INVITATION TO TENDER SPECIFICATION
NICE return on investment tool for interventions and strategies to
reduce alcohol misuse
Contract dates: March to September 2013
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Introduction
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE or ‘the
institute’) is an independent organisation responsible for providing national
guidance on promoting good health and preventing and treating disease.
Within NICE the Centre for Public Health Excellence (CPHE) is responsible
for producing public health guidance.
In July 2011 NICE was asked by the Department of Health to develop a
prototype model for local authority commissioners showing the potential return
on investment (ROI) for health improvement interventions. The initial work
which focused on tobacco control was published in October 2012 and is
available on the NICE website at
http://www.nice.org.uk/usingguidance/implementationtools/returnoninvesment/
TobaccoROITool.jsp.
The CPHE would like to appoint a contractor to develop a further ROI tool on
interventions and strategies to reduce alcohol misuse. This tool should
estimate the gross and net cost savings that could be achieved by having
local interventions and strategies in a given geographical area e.g. region,
county or local authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). The
tool should have a user friendly interface that allows users to explore the
short, medium and long term impact of different combinations of interventions
and strategies (i.e. to explore the impact of different scenarios).
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The contractor will be provided with funding to develop the ROI tool,
accompanying technical reports and user guides, and may be required to
attend up to three regional workshops to demonstrate use of the tool and
provide help and support to those using it.
The contractor will be multidisciplinary and capable of providing high quality
analyses and evidence to decision makers within very tight timescales. This is
an exciting and challenging opportunity for a high calibre team to contribute to
the work of the Institute.
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Project outline
2.1
Objectives
The successful contractor will work to the overall objective of delivering a
robust ROI tool for interventions and strategies to reduce alcohol misuse to
NICE. The tool should estimate the gross and net cost savings that could be
achieved by having local interventions and strategies to reduce alcohol
misuse in a given geographical area (e.g. region, county, local authorities or
CCGs). The tool should have a user friendly interface that allows users to
explore the short, medium and long term impact of different combinations of
interventions and strategies (i.e. to explore the impact of different scenarios).
It should also allow users to save, export and print scenarios for later
reference, and have easily accessible user-guides.
2.2
ROI tool methods
The contractor should work in line with chapter 6 of the CPHE Methods
manual (2012), and the CPHE Process manual (2012). Both manuals are
available on the NICE website at www.nice.org.uk/PH.
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Specific details of the methods used by the contractor will be agreed with
NICE. A summary of the key components of the tool and its desired methods
are included below. These should be described in all proposals submitted.
 Evidence of the effectiveness and costs of the interventions and strategies
should be taken directly from NICE publications (e.g. economic evidence
reviews, modeling reports and costing tools) and/or published literature
recommended by NICE, wherever possible. See Appendix B for related
NICE guidance products.
 Interventions and strategies to reduce alcohol misuse with good quality,
published evidence of effectiveness and cost effectiveness that are not
included in current NICE guidance and considered to be relevant should be
included. Supplementary literature reviews to identify these data, and to
identify non-health effects and cost data will therefore be needed.
 Additional economic modeling should be carried out to support the
provision of disaggregated costs and benefits across different time
horizons, and to model additional health and non-health related outcomes
over and above those reported in the original NICE models. Supplementary
searches may be necessary to underpin this element.
 The NICE reference case perspective for public health, as explained in the
third edition of the CPHE methods manual (2012), should be adopted. In
addition, a “quasi-societal” perspective defined to include costs to the
public sector (NHS primary care and secondary care, criminal justice,
transport, etc.) and productivity losses should be reported.
 The ROI model should include the following metrics: incremental cost
effectiveness ratios (ICER), net present value (NPV), net cost-savings,
benefit-cost ratios, cost per life year gained, avoided burden of disease (i.e.
QALYs gained per 1,000 population), cost per death avoided and any other
relevant indicators for preventing harmful drinking.
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 The types of outputs provided by the ROI model should be similar to those
produced by the tobacco ROI tool. All the aforementioned metrics for the
short- (2 years), medium- (5 and 10 years) and long-term (life-time) for the
user’s chosen geographical area should be provided as the model output.
