RA EBBC Corporate Public Relations

Eastbourne Borough Council invites tenders for its Corporate Public Relations Services. The appointed agency will become the de facto press office for Eastbourne Borough Council (EBC) and Eastbourne Homes Limited (EHL). This will be duplicated for Lewes District Council (LDC) at times of specific need and as directed by LDC. The brief will focus on corporate PR and mirror all the traditional roles and responsibilities of an in-house PR team. The contract is for a period of 5 years commencing on 1st April 2016 and is capable of extension at the Council’s option for 2 years. Alternative contract structures will only be considered where these are submitted as an additional alternative to a proposal for the above term.

The award of this tender will follow an Open procedure and will be awarded on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender to the Council, taking into account price and quality. The weighting of price and quality will be as follows; Price 40%, Quality 60%.

The SAQ will be evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis.

Tenders will be evaluated using the following process: - Compliance checks to ensure that the requirements of the tendering process have been complied with. - Bona Fides check - collusive tendering, canvassing and non-soliciting of staff. - A quality evaluation using the weighting set out in the Tender Response Form. - Financial evaluation based upon the pricing information provided by candidates.

Following initial assessment the final selection will take place by reference to the following: - the information supplied in response to this ITT, including the Pricing Schedule and the Tender Response Form; - References provided by the applicants’ current and recent customers.

Below is the current procurement timetable:

20th January 2016 Contract Notice/Issue Tender Documents 12th February 2016 Last date for Tenderers questions 15th February 2016 Final EBC response to questions 19th February 2016 Closing date for tender submission. 29th February 2016 Selection of preferred supplier (commence standstill period) 9th March 2016 Contract Award 1st April 2016 Contract start date

Estimated value of the procurement is £652,400. Please note this value has been calculated to cover all eventualities.

Further information is available in the tender documents. To take part in this tender opportunity you must register on the council's e-procurement site at:

https://in-tendhost.co.uk/sesharedservices/aspx/Tenders/Current