The Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in Sheffield is looking to award a Pan European contract to handle its marketing and communications, which could be worth up to £200m.

The contract comes with a budget of between £120m and £200m over a four-year-period to support the authority on the marketing and communications activity across multi-channels, excluding advertising and media buying, for communications products for the DCSF and its partners.

The advert states that the value of the deal will be between £30m and £50m each year, although due to ‘the current economic situation’ and ‘likely restrictions to public sector budgets’ volumes nor value can be guaranteed by the framework agreement.

The contract is available for use by public sector bodies, not limited to DCSF, other Government Departments and their agencies, Non-Departmental Public Bodies, NHS Bodies, Local Authorities, Police Authorities, Emergency Services, Educational Establishments and Registered Social Landlords and other wider sector deliver partners.
 
These partners include Sure Start/Children’s Centres, purchasing consortia for Schools, FE/HE sectors and 3rd sector/voluntary/charitable organisations which may be on contract to Departments to deliver specific policies or programmes.

Services could include campaign and project management of creative media services, account management of all delivery on behalf of a range of clients, supply management and sourcing of creative media suppliers which could include PR services, complex design and branding services, conference and exhibition services, video/film making services, photography services, writing/editorial service (including web editing), application of digital technology across marketing services.

The successful applicants will also apply knowledge of compliant creative media sourcing and delivery strategies while working in partnership with other agents such as the COI or contractors for the production and delivery of publications, and will also embed new initiatives, market developments and requirements in the supply chain.

The framework will also see the operator deliver campaign and ‘ad hoc’ creative media services, not including advertising and media buying, and will manage communications delivery in-line with departmental communication strategies and procurement strategies.

It is expected that at between five and eight operators will be invited to tender for the framework with tenders or requests to participate expected by 11 March, with Invitations to Tender scheduled to be dispatches on 9 April.

A suppler conference will be held in Sheffield on 2 February to help complete the PQQ.