Procurement of Large-scale Survey Services

MOPAC Evidence and Insight conduct a wide range of research, evaluation, performance analysis and surveys - the majority of which is conducted in-house. However, certain elements - such as the pan London surveys given their size (e.g., Public Attitude Survey) are contracted to an external research company. It is not feasible to conduct these internally.

This procurement occurs every three years - the most recent of which was awarded to Opinion Research Services Ltd for 36 months, until the end of 2016/17, with the option to extend by a further 12 months until the end of 2017/18, at a total value of £3.2m.

The largest elements within the contract are the following projects:

• The Public Attitude survey (PAS) is MOPAC’s largest long running survey (since 1983) which interviews 12,800 Londoners face to face every year in their own homes, and brings the voice of Londoners into policy decision making and oversight (e.g., the drivers of confidence, views of fair treatment, knowledge of local policing and many other areas).
• The MOPAC User Satisfaction Survey (USS) is another long standing survey which interviews via telephone, approximately 16,000 victims of crime each year across 4 crime categories; burglary, violent crime, vehicle crime and hate crime. The survey is currently mandated by the Home Office (although this may change subsequent to the current financial year). The USS is our only tool to capture routinely the victims of crime across London. There is also scope to expand the USS across wider crime types and gain a boarder view of victimisation across London.
• The MOPAC Business Attitude Survey (BAS) launched in 2014 with a view to capturing the opinions and experiences of businesses across London about policing issues and robustly measuring business victimisation rates, satisfaction with service delivery and business confidence in the police. A total of 6400 interviews per year. The survey is due to finish October 2016.

Historically the surveys were conducted by Evidence and Insight when they were part of the MPS – and this changed during State 2 transfer, where it was agreed that the survey function crossed to MOPAC . As part of this process, the Metropolitan Police Service were also able to use the MOPAC research contract for their research requirements, ensuring best value is maintained across both organisations and greater economies of scale are achieved. Within the contract, MPS Directorate of Media and Communications pay, manage and conduct tracking surveys, used to provide data on the effectiveness of the MPS advertising strategy for Crime Prevention Campaigns. In addition, the contract is also used on smaller pieces such as bespoke surveys or research.

Total spend over the life of the 3 year contact (MOPAC & MPS) has been just over £2million which leaves approximately £1million until the contract with ORS expires, plus 10% should unexpected requirements occur.

This paper is presented to DMPC for consideration now given the research contract expires upon end of the current financial year. This options paper presents three options to ensure cost effective and robust delivery of research services post 2016/17. Either to 1) extend the current contract for 12 months, 2) initiate a full retender of the contract and 3) do not extend or initiate a retender of the contract.

In due course, procurement of large scale surveys could be covered by the procurement collaboration between MOPAC, MPS, GLA and TFL. This collaboration has the aim of developing one single procurement route across GLA when going to market. However, this is an ongoing process.

Evidence and Insight recommend that Option One is taken forward and the contract with ORS is extended for 12 months until March 2018. This decision presents the most consistency, value for money and offers flexibility ensuring MOPAC will not be tied into research contracts for a further three years, when priorities may change during 2016/17.

It would also be proposed that this additional period be used to assess the feasibility of the procurement collaboration as well as future cross cutting opportunities across GLA, at which point another decision be made in terms of future procurement.

1. Introduction and background

1.1 MOPAC Evidence and Insight conduct a wide range of research, evaluation, performance analysis and surveys - the majority of which is conducted in-house. However, certain elements - such as the pan London surveys, given their size (e.g., Public Attitude Survey interviews over 12,000 Londoners per annum) are contracted to an external research company. It is not feasible to conduct these internally.

1.2 In 2013 the MPS and MOPAC approved the award of a contract SS31380 for the Provision of Research Services to Opinion Research Services Ltd for 36 months, until the end of 2016/17, with the option to extend by a further 12 months until the end of 2017/18, at a total value of £3.2m.

