ASD Post-Diagnostic Psychoeducational Resource for Parents/Carers and Young People in Greater Essex

Concepts

• greater essex
• basildon
• health services
• young people
• asd post-diagnostic psychoeducational resource
• autistic people
• asd
• voluntary ex ante transparency notice
• evidence-based therapeutic interventions
• educational software

Location

North east Essex, West Essex, Mid and South Essex

Description

This is a Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice to communicate a contract award made by the Authority to KIDS for provision of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Post-Diagnostic Psychoeducational Resource for Parents/Carers and Young People in Greater Essex ("the Service") from 9th January 2023 for a period of three years, expiring 8th January 2026, at an aggregate value of £398,000.

Total Quantity or Scope

The Authority intends to award a contract to KIDS Charity (Company limited by guarantee No: 1346252 Registered Charity Number 275936) for provision of ASD Post-Diagnostic Psychoeducational Resource for Parents/Carers and Young People in Greater Essex. These will be evidence-based therapeutic interventions, that provide information and support to better understand and cope with autism for CYP and for parents and carers of CYP, following diagnosis. The contract commences 9th January 2023 for a period of three years, expiring 8th January 2026, at an aggregate value of £398,000. The contract award decision is as a result of a due diligence process undertaken as a negotiation without prior publication, under Regulation 32 (1) (a) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (“PCR 2015”) (as amended The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020), following an unsuccessful open tender procedure published 16 September 2022 and conducted in compliance with the same Regulations (2022/S 000-026063). The project aims to deliver the national and local ambition to design and implement a psychoeducational resource which: - Provides information about autism as a diagnosis. - Helps people come to terms with their diagnosis. - Identifies additional coping strategies for everyday challenges (such as managing difficult sensory environments or stigma). -Provides opportunities to engage with other autistic people who may have had similar experiences. -Helps the parent/carer or young person feel empowered in living with their diagnosis. Is available to parents/carers and young people on an ongoing basis, to be accessible as and when required. The content will be evidence based, co-produced with families and professionals, and include a range of topics including financial advice, relational peer support, relationship management, emotional adjustment, long term stress management, resilience, stigma protection etc. Successful delivery will require a combination of expertise, skills and experience in terms of the digital sphere, alongside experience of working with children, young people and families with SEND. Additional information: Please see VI.3) Additional information.

Award Detail

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 85100000 - Health services
• 48190000 - Educational software package
• 48500000 - Communication and multimedia software package
• 72211000 - Programming services of systems and user software
• 72212500 - Communication and multimedia software development services
• 85140000 - Miscellaneous health services
• 85323000 - Community health services

Legal Justification

The Authority is lawfully permitted to make this award under Regulation 32 (1) (a) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (“PCR 2015”) (as amended The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020) (the Regulations). The NHS Long Term Plan is committed to improving the assessment and support of children and young people (CYP) who may be autistic. To help achieve this, Contracting Authorities from health and care across Southend, Essex and Thurrock successfully secured investment from NHS England to carry out a project which delivers innovation to autism diagnostic and post-diagnostic pathways for children and young people. A decision was made to undertake market engagement and a procurement exercise to seek a suitable provider who could support them to achieve their aims with the funding available. The Authority issued an Invitation to Tender on 16th September in connection with the competitive procurement of an autism spectrum disorder post-diagnostic psychoeducational resource for parents and carers and young people in Essex. The process was conducted under the ‘non-light touch’ regime within the Regulations. To ensure that the provider market was given an equal opportunity to fully understand the requirements of the procurement, a market engagement event was publicised on 30th August 2022 in Find a Tender Service and Contracts Finder and held via MS Teams Webinar on 12th September 2022 at 13:00 – 14:30pm. The event informed all potential bidders of the service, procurement principles, processes, and next steps. The tender deadline expired at 12:00 noon on 19th October 2022 and unfortunately, on this occasion, the procurement exercise resulted in no tenders being received. The Authority took a decision to conduct some further market engagement with interested and suitable providers (both those who did and did not express interest in the original tender), with an aim to run a different process using the same Specification, to select a suitable provider, under Regulation 32 (1) (a) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015. As such the Authority contacted several organisations to understand what their potential interest was in working with us on this next phase of our project to ensure the Authority did not lose access and have to return NHSE funding, which is an outcome that is unacceptable to the ICBs and our partners on the project team, and one which we wished to avoid. A series of 121 meetings were held, followed by a scored presentation to arrive at the award decision based on highest technical (quality) score. Thereafter a due diligence exercise is being undertaken with the Preferred Bidder (utilising the Crown Commercial Service's standard selection questionnaire) to ensure they are suitably qualified and experienced, supporting the award decision being made. The Authority intends to award the contract to Kids Charity after expiry of a standstill period of 10 days (accommodating the three bank holidays in the interim period), concluding midnight on 5th January 2023.

Other Information

** PREVIEW NOTICE, please check Find a Tender for full details. ** Section I: Contracting authority Name and addresses: NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board Unit 10, Phoenix House, Christopher Martin Rd, Basildon SS14 3HG Email Amy.Wilson@Attain.co.uk Country United Kingdom NUTS code UKH3 - Essex Internet address(es) Main address https://https://www.midandsouthesssex.icb.nhs.uk Name and addresses NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board Severalls Business Park, Aspen House, Stephenson Rd, Colchester CO4 9QR Email amy.wilson@attain.co.uk Country United Kingdom NUTS code UKH3 - Essex Internet address(es) Main address https://www.suffolkandnortheastessex.icb.nhs.uk Name and addresses NHS Herts and West Essex Integrated Care Board Charter House, Parkway Welwyn Garden City AL8 6JL Email amy.wilson@attain.co.uk Country United Kingdom NUTS code UKH23 - Hertfordshire Internet address(es) Main address https://www.hertsandwestessex.icb.nhs.uk Information about joint procurement: The contract involves joint procurement