DfE Competition Data PDF

This document outlines the Contracts for Innovation: AI tools for education It contains information from the website and various PDFs concatendated into one document. Background and further information About Contracts for Innovation competitions Contracts for Innovation provides innovative solut...

This document outlines the Contracts for Innovation: AI tools for education It contains information from the website and various PDFs concatendated into one document. Background and further information About Contracts for Innovation competitions Contracts for Innovation provides innovative solutions to challenges faced by the public sector. This can lead to better public services and improved efficiency and effectiveness. The Contracts for Innovation programme: supports economic growth and enables the development of innovative products and services through the public procurement of R&D generates new business opportunities for companies provides a route to market for new ideas creates opportunities to work directly with the public sector Contracts for Innovation competitions are open to all eligible organisations that can demonstrate a route to market for their solution. Under current regulations, Contracts for Innovation contracts are open to applications from organisations registered in the UK, European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). Developments are 100% funded and focused on specific identified needs, increasing the chance of exploitation. Contracts for Innovation encourages the creation and protection of new (intellectual property) IP. Applicants retain all the rights to both foreground and background IP but will be expected to grant certain royalty-free licences to the funder for use of the foreground IP. Contracts for Innovation is a procurement of R&D services. If successful, you will receive a contract to deliver the proposed activity. Costs quoted must reflect actual costs at a ‘fair market value’ and not include profit. You must submit an invoice for the work undertaken. All payments are made in arrears on submission of an invoice. Invoices must be submitted within 30 days of the end of each monitoring period for all completed milestones. If you are VAT registered, your total costs are expected to include VAT that you would charge as a service provider. VAT is the responsibility of the invoicing business and applicants should ensure that VAT has been calculated correctly as part of their application. You will need to confirm your VAT status as part of the application process Note – we are seeing a rise in double counting of VAT during the application process, making some applicants ineligible. To avoid this, it is important you input your costs minus VAT. VAT is added on by us in the Innovation Funding Service (IFS). Suppliers for each project will be selected by an open competition process and retain the intellectual property generated from the project, with certain rights of use retained by the contracting authority. This is an excellent opportunity to establish an early customer for a new technology and to fund its development. Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Development Matters - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) provide the standards and guidance for EYFS. Where relevant, for FE teachers tools should be aligned to the non-statutory Occupational Standard for Learning and Skills Teachers. Briefing slides Download briefing slides: IFS Contracts for Innovation Applicant Briefing AI Tools for Education..pdf (opens in a new window) If your application is successful Finance checks We will carry out checks to make sure you are an established company with access to the funds necessary to complete the project as per the applicant declaration. You must respond to any requests Department for Education (DfE) has sent for additional information to avoid any delays. Failure to respond may result in your offer being withdrawn. Your contract offer letter Your contract offer letter will be sent to you via email. We will then require successful applicants to register on DfE’s e-sourcing platform (Jaggaer) within 7 days. This will avoid any delays in processing payments. You may also be asked to register as a vendor on the DfE Finance System. The process for invoicing and payments will be outlined in the finalised contract. Security If your application is successful, you will be required to complete DfE's standard supplier security questionnaire. If your application is unsuccessful You will be notified of the outcome of your application via email. The attached letter will provide feedback from evaluators. Sometimes your application will have scored well, and you will receive positive comments from the assessors. You may be unsuccessful as your average score was not above the funding threshold or your project has not been selected under the portfolio approach if this is applied for this competition. Support for SMEs from Innovate UK Business Growth If you receive an award, you will be contacted about working with an innovation and growth specialist at Innovate UK Business Growth. This service forms part of our funded offer to you. These specialists focus on growing innovative businesses and ensuring that projects contribute to their growth. Working one-to-one, they can help you to identify your best strategy and harness world-class resources to grow and achieve scale. We encourage you to engage with Innovate UK Business Growth, delivered by a knowledgeable and objective specialist near you. Protecting your innovation A Secure Innovation campaign has been developed to help founders and leaders of innovative startups protect their technology, competitive advantage, and reputation. This was developed by UK’s National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). Data sharing This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK and the Department for Education (each an ‘agency’). Your submitted application and any other information you provide at the application stage can be submitted to each agency on an individual basis for its storage, processing and use. Any relevant information produced during the application process concerning your application can be shared by one agency with the other, for its individual storage, processing and use. This means that any information given to or generated by Innovate UK in respect of your application may be passed on to the Department for Education and vice versa. Innovate UK and the Department for Education are directly accountable to you for their holding and processing of your information, including any personal data and confidential information. Data is held in accordance with their own policies. Accordingly, Innovate UK, and the Department for Education will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application. Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy Innovate UK Business Connect Privacy Policy Department for Education’s Personal information charter Department for Education’s Data Protection Policy Innovate UK complies with the requirements of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is committed to upholding data protection legislation, and protecting your information in accordance with data protection principles. The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles Further help and guidance If you want help to find an organisation to work with, contact the Innovate UK Business Connect. If you have any questions about the scope requirements of this competition, email [email protected]. Please note that clarification questions relating to the scope of requirements or specification will be managed by DfE. Any emails will be directed to DfE for response. You can contact DfE directly via email to [email protected]. DfE will work with Innovate UK to answer your questions. DfE will collate all questions and publish them in a log on a regular basis. This log will be available via contracts finder. Clarification questions will be accepted until 9am on the 30th September. Final responses will be published by close of business on 2nd October. Please include the following reference in the subject line of your email: A-1008 - AI Tools for Education: competition. If you need more information about how to apply or you want to submit your application in Welsh, email [email protected] or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). Innovate UK or any of our partners will not tolerate abusive language in any written or verbal correspondence, applications, social media or any other form that might affect staff. End of briefing information — Description This is a Contracts for Innovation competition funded by The Department for Education (DfE). The aim of this competition is to develop tools which use generative AI to support teachers with assessing progress and providing feedback, known as formative assessment. These tools must support high quality education through evidence based teaching and learning approaches. These must align with relevant standards such as the National Curriculum or Early Years Foundation Stages (EYFS). Successful applicants will have access to a quality assured library of educational content and code optimised for use with large language models. On average, teachers spend around 6 hours a week on marking, representing a significant proportion of teacher workloads. However, evidence from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) shows that individualised instruction and high quality feedback can significantly boost pupil progress. High quality AI tools have the potential to reduce the amount of time that teachers spend