Southmead Fourteen Plan
Invitation to Tender – Southmead Disability Research Project
Fee - £5000 incl. VAT and all expenses
1. Introduction
What is the Fourteen Programme?
Fourteen is a £3.5m national programme funded by Spirit of 2012, a charity set up by the Big Lottery
Fund to connect events to communities across the country; tackling disadvantage by supporting
opportunities in sport, physical activity, culture and the arts, volunteering and social action. Quartet
Community Foundation is the local partner responsible for managing the money. Fourteen
neighbourhoods across the country are to receive funding through the Fourteen Programme.
Who are Quartet Community Foundation?
Quartet Community Foundation manages funding on behalf of individuals, companies, charitable
trusts and statutory agencies. This enables us to make grants to charitable groups in the West of
England. We have a number of grant programmes to which groups can apply. Southmead Fourteen
is one of the programmes that we are managing and Southmead is the beneficiary area for the
funding.
How much funding is available for projects?
There will be £200,000 funding available over three years. We have already set up a small and
medium grants fund for community projects. For more details on this please visit our website at
www.quartetcf.org.uk . We will also be funding a number of larger projects to: increase the level of
volunteering in Southmead; address the needs of disabled people (first stage is this tender), and
work with young people. These larger projects are being commissioned through a competitive
process with the organisation best able to deliver the project chosen against pre-set criteria.
What is the overall aim of the Programme?
The overall aim for the Southmead Fourteen Plan is to increase participation in social action and
volunteering. The volunteering and social action will help improve health outcomes, reduce
isolation and improve skills, confidence and employability for the individuals who take part. It will
also help to address local issues and opportunities. We specifically want to focus a proportion of the
money to support the aspirations of disabled people and young people. These priorities have been
chosen because they support both the Fourteen Funding priorities and the priorities from the
Southmead Community Plan. For details of the Community Plan and Fourteen Plan please go to
http://www.southmeadcommunityplan.co.uk/ .
What is the Local Reference Group?
The Local Reference Group (LRG) is made up of local people and local organisations in Southmead.
This group assess grant applications and make recommendations to Quartet based on their local
knowledge regarding needs and aspirations in Southmead. Quartet Community Foundation make
the final decisions regarding the funding.
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2. The Brief
To encourage collaborative working between organisations, this Local Reference Group has decided
to adopt a commissioning process for elements of the Fourteen Programme and organisations are
now invited to tender for a 5 month project. The total contract value over the life of the project is
£5,000 including VAT and all expenses.
Our vision:
Our vision is that disabled people in Southmead , whatever their age or background, have the
opportunity to fulfil their potential – to lead full and active lives that are valued by the community
and society as a whole.
Background:
When the Southmead Survey was carried out in 2014, the resident researchers were shocked at the
high number of people that they interviewed who were unable to get out and about and do the
things they wanted to do because of their disability. Residents wanted further work be carried out
to better understand the aspirations of disabled people and the barriers that they face. In total,
£25,000 of the Fourteen Funding has been allocated to the Disability Project with the initial £5,000
to be spent on this first phase of the work.
Fourteen Funding is legacy funding from the Olympic Games. We want to use the example of the
incredible and inspiring Paralympic Games in 2012 to inspire disabled people and their families that
high aspirations can be achieved for every aspect of life, including employment. We also want to
highlight where support is required and, where possible, develop projects to meet these needs.
The aims of the Disability Research Project are to:
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Engage and support disabled people as members of a steering group to oversee the project
so that it is genuinely led by disabled people
Research what disabled people in Southmead aspire to achieve and what support they need
to reach their goals
Identify the issues affecting disabled people and their carers in Southmead
Research what activities and support services are currently available to disabled people and
their carers in Southmead and beyond
Make links with city wide and national initiatives to include interviewing existing and
potential partners to record their views on current services and ideas for future initiatives
Identify gaps in activities and support and make recommendations for future projects and
partnerships that align with the aspirations and issues raised by disabled people
Develop ideas for future project work
Write a report to include:
o Research findings
o A set of recommendations of what new activities and support could be delivered to
inspire disabled people and better enable disabled people in Southmead to work
towards their goals
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Identifying funding to develop the next phase of the work (we have already set aside
an additional £20,000 from the Fourteen Fund but would like to bring in additional
match funding to add value to the work).
Assess the viability of establishing an ongoing forum for disabled people to ensure that
disabled people have a voice and an ability to influence what happens in the neighbourhood
and beyond.
Outcomes from the project
At the end of the 5 month project we hope that the project will have:
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Involved at least 8 of disabled people as volunteers overseeing the project with people
reporting feeling less isolated and more able to participate in contributing to a better
Southmead
Interviewed at 30 disabled people (with differing disabilities and needs) to record their
aspirations and support needs (this may be partly through focus groups/existing forums)
Helped to raise awareness of the aspirations and support needs of disabled people with
residents and key partners
Improved local people’s understanding and perception of disabled people
Delivered a report with a clear set of recommendations for future work including
identifying projects, partners and funding streams.
3. What is the application timetable and process?
Timetable
Advertise commission
Week commencing 2nd November
Deadline for submission
14th December 17:00
Panel assess application
Week commencing 4th January
Appointment
Week commencing 11th January
Work commences
By 1st February
In tendering the work, the LRG expects to engage in a negotiation process with bidding organisations
in order to arrive at a final specification that can most effectively meet the aims. Applicants will
need to explain how expertise and track record in working with disabled people would be combined
with the ability to exploit local knowledge and circumstances. The negotiation process is likely to
take the form of a Local Panel meeting shortlisted applicants to discuss their bids before a final
specification is commissioned.
4. Tender Submission
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Organisations are asked to provide a tender submission which outlines their approach to the project,
their relevant experience, the skills and knowledge of the proposed project, capacity to deliver and a
breakdown of the proposed budget and match funding.
a) Approach (weighted score 50%)
 Please illustrate your understanding and analysis of the key issues
 Please outline your approach to setting up and delivering the project
b) Relevant skills and experience (weighted score 50%)
 Please demonstrate your organisations experience of undertaking similar projects
including a case study example
 Please tell us about your understanding of local issues and your experience of
working with Southmead or similar community and your experience of working with
residents on disability projects
 Please provide information about the skills and experience of staff who will work on
the project
 Please demonstrate your capacity to deliver and manage the project
 Please provide two relevant references testifying your experience of similar projects
Written submissions should be no more than 6 sides of A4 and returned by email to:
[email protected] no later than 14th December 17:00.
Interviews for shortlisted organisations will be held week commencing 4th January. The interview
will take the form of a presentation, an interview, some set questions and an open discussion.
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