1.3 The requirement under this contract was to supply a variety of Research Services- focussing upon the large scale surveys designed and analysed by MOPAC Evidence and Insight. The largest elements within the contract are the following projects:

• The Public Attitude survey (PAS) is MOPAC’s largest long running survey (since 1983) which interviews 12,000 Londoners face to face every year in their own homes, and brings the voice of Londoners into policy decision making and oversight (e.g., the drivers of confidence, views of fair treatment, knowledge of local policing and many other areas). MOPAC analysis is used internally as well as shared with the MPS in order to drive improvement in the policing response of London, and hold the MPS to account. PAS data is in the public domain. The PAS has been core in how concepts such as ‘confidence in police’ are understood and internalised (e.g., the core drivers of confidence, that of engagement, fair treatment, effectiveness and alleviating anti-social behaviour have been identified through statistical analysis and widely shared with the MPS and external partners).
• The MOPAC User Satisfaction Survey (USS) is another long standing survey which interviews via telephone approximately 16,000 victims of crime each year across 4 crime categories; burglary, violent crime, vehicle crime and hate crime. The survey is currently mandated from the Home Office (although this may change in the coming financial year). The USS is our only tool to routinely capture the victims of crime across London and give a voice to vulnerable groups. There is also scope to expand the USS across wider crime types and gain a boarder view of victimisation across London. Similar to the PAS, there has been statistical modelling of what drives satisfaction in police service (i.e., police actions, police treatment, follow-up and ease of contact) which has been widely used internally and externally.
• The MOPAC Business Attitude Survey (BAS) launched in 2014 with a view to capturing the opinions and experiences of businesses across London about policing issues and robustly measuring business victimisation rates, satisfaction with service delivery and business confidence in the police. A total of 6400 interviews per year. The survey is due to finish October 2016. Analysis has identified key drivers of business confidence in policing and levers for improvement, which is helping the MPS improve their policing response to businesses across the capital. This survey also taps into perceptions of cyber crime, prevalence of hate crime against businesses and victimisation rates.

1.4 The Metropolitan Police Service are also able to use the MOPAC research contract for their research requirements, ensuring best value is maintained across both organisations and greater economies of scale are achieved. Within the contract, MPS Directorate of Media and Communications pay, manage and conduct tracking surveys, used to provide data on the effectiveness of the MPS advertising strategy for Crime Prevention Campaigns. In addition, the contract is also used on smaller pieces such as bespoke surveys or research. To illustrate, in the recent Home Office Innovation Fund research MOPAC are conducting (e.g., Police Now, Gripping the Offender, Information Sharing to Tackle Violence, Red Thread – a small number of interviews were contracted out to ORS through the contract to support internal research staff.)

1.5 Total spend over the life of the 3 year contact (MOPAC & MPS) has been just over £2million which leaves approximately £1million until the contract with ORS expires, plus 10% should unexpected requirements occur.

1.6 This options paper presents three possible options for MOPAC and MPS research services to ensure cost effective and robust delivery of research services post 2016/17. This paper is presented to DMPC for consideration now as, as one of the potential options, that of a full retender, could take upto 12 months. In due course, procurement of large scale surveys could be covered by the procurement collaboration between MOPAC, MPS, GLA and TFL. This collaboration has the aim of developing one single procurement route across GLA when going to market. However, this is an ongoing process.

2. Issues for consideration

There are three options for the procurement of research services for MOPAC and the MPS.

Option One: Extend the current contract with the existing research service provider (Opinion Research Services) for a further 12 months

2.1 The contract with Opinion Research Services (ORS) expires in March 2017; however, there is an option to extend the contract for a fixed 12-month period until March 2018. This will require approval from MOPAC, the MPS and the agreement of ORS. There will be no further scope for extension beyond this timeframe.

