Professional Regulatory Skills Programme - Prior Information Notice

This is a Prior Information Notice (PIN) for market operators to attend a market engagement event the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is conducting to learn more about commissioning of a new Professional Regulatory Skills Programme. CQC is considering its options and design routes for delivery of a Professional Regulatory Skills Programme with accreditation and is issuing this PIN to seek the market's views and identify the options available.

As part of the market engagement for this project, a Request for Information (RFI) has been developed which seeks to establish the potential level of interest from market operators to deliver this service, and to invite feedback into the final specification. For further information and to express interest in attending the market engagement events and to participate in the RFI please follow the following link https://cqc-commercial.bravosolution.co.uk reference project_106. ***Updated: The deadline for submissions has now been extended to 30.11.2017.*** This is not a call for competition.

The RFI is one of the CQC's preliminary market engagement activities. Its purpose is to provide the market a broad indication of the potential future opportunity which CQC may offer and to receive feedback from the market to understand what Professional Regulatory Skills Programme solutions can be provided to meet the business requirements and as such inform the CQC requirements and procurement strategy.

Interested parties are invited to express and interest in participating in the RFI by registering on the CQC eSourcing portal (this is only required once) https://cqc-commercial.bravosolution.co.uk. CQC Market Engagement event on the 10.10.2017 has already happened however we still have available spaces for any interested parties to attend our forthcoming Leeds event on 26.10.2017 where we shall run through our requirements and to allow interested parties to raise questions.

This PIN does not constitute a commitment by CQC to undertake a procurement exercise and may not reflect any information which may ultimately be presented in any potential future tendering exercise. Additional information: Professional Regulatory Skills refers to the end to end process of registration and inspection but with a specific focus on investigatory practice for civil and criminal enforcement activity.

The overall aim of the programme is to improve overall efficiency and effectiveness of CQC's regulatory services and that people who use services will be further protected by the robust and professional approach to regulation taken by our staff. The accreditation will ensure consistency across the programme, recognise the application of new skills and knowledge and provide a high level of credibility in our enforcement practices with providers and judiciary.

As a result it is envisaged CQC's registration and inspection staff will meet the professional requirements for regulatory activities as identified in the National Occupational Standards. It is expected that accreditation will be from level 5 of the National Qualifications Framework up to post graduate level.

High quality, expert and accurate insight is paramount to us to achieve the programme outcomes and therefore we are seeking to understand the following: - What solutions exist in the market place that could provide the accreditation of Professional Regulatory Skills Programme - Knowledge of operators in the market - Indicative timescales from design to delivery of a Professional Regulatory Skills Programme to an accreditation based one - Indicative costs of design and accreditation and on-going delivery and costs A Request for Information (RFI) has been developed which seeks to establish the potential level of interest from market operators to deliver this service, and to invite feedback into the development of the final specification and CQC will be hosting market engagement events about the programme and the services required for interested parties to elicit market views on the feasibility of the proposed delivery options and discuss challenges and opportunities. It is intended that events will be held in London on 10th October and in Leeds on 26th October to run through our requirements and to allow interested parties to raise questions.

Interested parties are invited to express their interest in participating must first register interest via the CQC Bravo Portal https://cqc-commercial.bravosolution.co.uk The process is free and instructions are on the portal. Please note that RFI responses will remain confidential and anonymous; and will not be taken into consideration during the evaluation of any subsequent tender submissions for this service. Its purpose is to provide the market a broad indication of the potential future opportunity which CQC may offer and to receive feedback from the market to understand what Professional Regulatory Skills Programme solutions can be provided to meet the business requirements and as such inform CQC requirements and procurement strategy.