ADD2329 Procurement of online survey software for Opinion Research

Talk London is an inclusive, vibrant online community that supports the Mayor and the GLA in placing Londoners’ needs at the centre of its strategies and programmes by involving citizens in meaningful research, debate and consultation about how to improve the capital.

Talk London has 46,000 members, and in the last year has delivered nearly 12,000 responses to consultations on the London Environment Strategy, Housing Strategy, Economic Development Strategy, Skills for Londoners Strategy, and Health Inequalities Strategy – at no cost to policy teams. We have demonstrated that the development of compelling, accessible, and highly shareable content has the capacity to drive huge audience reach and engagement.

The Greater London Authority has an obligation under the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty to consider how its policies and decisions affect people who are protected under the Act. Londoners are encouraged to take part and have their say on Talk London via surveys or discussions on the site.

The contract with our online survey software provider expires in September 2019. We plan to undertake a competitive procurement process to appoint an online survey software provider for the next four years, subject to approval of related expenditure through this decision form.

Objectives:

• To commission an online survey software provider to enable Talk London and policy teams at City Hall to conduct online surveys.
• The Opinion Research team and policy teams can deliver online surveys with a variety of Londoners and other users.

Outcomes:

• To ensure that our work is informed by the views of Londoners.

The Greater London Authority has an obligation under the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty to consider how its policies and decisions affect people who are protected under the act.

Demographic information collected on registration to the Talk London community ensures we are aware who participates on the platform and with individual surveys, and can act to promote participation to a broad range of Londoners. Through carrying out surveys we will seek to understand any differences in perceptions and experiences among specific groups and give due consideration as to how best to meet their needs.

Key risks and issues

The key risk is that the chosen online software is not fully embeddable on the Talk London platform. This is also the case for our current supplier. The technical evaluation assessment will require potential suppliers to demonstrate that their software meets our technical criteria for embedding on Talk London. A technical specification, with all essential technical requirements, will be provided by the Technology Group. As per Transport for London’s procurement advice, only potential suppliers that can show they can meet these technical requirements will be invited to take part in the tender process.

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

The Mayor has stated that he wants to lead the most engaged and transparent administration, seen at City Hall. The Talk London community - through online surveys - allows Londoners to participate in the design, development and delivery of strategies, policies, interventions and services.
Consultations and impact assessments, including data protection

The Talk London privacy policy is compliant with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Third party sites – such as online survey providers – will not be used to collect, store or share personal information of members of the Talk London community.

The expenditure of up to £12,500 per year will be funded from the Opinion Research and Statistics Team’s budget held within the Intelligence Unit.

The contract will be managed by the Opinion Research team.

TfL Procurement has been consulted and has advised that this work can be procured through a request for quotation process. Procurement will commence as soon as is practical following this decision.