This opportunity is closed for applications

The deadline was Tuesday 20 October 2020

The Planning Inspectorate

User Research Participants for The Planning Inspectorate in England and Wales

0 Incomplete applications

6 Completed applications

6 SME, 0 large

• Published: Tuesday 6 October 2020
• Deadline for asking questions: Tuesday 13 October 2020 at 11:59pm GMT
• Closing date for applications: Tuesday 20 October 2020 at 11:59pm GMT

Overview

• Summary of the work: The Planning Inspectorate assistance in the recruitment of research participants across England and Wales for user testing to support the Appeal a Planning Decision Service development.
• Location: South West England
• Research dates: November 2020 to May 2021, plus 6 months option to extend
• Organisation the work is for: The Planning Inspectorate

About the work

About the research

• Description of your participants: Appeal a Planning Decision covers householder planning appeals.; Specific participant requirements will be defined prior to the start of a project to assist the supplier in screening suitable candidates, but we envisage the following requirements for homeowners who:; ; • have not made a planning application with their Local Planning Authority (but could use the service in the future); ; • have been through the planning application process /resubmission process without the help of an architect, planning professional or agent; ; • have been through the planning application process /resubmission process with the help of an architect, planning professional or agent; ; • have received a decision on their planning appeal from The Planning Inspectorate; ; In addition there may be a requirement to recruit professionals in domestic planning such as solicitors, architects, agents etc. Suppliers should provide separate costs for recruiting these legally qualified or professional users.
• Assisted digital and accessibility requirements: We are particularly looking to include participants with:; • Use of assistive technologies to access digital services; • Requirements for non-digital support to access digital services; • Cognitive and/or learning disabilities; • Motor skills impairments; • Visual impairments; • Auditory disabilities; We are also looking to include those with different degrees of digital competency and the digitally excluded (including those who chose not to engage with government services via digital channels).
• Research plan: We would like to use a variety of research methods, including:; • Usability testing; • Accessibility testing; • 1-to-1 interviews (structured/semi-structured); • Focus groups; • Observation/contextual enquiry; • Workshops; ; Incentive value - £50 (target) for all participants, including those not recruited by the agency, but passed on by the Inspectorate.; ; Participants must be homeowners who (preferably) do not take part regularly in research; ; Known difficulties - We encounter difficulties recruiting certain groups of participants representing people who:; ; • have appealed a planning decision without the help of an architect, planning professional or agent; ; • and/or who are not digitally confident.
• Research location: Due to COVID-19 research will be done remotely. However, once it is safe to so research will likely to take place throughout the UK.
• Access restrictions at location: If Covid restrictions are lifted labs for face-to-face research will be selected based on accessibility, although we cannot assure that they are completely suitable (e.g. equipped with hearing loops, accessible for wheelchair users, etc.).
• Number of research rounds: 27
• Number of participants a round: Minimum of 5 participants per round. ; The Planning Inspectorate will advise prior to booking if spares are required.
• How often research will happen: It is likely this will be weekly.; No evening or weekend research is required.

Additional information

Skills and experience

Buyers will use the essential and nice-to-have skills and experience to help them evaluate suppliers’ technical competence.

• Essential skills and experience:
  • Experience of, and ability to regularly recruit participants for government services
  • Experience of, and ability to recruit participants with low digital literacy or confidence
  • Experience of, and ability to recruit participants with specific accessibility needs or requirements
  • Experience of and ability to recruit appellants in person who have received a decision from the Planning Inspectorate without the help of a planning professional, architect or agent
  • Experience of, and ability to recruit participants using non-digital channels to ensure coverage of those with low digital literacy
  • Experience of, and ability to recruit professional users such as planning professional
  • Ability to store participant data securely and demonstrate compliance with GDPR
  • Ability to mitigate the risks of participants not showing up for research sessions or meeting the required criteria
• Nice-to-have skills and experience: Experience of recruiting users within the householder planning sector

How suppliers will be evaluated

All suppliers will be asked to provide a written proposal.

• How many suppliers to evaluate: 5
• Proposal criteria:
  • Approach to recruiting the specialist participants required, particularly those with access needs, with lower digital skills and professionals
  • Estimated timeframes for the work
  • Breakdown of recruitment costs and incentive payment management
  • Approach to mitigating and managing research associated risks
• Additional assessment methods: Interview
• Evaluation weighting:

  Technical competence

  50%

  Availability

  20%

  Price

  30%

Questions asked by suppliers

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