Call for Expressions of Interest: Evaluation of the BIZ Programme
[ Last Updated 9 November 2005 ]
Introduction
1. The Ministry of Economic Development is calling for expressions of interest by companies or groups with the relevant experience and skills to evaluate the Government's current business development programme (BIZ and BIZinfo).
The Work to Be Carried Out
2. The evaluation will examine the effectiveness, efficiency and impact of the BIZ programme and its administration and management up until the end of April 2000. The successful contractor will reach a conclusion on the overall effectiveness and value of the programme. The final report will also identify areas for improvement in the design and delivery of the programme.
The BIZ Programme
3. The BIZ programme has two main elements- the provision of information and referral services to businesses (BIZinfo), and upskilling services (training, networking and mentoring) to improve management capability (BIZ). It is delivered through non-government organisations contracted through the BIZ Unit of the Ministry of Economic Development. The programme is delivered throughout the country and has specific targets to ensure participation of Maori, Pacific peoples, and women. The programme has been in operation since March/April 1999.
Techniques to Be Used in the Evaluation
4. The Ministry has developed a broad evaluation framework and has considered methods that could be used to provide a comprehensive picture of the impact and effectiveness of the programme. These include:
- a telephone survey of awareness and understanding of the BIZ programme among Small and Medium Enterprises (this follows a survey of awareness carried out in August 1999).
- a mail-out survey of BIZ clients which covers their perceptions of the delivery of the services they received, and of the effect of their participation in the programme; followed by interviews with a sample of clients. This would include a separate sample of the target groups- Maori, women and Pacific peoples.
- interviews with BIZ providers covering their views on the impact of the programme, the effectiveness of the administration and contract management of the programme, and how the delivery and operation of the programme could be improved.
- a "mystery shopper trial" of BIZInfo, where the evaluators would develop a number of "test" enquiries and act as clients to test effectiveness, quality and consistency of services
- analysis of contracts, milestone and customer satisfaction reports held by the BIZ Unit from BIZ providers to assess:
- the coverage and uptake of the programme nationally, by region, and for target groups
- satisfaction by clients on the services provided
- the relationship between the level of service provided and the level contracted for
- effectiveness of milestone reporting, contract management and administration systems
- funds spent on administration compared to provision of services
- analysis of tender implementation and evaluation reports, BIZ Unit records, and interviews with BIZ staff to assess:
- adequacy of accountability mechanisms for BIZ providers
- effectiveness of contracts
- efficiency/effectiveness of tender and contract management processes
- adequacy of data collected by the BIZ Unit for contract management and evaluation purposes
The Ministry will consider additional or alternative methods of evaluation provided these ensure a comprehensive evaluation and can be achieved within the budget.
The Budget
5. The budget for the entire evaluation is approximately $120,000 excluding GST.
Timing
6. Request for Proposal documents will be issued on Wednesday 12 April 2000 and tenders will close at 5pm on 12 May 2000. Companies who have put in tenders will be advised of the results around 31 May. Please note that there is no binding agreement until a contract is signed between the Ministry and the successful tenderer.
7. The evaluation is timedto start in early June 2000. Preliminary results need to be available on 6 July for discussion with stakeholders. The final report to the Ministry is due on 27 July 2000.
Process to Be Followed
8. If you, or your company, have an interest in carrying out the evaluation or components of it, please respond to Kay Switzer, Ministry of Economic Development (E-mail: kay.switzer@med.govt.nz) or Fax 04-499 1791 or mail to P.O. Box 1473, Wellington) by 12.00pm on5 April 2000 with the following information:
- your name or company name
- contact person (including fax, phone number, postal and e-mail address)
- whether interested in covering the whole task or component parts of it (if components only please specify -preferably referring to components in Para 4 a-f above)
- skills and experience relevant to carrying out this work - (Briefly-1 page maximum)
- any preliminary comments about the work that you wish to make
- whether you agree to having this information made available to other companies expressing an interest in tendering for the work
The entire expression of interest should not exceed 3 pages.
9. It is our intention to circulate the information you provide at this point to all other companies expressing an interest in tendering (unless you tell us that you are not happy to have your information circulated).
10. The reason for this is that the Ministry considers it unlikely that any one organisation has all the skills necessary to carry out the entire evaluation (market awareness survey, interviews, target group survey, administration and management review, etc). The Ministry prefers to deal with one evaluation team only. To encourage individual parties to join together in consortia to prepare a joint proposal and undertake the entire evaluation, the Ministry will provide the contact details of those expressing an interest along with their areas of expertise to all parties expressing an interest. The Ministry will send out this information at the same time as it sends out the Request for Proposal documentation on 12 April.
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