 If possible, the provision of a graphical display of the timing of costs and
benefits should be included (for an example see pages 102–112 of the
‘Supporting investment in public health: Proof of concept full report’
available at
http://www.nice.org.uk/ourguidance/otherpublications/costimpactinvestment
return.jsp). Similarly, a graphical display (i.e. incremental cost effectiveness
plane) showing the results of multiple comparisons of interventions and
strategies versus “no intervention” should be included (for an example see
figure 3.4 in the Tobacco – harm reduction: economic analysis report
available at
http://guidance.nice.org.uk/PHG/52/Consultation/EconomicAnalyses/pdf/En
glish).
 Once users have selected a geographical location, they should be able to
choose their own allocation of people in that locality to a mix/several
different interventions and strategies. Note that the ROI metrics, including
ICERS are therefore generated for a package (i.e. a mix of interventions
and strategies) and not for individual interventions. However, the possibility
of choosing one intervention and setting all other interventions to “null”
should be included. Where possible the models should be pre-populated
with data at the local authority level. Users should have the option of
overwriting the input parameters if they believe they have better (more
robust) data. It is anticipated that there will be a number of input
parameters (e.g. relative risks) which users will not be allowed to change.
 The number of interventions to be included in the ROI model will depend on
the model workings and the feasibility of combining the different
interventions and strategies already assessed by NICE. NICE is keen for
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the new ROI model to be structured in such a way as to maximise the
inclusion of the interventions and strategies already identified by NICE as
cost effective. The ROI model structure must also allow for new
interventions to be added to the model, as NICE develops additional
related guidance.
 The tobacco ROI model comprises 23 different smoking cessation
interventions. A key aspect of this model is that smokers can only be
allocated to one of the 23 interventions. The ROI model for alcohol will
have to differ in this regard as some of the strategies may be directed at
the entire population.
 Uncertainties around the key model parameters and outputs should be
explored by sensitivity analyses.
 The tool should have a user-friendly interface, similar to the tobacco ROI
tool, and must be able to run via a web browser or downloaded to an
individual computer. It must also be compatible with earlier versions of the
current software package. It is crucial to ensure ease of use and to keep
the run-time as short as possible.
 If possible, the tool should have a function for users to access support for
the tool, for example, a link to a demonstration video or instruction
brochure.
2.3
Specific tasks to be undertaken by the contractor
The range and detail of specific tasks to be carried out by the contractor will
be agreed with NICE. However, these activities will include the following:
 Identify and establish a project team with relevant experience and expertise
to carry out the work.
 Develop and submit to the NICE project team a timeline for the
development of the tool and supporting documents. This should include
stages for peer review and quality assurance processes.
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 Develop and submit to the NICE project team for comment, a draft protocol
for the tool which should include the methods of identifying interventions
and strategies relating to increasing physical activity already recommended
in NICE guidance products, search strategy and description for
supplementary literature searches, and methods of identifying areas
requiring additional modeling, and source(s) of relevant data and evidence.
Details of the data requirements for developing an executable tool and the
sources available to fulfill these data requirements should be provided in
the draft protocol. The methods for adding new interventions and strategies
to the tool as NICE develop additional related guidance products should be
described. The draft protocol should also include an outline of the structure
and visual presentation of the user-interface (i.e. what the user will be
looking at on their screen so the NICE project team can review layout and
proposed functions).
 Agree the content of the protocol with the NICE project team (following
consideration of comments on the drafts) and finalise accordingly.
 Carry out any necessary literature searches, manage, synthesise and
report the search results.
 Carry out necessary economic modeling to present point outcomes over
different time horizons and for the different metrics.
 Construct the economic tool.
 Produce and submit the draft executable tool according to the agreed
protocol covering the pre-determined areas to the NICE project team for
comment by July 2013.
 Update the ROI tool and supporting documents in line with NICE’s
comments and suggestions, and sign off with NICE project team.
 Submit final tool to NICE by September 2013.