marking, whilst supporting effective feedback and tailored teaching which drive pupil progress. There may be a potential for future funding to allow successful projects to undertake piloting, testing and validation of new or improved products, processes or services in environments representative of real-life operating conditions. Only the successful applicants from this competition will be invited to potential future funding rounds. In applying to this competition you are entering into a competitive process. This competition has a funding budget of up to £994,000, so we may not be able to fund all the proposed projects. It may be the case that your project scores highly and receives positive comments from the assessors but we are still unable to fund it due to the portfolio approach we take. This means if two applications produce tools which address similar or identical areas of focus, for example, KS4 maths, we reserve the right to only award the highest scoring of the two and then proceed to award to the next highest scoring candidate. Any adoption and implementation of a solution from this competition would be subject to a separate, possibly competitive, procurement exercise. This competition does not cover the purchase of any solution. This competition closes at 11am UK time on the deadline stated in this Innovate UK competition brief. We cannot guarantee other government or third party sites will always show the correct competition information. Funding type Procurement Project size Projects can range in size from total costs of £50,000 up to £200,000, inclusive of VAT. Accessibility and Inclusion We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us. You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance. We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline. You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). — Who can apply Text update 2 October 2024: We have added additional information on how to obtain a draft contract for this competition in the applicant section below. Your project Projects must: start by 11 November 2024 end by 31 March 2025 last up to 5 months have costs of between £50,000 and £200,000, inclusive of VAT You must not start your project until your Contract has been approved by Department for Education (DfE). Applicant To lead a project, you can: be an organisation of any size work alone or with the subcontracted skills and expertise of others from business, research organisations, research and technology organisations, or the third sector (charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups) Contracts will be awarded to a single legal entity only. The majority of the project work and key deliverables must be completed by the lead applicant and be carried out in the UK. Subcontractors can be used, but only for specialist skills. Note: this competition was set up with grant terms and conditions rather than the terms of the draft contract. To obtain a copy of the correct draft contract for this Contracts for Innovation competition, email: [email protected]. Sanctions This competition will not fund you, or provide any financial benefit to any individual or entities directly or indirectly involved with you, which would expose Innovate UK or any direct or indirect beneficiary of funding from the Department for Education to UK Sanctions. For example, through any procurement, commercial, business development or supply chain activity with any entity as lead, partner or subcontractor related to these countries, administrations and terrorist groups. Use of animals in research and innovation Innovate UK expects and supports the provision and safeguarding of welfare standards for animals used in research and innovation, according to best practice and up to date guidance. Applicants must ensure that all of the proposed work within projects, both that in the UK and internationally, will comply with the UKRI guidance on the use of animals in research and innovation. Any projects selected for funding which involve animals will be asked to provide additional information on welfare and ethical considerations, as well as compliance with any relevant legislation as part of the project start-up process. This information will be reviewed before an award is made. Funding A total of up to £994,000, inclusive of VAT, is allocated to this competition. Contracts will be between £50,000 and £200,000, inclusive of VAT, for each project for up to 5 months. The total funding available for the competition can change. The funders have the right to: adjust the provisional funding allocations apply a ‘portfolio’ approach The contract is completed at the end of the competition, and the successful organisation is expected to pursue commercialisation of their solution. Value Added Tax (VAT) You must select whether you are VAT registered before entering your eligible project costs. VAT is the responsibility of the invoicing business. We will not provide any further advice and suggest you seek independent advice from HMRC. VAT registered If you select you are VAT registered, you must enter your eligible project costs exclusive of VAT. As part of the application process VAT will be automatically calculated and added to your project cost total. Your total eligible project costs inclusive of VAT must not exceed £200,000. Not VAT registered If you select you are not VAT registered, you must enter your eligible project costs exclusive of VAT and no VAT will be added. You will not be able to increase total project costs to cover VAT later should you become VAT registered. Your total project costs must not exceed £200,000. Research and development (R&D) Your application must have at least 50% of the contract value attributed directly and exclusively to R&D services, including solution exploration and design. R&D can also include prototyping and field-testing the product or service. This lets you incorporate the results of your exploration and design and demonstrate that you can produce in quantity to acceptable quality standards. R&D does not include: commercial development activities such as quantity production supply to establish commercial viability or to recover R&D costs integration, customisation or incremental adaptations and improvements to existing products or processes Subsidy control Contracts for Innovation competitions involve procurement of R&D services at a fair market value and are not subject to subsidy control criteria that typically apply to grant funding. — SCOPE Your project The aim of this competition is to develop tools which use generative AI to support teachers with assessing progress and providing feedback, known as formative assessment. These tools must support high quality education through evidence based teaching and learning approaches. These must align with relevant standards such as the National Curriculum or Early Years Foundation Stages (EYFS). Successful applicants will have access to a quality assured library of educational content and code optimised for use with large language models. These tools must support high quality education, aligned with the relevant standards. Successful applicants will have access to a quality assured library of educational content and code optimised for use with large language models. Your project must: 1. Develop a formative assessment or feedback tool which is based on generative AI or large language model capability. This must be based on free-text pupil or student work. This could include, for example, showing working in maths. However, assessment of multiple choice or single numerical answers are not in scope. 2. Develop a tool which is aligned with the relevant standards such as Early Years Foundation Stage, or National Curriculum in England if KS1-4, or 16-19 study programmes or T-Levels. This must focus on evidence based best practice in teaching and learning. Your tools must support teachers to meet appropriate standards, such as the teachers standards. In particular, all tools for KS1-4 must be aligned with the standards relating to subject, curriculum knowledge and expectations. The Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework sets out the evidence base for best practice that supports teachers to meet the standard. You can refer to the relevant standards and guidance for your chosen project area by following the links in the Supporting Information section. 3. Develop a tool based on a quality assured library of educational content and code optimised for use with large language models. The library will include but is not limited to, the National Curriculum in England, T-Levels, 16-19 programmes of study guidance and the EYFS. These will be available in optimised codified format. Quality assured systems prompts derived from evidence-based recommendations such as the Education Endowment Foundation guidance will also be available. This proof of concept work demonstrates how codified content can improve educational performance of AI models The library will also include pupil or student work with appropriate Intellectual Property (IP) permissions. 4. Develop a tool which supports teachers with assessing learning or providing feedback to students. For EYFS projects your tool must support teachers with assessing learning and development. 