Introduction
My name is Philip Webb and I have served in the Fire and Rescue Service for almost 38 years. During that time I have seen many changes, many of which are bringing great benefit to our communities and our staff. Never were these improvements more apparent than in the field of consultation. We have moved from the erstwhile 'silent service', to one that enjoys unprecedented public confidence and support. We are a Service that is now heard and recognised in a range of forums as an organisation that can make our communities safer and really make a difference.
As a result of unprecedented consultation activity over the last year (as we prepared our Integrated Risk Management Plan), the people we serve have had a greater say in the decisions we made and in doing so have learnt more and more about the Service(s) we provide.
As Comprehensive Area Assessment moves to centre stage to replace comprehensive performance assessment, one can see the Governments message that the communities must have an even greater say on our priorities for the next few years. I don't know about you - but that suggests to me that there is a need to increase our engagement with our stakeholders both in and out of the Service to ensure their aspirations for their communities are met and exceeded.
The new contract with our consultation provider, Opinion Research Services (ORS), commenced on the 1st April 2009 and your Management Group were heartened by the overwhelming majority of Fire and Rescue services who joined the Fire Services Consultation Association (FSCA) and supported the procurement process.
Brigades that signed up to the FSCA can now choose to participate in the Framework Contract or not as they deem sensible to their needs. ORS have written to Chief Officers to enter into a contract for the provision of consultation services – a decision that I as Chair of the FSCA and my colleagues on the FSCA management group endorse and recommend they take up.
The prime role of the FSCA management group is to represent its (FSCA) members. Should you, or any of your colleagues, wish to discuss any matters relating to consultation, my colleagues and I are will be only too happy to assist.
About the FSCA
The FSCA was created as an independent body to procure consultation services and adopt a similar role to that of the FIRES Steering Group in terms of co-ordination and development.
It's main aims are:
- To procure consultation services for members of the Association
- To facilitate collaborative consultation activities
- To facilitate development of service specific consultation techniques
- To facilitate members’ capacity to undertake consultation activities without external assistance
- To promote and facilitate comparison and benchmarking between FSCA members and with other sectors
- To promote FSCA members' interests through dialogue and liaison with appropriate national bodies and government departments
- To identify common consultation needs and address such needs through the development of services and tool-kits
- To influence consultation requirements and guidance issued to UK fire and rescue services
Procurement of Consultation Service Provider
In August of 2009 an invitation to show interest for a Formal Tender, for the consultation contract was advertised by the FSCA.
5 companies were short listed to receive invitations to tender and 2 completed tenders were received at December 8th closing date. 1 completed tender was received after the closing date and was returned with an explanatory note.
The FSCA tender evaluation process took place between 10th and 11th January 2009.
On the basis of both quality and relative cost, Opinion Research Services (ORS) was selected as the preferred supplier.
About ORS
Opinion Research Services (ORS) is an established social research practice that works closely with public and private sector organisations across the UK to offer a wide range of carefully designed services. As a spin-out company of the University of Wales Swansea, ORS is not primarily commercial but is committed to the excellence and usefulness of its research work.
In working with clients, our primary aims are:
- Carrying out reliable applied research without compromising fundamental theoretical principles;
- Undertaking high quality work at fair prices, and providing added value;
- Working to deadlines - but not accepting programmes of work that are unrealistic or compromise quality;
- Writing clear and informative reports and delivering effective and powerful presentations that can readily inform the decision making process
ORS has an experienced and highly qualified team of colleagues who take a long-term interest in the development of sound research methodologies for our clients
We are not a loosely organised group of associates or consultants, but a permanent research team. We are committed to rigorous and effective research that applies the cross-disciplinary expertise of academics to practical issues relevant to the public policy agenda and across the private sector in the UK.
We have extensive experience of undertaking studies involving a large number of research methods. Through innovative project design we seek to provide reliable information that is based on clear assumptions, sound analysis and thoughtful interperatation.
We are ready to give advice on research methods and strategies because we recognise that complex projects rarely have a single correct approach and we have gained a reputation for addressing clients' needs while providing robust independent research.
ORS does not maximise its turnover with a high volume of projects, but offers thoughful and insightful work. We provide a comprehensive service upon which clients can rely, based on a relationship of trust. Senior staff are directly involved in all projects and clients can call ORS without feeling the clock is running.
ORS specialises in applied social research and regularly undertakes innovative and problematic studies requiring the highest methodological standards. The company’s expertise covers census analysis, database design and management, geography, housing, mathematics, philosophy, planning, politics, programming, psychology, statistics, and training needs analysis.
For further information on our services please visit our website. Alternatively, you can contact us by calling 01792 704772, asking to speak to either Ciara McNulty or Catherine Perry.