 Attend meetings at NICE, as agreed with the NICE project team, to present
the tool and supporting documents, and to respond to queries raised at
these meetings.
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 Draft responses, if required, to any stakeholder queries on the tool
submitted during the development phase and comment period (documents
circulated to registered and/or key stakeholders only, for a predefined
period of time for comments).
In addition to the above, it is anticipated there will be several ‘joint project’
meetings between the contractor and the NICE project team during the 6
month project period. These meetings can either be face to face or via
telephone conference. Contractors are required to include all the costs
associated with these meetings within their overall tender costing.
All tasks will require liaison with the NICE project team.
2.4
Outputs
The key outputs will include the following:
 Tool development protocol and corresponding search strategy, data
requirements and methods for economic modeling
 Reference Manager (or compatible) file/s containing search results, where
appropriate.
 Draft and final tool to be presented in an appropriate software package.
The final style and format of the tool is to be agreed with the NICE project
team.
 Tool technical report.
 Tool user guide.
 Microsoft PowerPoint slides providing a brief overview of the tool for
presentation to NICE.
 Final tool following comments from NICE, to be submitted by September
2013.
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Please note the ROI tool should not be distributed. Any requests for
information about the tool should be directed to the NICE project team.
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Research Governance
The NICE project team and the successful Contractor(s) will ensure that they
comply with statutory legislation and guidance and with the standards of
research governance set out in Department of Health Research Governance
Framework for Health & Social Care (2005).
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Declaration of interests
The NICE has a wide range of stakeholders with an interest and involvement
in its work. It is important for potential bidders to indicate, as part of their
response, if and where they anticipate areas of conflict with their existing work
base, and how they would handle issues of conflict of interest and
confidentiality should they arise.
In line with NICE ways of working, the Contractor will be asked to provide
written formal declaration of interests. A standard form will be provided
(please see Appendix A in the process manual for further details).
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Transparency
In light of the Coalition governments need for greater transparency, suppliers
and those organisations looking to bid for public sector contracts should be
aware that if they are awarded a contract for this work, the resulting contract
between the supplier and NICE will be published in its entirety. In some
circumstances, limited redactions will be made to some contracts before they
are published in order to comply with existing law and for the protection of
national security. Suppliers are asked to make any sections of their tender
that they regard as ‘Commercial in Confidence’ or ‘subject to the non
disclosure clauses’ of the Freedom of Information Act or the Data Protection
Act clear within the submission documents. Please note that the total value
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(bottom line) of the agreement is required to be published under current EU
regulations and the UK governments Transparency Agenda. If you require
clarity on this point, please contact us via the route stated in section 8 below.
6
Contract timescale and budget
The contract is expected to be in place in March 2013 and will last
approximately 6 months. Appendix A provides a draft timescale for the project.
The maximum budget to be awarded for this contract is £75,000 (excluding
VAT). Any bids submitted that exceed this limit will not be considered. NICE
seeks value for money solutions via the tendering process, and it is up to the
bidders to provide competitive proposals that meet our requirements.
Payments will be tied to milestones and will be split over 2012/2013 and
2013/2014.
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Your proposal
If your organisation feels it can provide services to NICE for this project, then
your bid in response to this invitation should include the following elements in
the number order given below.
Failure to provide the following information in the format requested may result
in your proposal being rejected:
7.1
Experience, skills and expertise
The contractor will need personnel from a range of appropriate disciplines and
a high degree of technical expertise in epidemiology, data analysis, health
economics and modeling, database management and development of userfriendly interfaces, project management, and research interests in alcohol
misuse and public health.
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Please provide a description of the core team and details of their skills to
include the following:
 the technical expertise of the members of the team, showing their ability to
deliver the economic tool with user friendly interface, including details of
their area of academic interest and full publication history. Please include
the CVs of the entire project team
 relevant qualifications of members of the team
 your collective (group/organisational) experience in producing high quality
reviews of economic literature, economic models, ROI tools and databases
 topic experts and any relevant wider networks and interest groups from
varied disciplines that your organisation/group has access to, with a
statement as to how you could obtain resource/information from these
networks if required
 any relevant databases that your organisation/group has access.