5. Ensure that tools developed are safe, and compliant with relevant equality data protection and IP law. 6. Agree that any products developed will participate in any future DfE pilot approaches to monitoring AI safety in education. By submitting this application you agree that any products developed will participate in any future DfE pilot approaches to monitoring AI safety in education. Your project must support teachers to either assess learning, give effective feedback or both. This may include tools which produce feedback directly to pupils. Pupil or student facing tools must be designed to be aligned with human-led teaching practice, where pupil or student interaction is managed and overseen by a teacher. Your project must focus on a stage from Early Years to 16 to 19 provision and can cover any subject from the specified list. The Faculty Technical Report provides an example of how optimised content and code can support: AI functionality aligned with the National Curriculum in England good teaching and learning practice Your project can involve the substantial adaptation or development of an existing tool where activity is at least 50% R&D, or development of an entirely new tool. As part of the Contracts for Innovation conditions, successful applicants retain background and foreground IP, but the funder receives royalty-free rights to foreground IP, for example, the IP developed during the funded project in the Contracts for Innovation funding. This ensures the funding is not classified as a subsidy as both funder and successful applicants gain benefit from the funding. We welcome proposals from applicants on how these royalty-free rights may be deployed for public good, including options such as discounts on products for a fixed period. You must demonstrate a credible and practical route to market, so your application must include a plan to commercialise your results. Contracts will be given to successful applicants. Each organisation may submit a maximum of 1 application for this competition. The application must cover a specific education stage as selected in Question 1, and specific subject as indicated in Question 2 or Question 3. If you submit multiple applications, we will only consider your first application. Portfolio approach We want to fund a variety of projects across different technologies, markets, technological maturities, research categories and areas of focus such as Key Stages. We call this a portfolio approach. Research categories Prototype development For this competition your project will develop a solution and produce a prototype solution in line with Technology Readiness Levels 6-7. There may be a potential for future funding to allow successful projects to undertake piloting, testing and validation of new or improved products, processes or services in environments representative of real-life operating conditions. Only the successful applicants from this competition will be invited to potential future funding rounds. Projects we will not fund We will not fund projects that: are not original in scope and duplicates someone else’s work develop tools for high-stakes marking or summative assessment develop tools intended for purely independent study by a pupil or student, with no teacher oversight focus on incremental improvements to existing tools do not include the use of generative AI or large language model capability do not intend to utilise content from the content store are not aligned with the relevant standards and guidance — DATES 9 September 2024 Online briefing event: watch the recording 9 September 2024 Competition opens 30 September 2024 Scope clarification questions to be submitted by 9am 9 October 2024 11:00am Competition closes 28 October 2024 Applicants notified 7 November 2024 Contracts awarded — Before you start Text update 2 October 2024: We have added additional information on how to obtain a draft contract for this competition under the paragraph below. By submitting an application, you agree to the terms of the draft contract which is available once you start your application. The terms of the contract are non-negotiable and are included in the draft contract. We reserve the right to change the terms and conditions if necessary. Note: this competition was set up with grant terms and conditions rather than the terms of the draft contract. To obtain a copy of the correct draft contract for this Contracts for Innovation competition, email: [email protected]. The final contract will include any milestones you have agreed with the funding authority and will be sent to you if your application is successful. The contract is binding once it is returned by you and signed by both parties. When you start an application, you will be prompted to create an account as the lead applicant or sign in as a representative of your organisation. Using your account, you will be able to track your applications progress. As the applicant you are responsible for: collecting the information for your application  representing your organisation in leading the project if your application is successful You will be able to invite colleagues from your organisation to contribute to the application. What happens next Innovate UK will send applications via secure means to the Department for Education (DfE). A panel of evaluators selected by DfE will review and score your application. You will be notified of the outcome and feedback by email. Contracts for this competition will then be issued to all successful applicants. DfE aims to inform you if successful on the 28 October 2024. We will then enter into a standstill period of 10 days before awarding contracts 07 November 2024. These dates may be subject to change. What we will ask you The application is split into three sections: 1. Project details. 2. Application questions. 3. Finances. You must read the guidance on applying for a competition on the Innovation Funding Service before you start. Before submitting, it is the lead applicant’s responsibility to make sure: that all the information provided in the application is correct your proposal meets the eligibility and scope criteria all sections of the application are marked as complete You can reopen your application once submitted, up until the competition deadline. You must resubmit the application before the competition deadline. Accessibility and Inclusion We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to making our application process accessible to everyone. This includes making reasonable adjustments, for people who have a disability or a long-term condition and face barriers applying to us. You can contact us at any time to ask for guidance. We recommend you contact us at least 15 working days before this competition’s closing date to allow us to put the most suitable support in place. The support we can provide may be limited if you contact us close to the competition deadline. You can contact Innovate UK by email or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). Project details This section provides background for your application and is not scored. Application details Give your project’s title, start date and duration. Who made you aware of the competition? Select a category to state who made you aware of the competition. You cannot choose more than one. How long has your organisation been established for? Select a category to state how long your organisation has been established for. You cannot choose more than one. What is your organisation’s primary area focus? Select a category to state your organisation’s primary focus area. You cannot choose more than one. Project and scope summary Please provide a short summary of your project. Describe your project briefly. Be clear about what makes it innovative and how it relates to the scope of the competition. How does it tackle different aspects of the challenge and how will it provide an integrated solution? Give details of the lead organisation. Before you submit, we expect you to have discussed your application within your organisation. Your answer for this section can be up to 800 words long. This section is not scored, but we will use it to decide whether the project fits the scope of the competition. If it does not, it may be rejected. Public description Please provide a brief description of your project. If your application is successful, we will publish this description. This can happen before you start your project. This question is mandatory, but we will not assess this content as part of your application. Describe your project in a way that you are happy to see published. Do not include any commercially sensitive information. We have the right to amend the description before publication if necessary but will consult you about any changes. Your answer can be up to 400 words long. Applicant location You must state the name of your organisation along with your full registered address. You must also state the name and full registered address of any potential or confirmed subcontractors. We are collecting this information to understand the geographical location of all participants of a project. Your answer can be up to 400 words long. 2. Application questions The assessors will score all of your questions except questions 1 to 6 which are not scored. You will receive feedback for each scored question. Do not include any URLs in your answers unless we have explicitly requested a link to a video. You must also complete the attached applicant declaration. This form will not be scored. Question 1. Identify which key stage your project will support (not scored) Identify which category you project will support from the list. You must select one option: Early years KS1 KS2 KS3 KS4 16-19 education Please note that we reserve the right to adopt a portfolio approach. This means if two applications produce tools which address similar or identical areas of focus e.g. KS4 maths, we reserve the right to only award the highest scoring of the two and then proceed to award to the next highest scoring candidate. Question 2. Identify which Early Years