Assessments of Employment Support

DWP would like to inform you of a proposed tender exercise to deliver assessments on organisations based off specific criteria and standards centred around providing employment support to people with disabilities and health conditions. This contract is to support two DWP initiatives: a test for a new element of Access to Work and the Local Supported Employment Trailblazer (LSE).

We would like to invite any interested suppliers to attend a market engagement session, where we will provide more information on the requirements of the contract and procurement process ahead of the Invitation to Tender (ITT) being issued. The event will be on 12/03/2020 at 12:30pm to 1:30pm.

It will be held via the phone. We intend (subject to governance) to issue the Invitation to Tender (ITT) in the afternoon of 17th March 2020.

The key requirements for this contract will be: - Development of a process and approach to assess organisations against the required standards. (The organisations will include but are not limited to: Local Authorities, Supported Businesses and Social Enterprises). - Produce a report on the outcome and next steps (sending to Organisation and DWP) including recommendations on how to improve address any issues. - Delivery of an action and training plan to supported the organisations involved in the LSE only.

The contract will be for 18 months. The organisations will be based throughout England, Scotland and Wales.

To be eligible to bid for this tender you MUST be registered on the Test & Learn DPS 'Working with Employers' service line by the date the ITT is issued. This notice follows the early engagement event advertised on 15/01/20 and held on 28/01/20 titled 'Local Authorities and Supported Businesses Assessments'. Please note that this event does not commit DWP to any future procurement exercise.