2.2 The extension of the contract is recommended as the preferred course of action for the following reasons:

• Evidence and Insight are confident ORS have been the best performing, and most affordable, market research company we have worked with to date. Retendering is unlikely to secure a better company from the current market.
• It is the quickest, easiest and most cost effective route to market (avoiding a full tender process, which the MPS have indicated they do not have the resources to perform at this time).
• It gives 12-months of coverage for the surveys whilst MOPAC decides on key priorities to take forward and committed spend.
• It would prevent a long term commitment of spend at an uncertain time, especially given that the Home Office may remove the mandate to conduct the User Satisfaction Survey during 2016/17.
• The MPS are supportive of a contract extension with ORS and have been satisfied with their research services provision.

Option Two: Initiate a full retendering process

2.3 The contract with ORS is due to expire in March 2017. A full retendering process would have to be completed via a research framework prior to this date. In 2013 the route to purchase used for this procurement activity was the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) Framework number 992. This was a compliant route to market that fully met the needs of MOPAC and the MPS and would be the framework that is used again, if necessary.

2.4 A mini-competition would need to be conducted between the Framework suppliers and evaluations based on price and specification conducted. This process is estimated to take upto 12 months and MOPAC would be committed to a new contract for at least 3 years, with projects and spend also committed.

2.5 The User Satisfaction Survey is currently a Home Office mandated survey which costs approx £108k per year. This mandate may be removed by the Home Office within 2017 and therefore in full retendering, there is the risk of being committed to a survey that loses mandated status.

2.6 Evidence and Insight are confident that the ORS has been the best performing and most cost effective supplier we have worked with to date. If MOPAC wish to retender at this time, ORS could compete again but their prices would likely be more expensive and we may not achieve the same value for money.

2.7 Initiating a full tender process would therefore be the least favourable option at this time due to the changing political landscape and the need for greater flexibility whilst a new Mayor reviews priorities and to maintain current value for money across our research contracts.

Option three: Do not extend the contract for a further 12 months or retender

2.8 This option would only be recommended if MOPAC and the MPS no longer required the large scale surveys outlined in the document. Currently there is high demand across MOPAC and the MPS for research services – especially the PAS, USS and BAS. The results are shared within MOPAC and the MPS, as well as the public. Results from these are used to drive insight and improvement for London.



2.9 This option is therefore not recommended. It would place MOPAC and the MPS at considerable risk and would not allow us to meet our current obligations for the mandated User Satisfaction Survey or other research evaluations and initiatives. Moreover, it would stop us learning from a wide variety of communities across London.

3. Financial Comments

3.1. MOPAC and the MPS has a total research budget of £3.2million to spend over 3 years with the option of extending the contract for a fourth year. By the end of 2016/17 MOPAC and the MPS will have spent just over £2million, leaving just under £1million spend for the fourth year. This is not anticipated to be exceeded.

4. Legal Comments

4.1. MOPAC have consulted with MPS procurement and there advice has been to extend the contract.

5. Equality Comments

5.1. There are no equality concerns with the procurement of research services for MOPAC or the MPS. However, MOPAC have ensured that via due diligence all our large scale surveys have sampling frames which are appropriate for the research study and ensure that equal opportunity for all Londoners to take part.

5.2. Both the PAS and USS are able to generate a representative sample of Londoners through random sampling within eligible groupings (e.g., for the USS a respondent needs to be a victim of crime and for the PAS on the Royal Mail Postcode address file). The age, gender, ethnicity, disability and faith of those surveyed are broadly equivilant to London as a whole.

5.3. Equality is addressed within the fieldwork itself for the major surveys – e.g, foreign language interviews are offered in the USS, or on the PAS, if the respondent has a hearing impairment they can use the CAPI machine to select the answers themselves, or if a visual impairment the interviewer will read the questions out.

5.4. Analytically, these surveys are routinely mined to explore differences between groupings. To illustrate, one of the main analytic findings from the USS is the BME gap in terms of satisfaction with police (i.e., on average BME groups are 4-5 percentage points lower regarding their satisfaction) or on the PAS that younger age groups have less confidence in the police. These findings are shared with the MPS to drive improvements. Much of this is also in the public domain (e.g., there is a dedicated confidence dashboard that looks at confidence broken down by various demographics).

6. Background/supporting papers

6.1. N/A