subject your project will support if applicable (not scored) Which subject will your project support? If you choose to focus your project on Early Years you must select from the relevant subject in the following list. If you are not focusing on Early Years, select ‘Not applicable’. You must select one option: communication and language personal, social and emotional development physical development literacy mathematics understanding the world expressive arts and design not applicable Question 3. Identify which Key Stage or 16-19 education subject your project will focus on if applicable (not scored) Which subject will your project support? If you choose to focus your project on Key Stage or 16-19 education you must select from the relevant subject in the following list. If you are not focusing on Key Stage or 16-19 education, select ‘not applicable’. You must select one option: English Mathematics Science and technology Art and Design Citizenship Computing Design and Technology Geography  History Languages Music PE Vocational Religious Education (RE) Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) not applicable Question 4. Animal testing (not scored) Will your project involve any trials with animals or animal testing? You must select one option: Yes No We will only support innovation projects conducted to the highest standards of animal welfare. Further information for proposals involving animal testing is available at the UKRI Good Research Hub and NC3R’s animal welfare guidance. Question 5. Permits and licences (not scored) Will you have the correct permits and licences in place to carry out your project? We are unable to fund projects who do not have the correct permits or licences in place by your project start date. You must select one option: Yes No  In process of being applied for Not applicable Question 6. DfE Applicant Declaration (not scored) You must download and complete the attached DfE Applicant Declaration. Once completed you must save the document as a PDF file and upload as part of your application. You must complete this question by adding ‘Declaration attached’ into the text box provided. Question 7. What is the potential for your tool to deliver positive outcomes? (20% weighting) How does the project meet the challenge described in the competition scope? What outcomes will your tools deliver? You must summarise the evidence based practice your tool aims to support provide a description of your proposed idea or technology include a description of the current state of development or readiness of the idea Your answer can be up to 600 words long You can submit a single appendix containing images and diagrams to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages but must be in 11 point font size. This question will be scored against this assessment criterion: ‘How well does the proposal meet the challenge?’. Question 8. Technical quality and feasibility (15% weighting) What are the main technical challenges you are addressing? Who is the technical team? What expertise do they offer? Explain: how you will address the challenge what the innovation is the main technical deliverables how you will use the quality assured library of educational content and code optimised for use with large language models the research and development that will prove the scientific, environmental and commercial merit of the project what might be achieved by deploying the innovation to address the selected challenge Describe:  how each organisation has the skills, capabilities, and experience to deliver the intended benefits how much of their time will be spent on the project Your answer can be up to 800 words long This question will be scored against this assessment criteria: ‘How valid is the technical approach? Does the applicant have the skills, capabilities and experience to deliver the intended benefits?’ Question 9. What is unique about your innovation? (10% weighting) Are similar products currently available in the market? How is your proposed project differentiated from them? You must include details of: any existing intellectual property (IP) and its significance to your freedom to operate novel concepts you develop or employ new approaches or technologies you use new tools or technologies Your answer can be up to 400 words long This question will be scored against these assessment criteria: ‘How innovative is this project? How much does the project develop or employ novel concepts, approaches, methodologies, tools or technologies for this area?’. Question 10. How would you manage delivery of your project (15% weighting) Describe your project plan and identify the main milestones. The plan for this competition must be comprehensive. The emphasis throughout should be on practicality. Provide evidence that the technology works, can be made into a viable product and can achieve the proposed benefits. You must: describe resources that will be needed to deliver the project describe what the main success criteria will be identify the project management processes that will ensure you achieve the milestones provide a clear plan for establishing technical and commercial feasibility describe the main technical, commercial and environmental risks and what you will do to mitigate them provide a clear plan for development of a working prototype You must explain how you would handle any intellectual property (IP) issues which might arise during the project. If you are working with subcontractors (specialist skills only), include details of how you will maintain freedom to operate and fulfil the IP requirements detailed in the contract. Your answer can be up to 600 words long You must upload a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages but must be in 11 point font size. Your milestones must: be clear be defined using SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound) criteria be associated with the appropriate deliverables and payments indicate your payment schedule by month This question will be assessed against these assessment criteria:  does the proposal show a clear plan for establishing technical and commercial feasibility and the development of a working prototype is there a clear management plan what are the main technical, commercial, and environmental risks to the project’s success how will these be effectively managed are the milestones and evaluation procedures appropriate Please note information from the finances section will be used to support the assessment of this question. Proposed milestones and associated payments stated in this section must match those entered in the finance summary on your application. Question 11. Does your project provide good value for money? (20% weighting) How much will the project cost? How does it represent value for money for the team and the taxpayer? Describe:  the total costs inclusive of VAT (if applicable) you are requesting in terms of the project goals the total costs in relation to the amount of activity the amount of technological development involved the cost of resource per working day, for example which people you are going to have and how much it costs per day number of working days how this project represents value for money for you and the taxpayer your expected overall costs Proposed costs stated in this section must match those entered in the finance summary. All costs quoted must reflect actual costs at a ‘fair market value’ and not include profit. Your answer can be up to 400 words long You can submit a single appendix as a spreadsheet. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages but must be in 11 point font size. Full Economic Cost (FEC) calculations are not relevant for Contracts for Innovation competitions. Contracts for Innovation is a competitive process and applications will come from a variety of organisations. Whatever calculation you use to arrive at your total eligible project costs your application will be assessed against applications from other organisations. Bear this in mind when calculating your total eligible project costs. You can include overheads but remember that this is a competitive process. The assessors are required to judge the application finances in terms of value for money. They will score your finances against this assessment criterion: ‘Are the budget and costs realistic, justified and appropriate for the aims and methods? Please see the Contracts for Innovation: AI tools for education evaluation criteria for further guidance in relation to how your application will be assessed. Please note information from the finances section will be used to support the assessment of this question. Proposed costs stated in this section must match those entered in the finance summary on your application. Question 12. What is the commercial potential of your project? (10% weighting) What is the commercial potential of your project? You must focus on your proposed customer’s needs. Describe: your project timescales your projects commercial potential for a marketable product, process or service your delivery plan your expected route to market the competitive advantage that your project has over existing or alternative technologies that meet market needs any existing commercial relationships relevant to the project. With the focus on your proposed customer’s needs, you can also mention the future commercial potential across the public or private sector and international markets. Your Organisation will retain ownership of foreground Intellectual Property (IP) developed during the project. Challenge owners (DfE) will be granted free usage rights to foreground IP developed during the project. You must explain how this will