Please include two examples of previous work that demonstrates your
experience and ability to provide this work to a high standard.
7.2
Project plan
Please provide an outline project plan to produce the ROI tool as outlined in
section 2. The plan should include a description of the approach that would be
taken in relation to development of the tool. It should include a detailed
description of, and rationale for, the selected methods for identifying
interventions and strategies relating to reducing alcohol misuse already
recommended in NICE guidance (published and in development) and relevant
interventions and strategies not previously covered by NICE guidance. It
should also include a detailed description, and rationale for, identifying areas
requiring additional modeling and source(s) of relevant data and evidence.
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Details of the data requirements for developing an executable tool and the
sources available to fulfill these data requirements should be provided in the
draft protocol. The draft protocol should also include an outline of the structure
and visual presentation of the user-interface, and a consideration of how
users might access support to use the tool.
The plan should make appropriate references to the CPHE Methods manual
(http://publications.nice.org.uk/methods-for-the-development-of-nice-publichealth-guidance-third-edition-pmg4) and the existing tobacco ROI tool. Any
proposed deviations from these should be outlined and a brief rationale
included.
Please identify the risks associated with this project, stating whether you
consider them to be high medium or low probability of occurring and provide a
summary of how you would mitigate each risk.
Please demonstrate how you would meet tight deadlines in situations of
competing demands.
Please describe the roles assigned to each member of the team and days
allocated to those team members for each major task e.g. screening activities,
economic modeling, database design and construction (see section 7.5.1).
7.3
Project management
Please provide a detailed and realistic timeline for the development of the tool
and supporting documents. This should include the key stages and proposed
dates for the various stages, including for peer review and quality assurance
processes.
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7.4
Quality assurance
Please describe your quality assurance processes and provide details of the
following:
 quality assurance processes that will ensure the delivery of the economic
tool in a timely manner
 processes for quality assessing the economic tool, to include an internal
peer-review process
 how you will handle issues of conflict of interest, should they arise.
7.5
Cost
Please provide a cost breakdown in GBP sterling, exclusive of Value Added
Tax (VAT), of the estimated budget necessary to deliver the project (including
costs of attending meetings). This should also show the estimated time
commitment of core team members.
Please complete the costing tables in the format provided below; failure to do
so may result in your offer being rejected.
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7.5.1
Resource costs
Staff/resource
description
7.5.2
No. of days per
staff/ resource
Total cost (£)
Non-pay costs
Non-pay costs description (e.g.
Interlibrary loans
7.5.3
Day rate per
staff/resource (£)
Total cost
Database costs
Database description
Total cost
All travel and subsistence costs are to be included in the day rates listed in
7.5.1 above.
£ excl VAT
Total cost
7.6
Policies and financial statements
Please provide one copy each of your organisation’s Health and Safety,
Environmental, Equal Opportunities and Diversity in the Work Place Polices,
together with the last three years of audited accounts for your organisation
and a current Balance Sheet.
7.7
References
Please provide the names, addresses, email and telephone number of two
organisations that NICE may contact as referees where either the same or
very similar work to that being requested here, has been undertaken.
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8
Tender offer and form of offer submission
Both the Tender Offer and the Form of Offer must be received by NICE, as
instructed above, no later than 17:00 (5.00pm) UK time on 14 February 2013.
All offers must be submitted in GBP sterling and must be exclusive of Value
Added Tax (VAT).
All tender offers must be written in English and submitted electronically by
email in a Microsoft word format to: [email protected]. Hard copies
of the tender offer are not required.
All offers must be accompanied by a completed Form of Offer (attached). The
Form of Offer must be submitted in hard copy to:
Barney Wilkinson,
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
10 Spring Gardens
London
SW1A 2BU
The envelope must not identify the name of your company.
Before the documentation is submitted, contractors wishing to tender may
have specific questions and queries regarding the process, the policy or the
arrangements with NICE. Under its procurement arrangements NICE has to
ensure that all applicants receive equal treatment and will share all
information requests and responses with all applicants.
