gender including transgender, marital status, sexual identify, region and belief, political opinion, race, work pattern, age, disability, HIV/AIDS status, socio-economic background, spent convictions, trade union activity or membership, on the basis of having or not having dependents, or any other relevant grounds. The appointed supplier must agree to operate in accordance with these principles while undertaking work at or on behalf of the British Council.

The British Council is committed to open government and to meeting its legal responsibilities under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the “Act”). Accordingly, all information submitted to a public authority may need to be disclosed in response to a request under the Act. The British Council may also decide to include certain information in the publication scheme, which the British Council maintains under the Act.

If suppliers considers that any of the information included in their completed documentation is commercially sensitive, it should identify it and explain (in broad terms) what harm may result from disclosure if a request is received, and the time period applicable to that sensitivity. The suppliers should be aware that, even where they have indicated that information is commercially sensitive, the British Council might be required to disclose it under the Act if a request is received.

The suppliers should also note that the receipt of any material marked ‘confidential’ or equivalent by the British Council should not be taken to mean that the British Council accepts any duty of confidence by virtue of that marking.

The supplier will comply with all applicable legislation and codes of practice, including, where applicable, all legislation and statutory guidance relevant to the safeguarding and protection of children and vulnerable adults and with the British Council’s Child Protection Policy; in addition the supplier will ensure that where it engages any other party to supply any of the services under this agreement that that party will also comply with the same requirements as if they were a party to this agreement.

All relevant policies that suppliers are expected to adhere to can be found on the British Council website – www.britishcouncil.org/about/policies. The list of policies includes (but it is not limited to):