help deliver benefits for schools in England. We welcome proposals from applicants on how these royalty-free rights may be deployed for the public good, including options such as discounts on products for a fixed period. Your answer can be up to 600 words long. This question will be scored against these assessment criteria: is there a clear commercial potential for a marketable product, process or service is there a clear plan to deliver that and a clear route to market how significant is the competitive advantage of this technology over existing technologies that meet the market’s needs Question 13. What is the social value of your project? (5% weighting) Describe how your organisation will influence its staff, suppliers, customers and communities through the delivery of the contract to tackle workforce inequality or create new businesses, new jobs, and new skills? Activities can include: educational attainment, including the promotion of training schemes which address skills gaps and result in recognised qualifications, including any existing or planned activities which will support the delivery of apprenticeships, traineeships and T-Level industry placement opportunities in your own organisation. development and implementation of inclusive and accessible recruitment practices designed to attract good candidates from all backgrounds strategies for the creation of employment opportunities for those facing barriers to employment offering opportunities for work experience or similar activities or delivery of apprenticeships, traineeships and T-Level industry placement opportunities offering a range of quality opportunities with routes for progression supporting educational attainment relevant to the contract for example training schemes addressing the skills gap measures to ensure equality and accessibility without discrimination, to employment and workforce related opportunities on the contract and promote them to be fully accessible Please see the following link for further information about our Social Value requirement, including the Social Value model: Procurement Policy Note 06/20 – taking account of social value in the award of central government contracts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Describe how you will achieve this? Your answer can be up to 200 words long. This question will be scored against this assessment criterion: ‘Is there a clear plan to deliver the social value commitment through the course of the contract?’ Question 14. What is the added environmental value of your project? (5% weighting) Describe how your organisation will ensure that opportunities under the contract deliver additional environmental benefits and include working towards net zero. You can include: a timed action plan use of metrics tools or processes to gather data reporting transparency feedback and improvement Your answer can be up to 200 words long This question will be scored against these assessment criteria: is there a clear plan to meet net zero? is there a clear plan to avoid emissions in delivery of the contract relative to alternative approaches and design approaches which minimise compute demands and their associated environmental impacts? is there a clear plan to minimise the environmental impacts of end user activity for example, by minimising the duplication of compute-intensive tasks? 3. Finances Enter your project costs, organisation details and funding details. You must select whether you are VAT registered before entering your eligible project costs. We advise you answer the VAT registered question first before entering your eligible costs. Your total eligible project costs must not exceed £200,000. If you select you are VAT registered, you must enter your eligible project costs exclusive of VAT. As part of the application process VAT will be automatically calculated and added to your eligible project cost total. If you select you are not VAT registered, you must enter your eligible project costs exclusive of VAT and no VAT will be added. You will not be able to increase total project costs to cover VAT later should you become VAT registered. VAT is the responsibility of the invoicing business. We will not provide any further advice and advise you to seek independent advice from HMRC. Full Economic Cost (FEC) calculations are not relevant for Contracts for Innovation competitions. Contracts for Innovation is a competitive process and applications will come from a variety of organisations. Whatever calculation you use to arrive at your total eligible project costs your application will be assessed against applications from other organisations. Bear this in mind when calculating your total eligible project costs. You can include overheads but remember that this is a competitive process. For full details on what costs you can claim see our project costs guidance. You can also view our application finances video. Assessment Your responses to the marked questions will be independently assessed by DfE evaluators based on the content of your application, the response guidance, evaluation criteria and their skills or expertise relevant to your project. They will give a score and a reason for their score for each question they are assessing. Please note that you should not rely on the information in one section to be available to the marker of another section unless it is stated in the response guidance. Cross referencing is not permitted to responses to any other questions within the submission. Any cross referencing to other questions within the submission will not be evaluated. Once the evaluators have independently assessed your answers to the questions, we will arrange for the evaluators to meet. DfE commercial colleagues will facilitate the discussion. At this meeting, the evaluators will discuss the technical responses and review their scores and reasons for that score. The discussion will continue until they reach a consensus regarding the score, and reason for that score, for each question. The following method will be applied to give your application a final score:  1. To provide a quality score, your marked questions will receive a score based on individual question evaluation criteria. These scores will then be weighted and the weighted scores will be added together to create a score out of 100. Please note that each question has a different weighting adding up to a total of 100%. Please note that there is a minimum score of 5 to meet our quality threshold in Question 11. Does your project provide good value for money? (20% weighting). If this section of the application does not meet this score, it will not be considered. Please see the evaluation criteria linked below. 2. The price score will be calculated by dividing the minimum funding amount by the funding requested, expressed as a percentage out of 100: Price score = (£50,000 / funding requested) x 100 3. To calculate your overall final score, price and quality scores will be combined. The price score will be given a weighting of 15%, and the quality score will be given a weighting of 85%: Final score = (Price score x 0.15) + (Quality score x 0.85) The highest final scores will be used to determine which applications will receive funding. Please note that we reserve the right to adopt a portfolio approach. This means if two applications produce tools which address similar or identical areas of focus e.g. KS4 maths, we reserve the right to only award the highest scoring of the two and then proceed to award to the next highest scoring candidate. In the event of a tie, the score on question 7 will be used to break the tie, then if necessary question 8. Your submitted application will be assessed against these criteria: Contracts for Innovation AI tools for education - evaluation criteria for applicants.pdf (opens in a new window) — Evaluation Criteria Scored Question Evaluators Guidance This document contains the guidance and scoring used by the Evaluators when reviewing your application. The Evaluators will review your answers for each scored question and mark each of them between 1 and 10 (1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest). Any questions that are not scored will not be reviewed by the Evaluators. Question 7 - What is the potential for your tool to deliver positive outcomes? (20% weighting) Applicant Guidance How does the project meet the challenge described in the competition scope? What outcomes will your tools deliver? You must: summarise the evidence based practice your tool aims to support provide a description of your proposed idea or technology include a description of the current state of development or readiness of the idea Your answer can be up to 600 words long You can submit a single appendix containing images and diagrams to support your answer. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages but must be in 11 point font size. This question will be scored against this assessment criterion: ‘How well does the proposal meet the challenge?’