Invitation for suppliers to attend Census market engagement events

Invitation for suppliers to attend Census market engagement events On 15 January 2016, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) opened registration for its forthcoming market engagement exercise on delivery of a nationwide census in 2021, and is inviting supplier organisations that may be interested in getting involved with the delivery of the census to sign-up to take part in the exercise and attend one of three Supplier Briefings being held in England and Wales. ONS is presently finalising plans for the future procurement activity associated with the planning and delivery of the Census, which will be part of a wider programme of activity called the Census Transformation Programme (CTP).

More information on ONS and the CTP can be found on the ONS website: www.ons.gov.uk. In May 2015 the CTP hosted an initial supplier briefing event in London and you can view useful information from the event by clicking the link: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/about-ons/business-transparency... Following the market engagement event in May 2015, the CTP is planning to run another series of briefings in February 2016 to promote future procurement opportunities.

The supplier briefings will update potential suppliers on emerging procurement plans and timescales. The Programme will host three Supplier Briefings as follows: 1.

The London Supplier Briefing, at the Kia Oval (the England Suite), Kennington, London SE11 5SS between 9:30 am and 14:00 pm on Wednesday 10 February 2016 2. The Wales Supplier Briefing, at Cardiff Council (Committee Rooms 2 & 3), County Hall, Atlantic Wharf, Cardiff CF10 4UW between 12:30 pm and 15:30 pm on Thursday 11 February 2016 3.

The Manchester Supplier Briefing, at the Pendulum Hotel & Manchester Conference Centre (the Pioneer Theatre), Weston Building, Sackville Street, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M1 3BB between 9:30 am and 12:30 pm BST on Thursday 18 February 2016 ONS is keen to see active involvement and participation in these briefings from a wide range of industries and sectors, including (but not limited to): IT systems and solutions, data collection / storage / processing, security, logistics and distribution, professional services (including management consultancy, legal and accountancy services), marketing / advertising, programme management / support / delivery, recruitment and training, professional development. (Please read additional information section for booking instructions) Additional information: Due to the high level of demand anticipated, please note that each supplier will be limited to attending one supplier briefing only (with no more than two attendees).

Your request to register for the London briefing should be received by no later than 7 February 2016, and requests for either the Wales or Manchester briefing to be received by no later than 8 February 2016. In addition to the above registration, any supplier that did not take part in the earlier CTP Tranche 1 Market Engagement Activities (May 2015) is asked to register on the ONS eTendering Portal (www.delta-esourcing.com) This will give ONS the ability to notify you of future CTP activities that may be of interest.

To register, click on 'Supplier Register' and enter your details using the Access Code R5PJ7CHB2G. This will register you on the Portal and add you to the 'Census Transformation Programme Suppliers’ list.

You can check that you have been added to this supplier list by clicking on 'Profile' and then 'Supplier List'. If you experience difficulties in registering on the Portal please call the Delta Helpdesk on 0845 2707050.

ONS may, as part of detailed Category and Procurement Planning, wish to engage further with suppliers during the period of CTP. Further announces will be made where this approach is taken.

ABOUT ONS: ONS is the UK’s largest independent producer of official statistics and is the recognised national statistical institute for the UK. ONS is responsible for collecting and publishing statistics related to the economy, population and society at national, regional and local levels.

ONS also conducts the census in England and Wales every ten years. ONS plays a leading role in national and international good practice in the production of official statistics.

ONS is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-Ministerial Department established by the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. Census statistics help paint a picture of the nation and how we live, and help provide a detailed snapshot of the population and its characteristics, and underpin funding allocation to provide public services. NOTE: The invitation to engage with ONS is extended to any organisations that may be interested about future supply opportunities to assist with delivery of the Census, and want to take part in this phase of the Exercise.