All questions and queries regarding this invitation to offer must be submitted
by email to Barney Wilkinson ([email protected])
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The deadline for expressions of interest is 29 January 2013 and the deadline
for questions is 30 January 2013. The questions and answers to each query
will be collated and distributed by email to all the potential bidders on 1
February 2013.
Please note that that there will be no telephone, informal or other kind of
discussion between potential tenderers and officers or directors of NICE after
this document is dispatched.
NICE does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any offer and reserves the
right to accept an offer either in whole or in part, each item being for this
purpose treated as offered separately.
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Transparency
In light of the Coalition governments need for greater transparency, suppliers
and those organisations looking to bid for public sector contracts should be
aware that if they are awarded a contract for this work, the resulting contract
between the supplier and NICE will be published in its entirety. In some
circumstances, limited redactions will be made to some contracts before they
are published in order to comply with existing law and for the protection of
national security. Suppliers are asked to make any sections of their tender
that they regard as Commercial in Confidence (CiC), or subject to the non
disclosure clauses of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or Data
Protection Act (DPA) clear within the submission documents. Please note that
the total value (bottom line) of the agreement is required to be published
under current EU regulations and the UK governments Transparency Agenda.
If you require clarity on this point, please contact us via the route stated in
section 9 above.
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10
Selection criteria and tender process
The selection criteria and weighting that will be applied to the bids are as
follows:
Criteria
Project cost & value for
money
Proposed methodology
Experience, skills &
expertise
Project management – to
include time plan and staff
experience/allocation to
tasks
Quality assurance
Weighting
15
30
30
10
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In light of the Coalition government’s drive for transparency, NICE is providing
the formula that will be used for the cost evaluation aspect and the scoring
guide.
The cost will be evaluated using the following formula:
Lowest Bidder’s Price / Bidder’s Price X 20 (the weighting)
Each evaluator will independently review each tender submitted using the
following guide to score each criteria, the scores of all evaluators per criteria
are then averaged and the criteria weighting is then applied to give an
adjusted score.
Responses to questions asked during interview are also scored and this is
combined with the tender score.
Scores are assigned as follows:
Scoring
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Note
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-5
The point is omitted
0
The point is not explained/ repeat of specification
1
The point is not acceptable
2
The point is possibly acceptable
3
The point is acceptable
4
The point is well made and acceptable
5
The point exceeds expectations/excellent
Non-compliance
NICE expressly reserves the right to reject any proposal that:
 does not follow the instruction to tender guidance
 is incomplete
 demonstrates a refusal to adhere to, or significant unacceptable changes
made to the Terms and Conditions of Contract
 has not responded to any mandatory elements, including failing to provide
requested documents (i.e. the tender is non-compliant)
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Appendix A – Project timescale
The tender process will run to the following timetable:
Deadline for expressions of
interest
29 January 2013
Final date for question
submissions
30 January 2013
Responses sent out
1 February 2013
Tender receipt deadline
14 February 2013
Tender assessment
15–20 February 2013
Notification to short list
26 February 2013
Interviews*
4–5 March 2013
Award of contract
6 March 2013
Alkatel period (standstill
period)
6–12 March 2013
Contract start
13 March 2013
*Please note all bidders are expected to be available for interview on the dates
specified.
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Appendix B - Related NICE guidance
Public health guidance

Alcohol-use disorders – preventing harmful drinking. NICE public health
guidance 24 (2012).

School-based interventions on alcohol. NICE public health guidance 7
(2007).
Clinical Guidelines

Alcohol use disorders: diagnosis, assessment and management of
harmful drinking and alcohol dependence. NICE Clinical Guideline 115
(2011).

Alcohol-use disorders: Diagnosis and clinical management of alcoholrelated physical complications. NICE Clinical Guideline 100 (2010).
Quality Standards

Alcohol dependence and harmful alcohol use. NICE Quality Standard
11 (2011).
NICE Pathways

Alcohol use disorders pathway. NICE (2012)
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