. Question 7 - Evaluators Scoring and Guidance Scores 10: There is clear evidence that the proposal will meet the challenge described in the brief. There is a clear description of the proposed idea or technology. The proposal addresses the opportunity identified, including a full understanding of current state of the development and readiness of the idea. The proposal credibly summarises and shows a full understanding of the evidence based practise the tool aims to support. Outcomes the tool will deliver are well defined and evidenced. Scores 7: There is evidence that the proposal will meet the challenge described in the brief. There is a description of the proposed idea or technology addressing the need and opportunity identified, including a summary of current state of development or readiness of the idea. There is an explanation as to how the tool will support evidence based practise. There is a good awareness of the outcomes the tool will deliver however it needs further development and more evidence provided to support claims. Scores 5: There is little evidence that the proposal will meet the challenge in the brief. There is some description of the proposed idea addressing the need and opportunity identified and the state of readiness of the idea. The idea has not been fully explained. There is some explanation as to how the tool will support evidence based practice. There is some basic awareness of the outcomes the tool will deliver but there is little evidence to suggest that it will bring significant benefits. Further development of the idea is required. Scores 3: There is very little evidence that the proposal will meet the challenge. The idea is poorly defined and there is no summary of the current state of development or readiness of the idea. There is no explanation of the evidence based practice the tool will support. There is some information provided about outcomes but it is not clear as to whether this will bring about a positive impact. Scores 1: There is no evidence the proposal will meet the challenge. There is no clear reason for the project. Question 8. Technical quality and feasibility (15% weighting) Applicant Guidance What are the main technical challenges you are addressing? Who is the technical team? What expertise do they offer? Explain: how you will address the challenge what the innovation is the main technical deliverables how you will use the quality assured library of educational content and code optimised for use with large language models the research and development that will prove the scientific, environmental and commercial merit of the project what might be achieved by deploying the innovation to address the selected challenge Describe: how each organisation has the skills, capabilities, and experience to deliver the intended benefits how much of their time will be spent on the project Your answer can be up to 800 words long This question will be scored against this assessment criteria: ‘How valid is the technical approach? Does the applicant have the skills, capabilities and experience to deliver the intended benefits?’ Question 8 - Evaluators Scoring and Guidance Scores 10: The technical approach described is valid and is likely to meet the technical challenge. The innovation and the technical deliverables are well defined and evidenced. There is a credible plan for the use of the educational content library in the main technical deliverables. The research & development proving the merit of the project is clearly explained and valid. The outputs that might be achieved by deploying the innovation are well defined and the positive impacts relevant have been described and evidenced. The team described have the relevant skills, expertise and experience, and give confidence that they will successfully deliver the project Scores 7: The technical approach is valid but may not be sufficient to meet the technical challenge. The innovation and the technical deliverables are defined. There are some ideas relating to how the educational content library will be used in the technical deliverables however further development is required. There is awareness of the research and development underpinning the project and some evidence, but these require further explanation. There is reference to the outputs that might be achieved by deploying the innovation however further explanation and evidence is required to support these claims. The team described have the relevant skills, expertise, and experience to successfully deliver the project, but some areas are weaker than others. Scores 5: The technical approach described is unlikely to be valid for this technical challenge. The innovation and the technical deliverables are outlined. There is basic awareness of the educational content library however there is no logical explanation as to how it will be used for the main technical deliverables. There is basic awareness of the research and development underpinning the project, but there is little explanation and a lack of evidence. There is basic reference to the outputs that might be achieved by deploying the innovation however there is a little explanation and a lack of evidence to support these claims. The team described has some level of skill, expertise and experience, but it is not clear how this will translate to the successful delivery of the project. Scores 3: The technical approach is poorly described. There is some information provided about the innovation, technical deliverables, the use of the educational content library, the underpinning evidence and the outputs that will be achieved however these are not clearly defined, explained or evidenced. The team described does not have the skills, expertise and experience required to deliver the project, with significant gaps in knowledge evident Scores 1: There is no information given on the technical approach. Any information provided is unsubstantiated or is not relevant. It is unclear how the project team will be able to achieve delivery of the identified aims and objectives. Question 9. What is unique about your innovation? (10% weighting) Applicant Guidance Are similar products currently available in the market? How is your proposed project differentiated from them? You must include details of: any existing intellectual property (IP) and its significance to your freedom to operate novel concepts you develop or employ new approaches or technologies you use new tools or technologies Your answer can be up to 400 words long This question will be scored against these assessment criteria: ‘How innovative is this project? How much does the project develop or employ novel concepts, approaches, methodologies, tools or technologies for this area?’. Question 9 - Evaluators Scoring and Guidance Scores 10: The proposed project is highly innovative, showing use of novel concepts, approaches, methodologies, tools or technologies. There is a compelling reason for the innovation, including how it is game changing novel concept and of the highest technical merit. It credibly addresses the need and opportunity identified, including a full understanding of nearest state of the art, and how the innovation described builds on, or is materially different to, other alternative solutions that are already available, and any new approaches/technologies or tools used. Scores 7: The proposed project shows some promising new concepts, approaches, methodologies, tools or technologies. There is a clear reason for the innovation described and it has merit. It will address the need and opportunity identified. Nearest state-of-theart is explored and detailed, but it is not clear how the innovation described will improve on or is different to currently available offerings. New approaches/technologies or tools are explored. Further development is required. Scores 5: The proposed project shows some use of novel, innovative approaches. The innovation lacks merit or is not different to other alternative solutions. Nearest state-of-the-art has not been fully explored, and the opportunity identified has not been fully realised or understood. New technologies, approaches and tools have not been fully explored. Scores 3: The proposed project shows limited innovation. the innovation described has little merit. It is unclear what need or opportunity the innovation intends to address. The nearest state-of-the-art has not been explored, and the innovation described does not improve on current offerings. Scores 1: The proposed project shows no innovation. References to current state-of-the-art are not offered or are not relevant, and the idea described will not impact on current offerings. Question 10. How would you manage delivery of your project (15% weighting) Applicant Guidance Describe your project plan and identify the main milestones. The plan for this competition must be comprehensive. The emphasis throughout should be on practicality. Provide evidence that the technology works, can be made into a viable product and can achieve the proposed benefits. You must: describe resources that will be needed to deliver the project describe what the main success criteria will be identify the project management processes that will ensure you achieve the milestones provide a clear plan for establishing technical and commercial feasibility describe the main technical, commercial and environmental risks and what you will do to mitigate them provide a clear plan for development of a working prototype You must explain how you would handle any intellectual property (IP) issues which might arise during the project. If you are working with subcontractors (specialist skills only), include details of how you will maintain freedom to operate and fulfil the IP requirements detailed in the contract. Your answer can be up to 600 words long You must upload a project plan or Gantt chart as an appendix. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages but must be in 11 point font size. Your milestones must: be clear be defined using SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound) criteria be associated with the appropriate deliverables and payments indicate your payment schedule by month This question will be assessed against these assessment criteria: does the proposal show a clear plan for establishing technical and commercial feasibility and the development of a working prototype is there a clear management plan what are the main technical, commercial, and environmental risks to the project’s success how will these be effectively managed are the milestones and evaluation procedures appropriate Please note information from the finances section will be used to support the assessment of this question. Proposed milestones and associated payments stated in this section must match those entered in the finance summary on your application. Question 10 - Evaluators Scoring and Guidance Scores 10: The approach to project management is structured and well designed to meet the aims and objectives described. Project management processes are clearly defined and shows a credible plan for achieving technical rfeasibility. There is a clear plan for the development of a working prototype explaining the main success criteria in appropriate detail and realistic project milestones. A comprehensive risk register is provided, including mitigation plans that allow for continued delivery in the timelines specified. There is a clear plan for the handling of any IP issues which may arise during the project including those which may arise through working with subcontractors and relating to maintaining freedom to operate and fulfil the IP requirements in the contract. Scores 7: The approach to project management is sound, and the project plan allows aims and objectives to be achieved within the timeframes detailed. The plan goes some way to explaining how technical feasibility will be met and the development of a working prototype. Some success criteria and key milestones are outlined however they require further development. A risk register covering key risks is provided. Mitigation plans are sensible and appropriate but require further development. There is an awareness of the IP issues that could arise and there are some ideas of how to handle these issues however further explanation is required. Scores 5: A project plan and risk register are provided and cover key areas at a high level, but more detail is required. There is a basic outline of key milestones but no logical explanation as to how these will feed into the plan for development of a working prototype. Success criteria are mentioned but are not fully defined or further criteria need developing. There is a basic outline of the IP issues that may arise however it lacks explanation as to how this will be handled. Scores 3:. Project planning and risk management is at a very high level and is missing vital information. IP issues have not been explored and no plan discussed to address these. Scores 1: The project plan and risk register give no confidence or has not been provided. Question 11. Does your project provide good value for money? (20% weighting) Applicant Guidance How much will the project cost? How does it represent value for money for the team and the taxpayer? Describe: the total costs inclusive of VAT (if applicable) you are requesting in terms of the project goals the total costs in relation to the amount of activity the amount of technological development involved the cost of resource per working day, for example which people you are going to have and how much it costs per day number of working days how this project represents value for money for you and the taxpayer your expected overall costs Proposed costs stated in this section must match those entered in the finance summary. All costs quoted must reflect actual costs at a ‘fair market value’ and not include profit. Your answer can be up to 400 words long You can submit a single appendix as a spreadsheet. It must be a PDF no larger than 10MB. It can be up to two A4 pages but must be in 11 point font size. Full Economic Cost (FEC) calculations are not relevant for Contracts for Innovation competitions. Contracts for Innovation is a competitive process, and applications will come from a variety of organisations. Whatever calculation you use to arrive at your total eligible project costs your application will be assessed against applications from other organisations. Bear this in mind when calculating your total eligible project costs. You can include overheads but remember that this is a competitive process. The assessors are required to judge the application finances in terms of value for money. They will score your finances against this assessment criterion: ‘Are the budget and costs realistic, justified and appropriate for the aims and methods? Please see the Contracts for Innovation: AI tools for education evaluation criteria for further guidance in relation to how your application will be assessed. Please note information from the finances section will be used to support the assessment of this question. Proposed costs stated in this section must match those entered in the finance summary on your application. Question 11 - Evaluators Scoring and Guidance Score 10: The project costs are entirely appropriate for the research and development work described and represent excellent value for money, with evidence provided to show how costs have been determined where appropriate. The organisations involved have a clear idea of how they will finance their contribution and are fully committed to the project. The balance of costs and contracts between any consortium members and use of subcontractors is justified. Commitment to postproject activities is evident, and these are fully resourced and funded. Scores 7: The project costs are appropriate based on the work proposed. The balance of costs and contracts between any consortium members and use of subcontractors seems reasonable and organisations have considered how they will fund their contribution. Overall, the project represents good value for money, but more detail could be provided surrounding how best value for money has been decided. Post-project activities are defined, and some detail is given surrounding how these will be resourced and funded. Scores 5: The costs are somewhat justified but there is not enough detail in the explanation of breakdown. The project costs seem reasonable, but the breakdown and justification could be clearer to determine if this represents good value for money. The balance of costs and contracts between any consortium members or subcontractors is acceptable for the works to be undertaken. It is unclear how organisations will finance their contribution to the project or how post-project activities will be funded or resourced. Scores 3: The project costs seem too high or too low given the proposed project. The split of costs and grants between any consortium members is unbalanced, or inappropriate use is being made of subcontractors. Little consideration has been given to best value for money. Scores 1: The costs are not appropriate or justified. There is no balance between consortium members and subcontractors involved. The project does not represent good value for money Question 12. What is the commercial potential of your project? (10% weighting) Applicant Guidance What is the commercial potential of your project? You must focus on your proposed customer’s needs. Describe: your project timescales your projects commercial potential for a marketable product, process or service your delivery plan your expected route to market the competitive advantage that your project has over existing or alternative technologies that meet market needs any existing commercial relationships relevant to the project. With the focus on your proposed customer’s needs, you can also mention the future commercial potential across the public or private sector and international markets. Your Organisation will retain ownership of foreground Intellectual Property (IP) developed during the project. Challenge owners (DfE) will be granted free usage rights to foreground IP developed during the project. You must explain how this will help deliver benefits for schools in England. We welcome proposals from applicants on how these royalty-free rights may be deployed for the public good, including options such as discounts on products for a fixed period. Your answer can be up to 600 words long. This question will be scored against these assessment criteria: is there a clear commercial potential for a marketable product, process or service is there a clear plan to deliver that and a clear route to market how significant is the competitive advantage of this technology over existing technologies that meet the market’s needs Question 12 - Evaluators Scoring and Guidance Scores 10: Post-project plans for commercialisation are fully outlined covering timescales and delivery plan. The target market size, structure and dynamics are well understood and are fully quantified and evidenced. There is evidence-based understanding of the value of the proposition to customers. The competitive advantage the product will have over existing or alternative technologies is clearly explained. The likely impact that the innovation described will have is significant, and any claims relating to this have been substantiated. Relevant existing commercial relationships have been outlined. Barriers to market entry have been understood and a realistic plan to address these has been presented. Strategies for route to market are realistic, well defined and evidenced, and show significant potential for healthy return on investment (ROI), as well as an increase in market share and opportunities. There is a credible and evidenced plan outlining how the IP royalty free rights will be utilised to specifically offer benefits to publicly funded schools in England. Scores 7: Post-project plans for commercialisation have been considered and described at a high level. There is a good awareness of the target market’s structure, dynamics, and the market size is quantified with some supporting evidence provided. Possible barriers to market entry have been identified but further detail is required as to how these will be addressed to allow successful commercialisation. There is awareness of the competitive advantage of the project however this needs further explanation. The route to market, exploitation and commercialisation of project outputs is broadly outlined and shows some potential for ROI and an increase in market share. Commercial relationships are referenced. There is consideration for how the IP royalty free rights will be utilised to specifically offer benefit to publicly funded schools in England however this requires further exploration. Scores 5: The general market size and dynamics are understood but the specific target market is poorly quantified, and no supporting evidence has been provided. The value of the proposition to target customers is described but not completed clear. The route to market is not clearly defined or explained and plans for commercialisation lack clarity and detail. It is not clear how ROI will be achieved. It is unclear what will happen once the funded project has completed and how the team will move forward towards commercialisation. How the IP royalty free rights will be utilised to offer benefits to publicly funded schools in England is not clearly defined. Scores 3: Some information about the general market is offered but the extent and size of the target market for the project is not described. There is some information about target customers, but it is not clear what the route to market will be or how the innovation will be commercialised. No consideration has been given to post-project planning. There is no consideration for how the IP royalty free rights will be utilised to offer benefits to publicly funded schools in England. Scores 1: The market is poorly defined or is irrelevant to the reasons for the project Question 13. What is the social value of your project? (5% weighting) Applicant Guidance Describe how your organisation will influence its staff, suppliers, customers and communities through the delivery of the contract to tackle workforce inequality or create new businesses, new jobs, and new skills? Activities can include: educational attainment, including the promotion of training schemes which address skills gaps and result in recognised qualifications, including any existing or planned activities which will support the delivery of apprenticeships, traineeships and T-Level industry placement opportunities in your own organisation. development and implementation of inclusive and accessible recruitment practices designed to attract good candidates from all backgrounds strategies for the creation of employment opportunities for those facing barriers to employment offering opportunities for work experience or similar activities or delivery of apprenticeships, traineeships and T-Level industry placement opportunities offering a range of quality opportunities with routes for progression supporting educational attainment relevant to the contract for example training schemes addressing the skills gap measures to ensure equality and accessibility without discrimination, to employment and workforce related opportunities on the contract and promote them to be fully accessible Please see the following link for further information about our Social Value requirement, including the Social Value model: Procurement Policy Note 06/20 – taking account of social value in the award of central government contracts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Describe how you will achieve this? Your answer can be up to 200 words long. This question will be scored against this assessment criterion: ‘Is there a clear plan to deliver the social value commitment through the course of the contract?’ Question 13 - Evaluators Scoring and Guidance Scores 10: The response shows a clear commitment for the delivery of additional social value benefits in the performance of the contract. The response demonstrates a clear understanding of the chosen issue. There is a credible and evidenced plan outlining how the applicant plans to achieve this commitment including a detailed overview of any existing or planned activities to support delivery. Scores 7: The response outlines a commitment and there is evidence for the delivery of additional social value benefits in the performance of the contract. There is an understanding of the chosen issue. There is a plan outlining how the applicant plans to achieve the commitment. However further explanation of the existing or planned activities will deliver the social value-added benefits in the delivery of the contract is required. Scores 5: There is some evidence of a commitment to the delivery of additional social value benefits in the performance of the contract. There is a basic understanding of the chosen issue, and some description of activities planned to deliver additional social value. However, these need further development into a succinct plan and further evidenced exploration of how these will be implemented to deliver the social value aspect of the contract. Scores 3: There is very little evidence of a commitment to the delivery of additional social value benefits in the performance of the contract. The issue is poorly understood and plans towards delivering the additional benefits are poorly defined. Scores 1: There is no evidence the proposal will meet the commitment to the delivery of additional benefits in the performance of the contract. Question 14. What is the added environmental value of your project? (5% weighting) Applicant Guidance Describe how your organisation will ensure that opportunities under the contract deliver additional environmental benefits and include working towards net zero. You can include: a timed action plan use of metrics tools or processes to gather data reporting transparency feedback and improvement Your answer can be up to 200 words long This question will be scored against these assessment criteria: is there a clear plan to meet net zero? is there a clear plan to avoid emissions in delivery of the contract relative to alternative approaches and design approaches which minimise compute demands and their associated environmental impacts? is there a clear plan to minimise the environmental impacts of end user activity for example, by minimising the duplication of compute-intensive tasks? Question 14 - Evaluators Scoring and Guidance Scores 10: The response shows a clear commitment and credible evidence for the delivery of additional environmental benefits in the performance of the contract working towards net zero greenhouse gas emissions. There is a credible and evidenced plan outlining how the applicant plans to reduce emissions in the performance of the contract (including emissions avoided relative to alternative approaches) and measures implemented to reduce the eventual impact of end user activity. They credibly explain how decisions around development of the tools will be informed by their environmental impact including effective design approaches implemented to minimise impacts. Scores 7: The response outlines a commitment and there is evidence for the delivery of additional environmental benefits in the performance of the contract working towards net zero. There is a plan outlining how the applicant plans to reduce emissions in the performance of the contract and measures implemented to reduce the eventual impact of end user activity. However further development of these ideas is required including further exploration of emissions avoided relative to alternative approaches. There is some awareness of how decisions around development of the tools will be informed by their environmental impact and how effective design approaches can be implemented to reduce impact however further explanation is required to support claims made. Scores 5: There is some evidence of a commitment to the delivery of additional environmental benefits in the performance of the contract towards net zero. There is some description of how the applicant plans to reduce emissions and the eventual impact of the end user however it needs further development into a succinct plan. There is basic awareness of how decisions made around the development of the tool will be informed by their environmental impact and types of design approaches that can reduce impact. However further evidenced exploration of how these will be implemented to deliver the social value aspect of the contract is required. Scores 3: There is very little evidence of a commitment to the delivery of additional environmental benefits in the performance of the contract towards net zero. Plans towards reducing emissions and the eventual impact of end users are poorly defined. There is no exploration of how decisions around the development of tools will be informed by their environmental impact and design approaches that can reduce impact. Scores 1: There is no evidence the proposal will meet the commitment to the delivery of additional benefits in the performance of the contract towards net zero. — Supporting info Background and further information About Contracts for Innovation competitions Contracts for Innovation provides innovative solutions to challenges faced by the public sector. This can lead to better public services and improved efficiency and effectiveness. The Contracts for Innovation programme: supports economic growth and enables the development of innovative products and services through the public procurement of R&D generates new business opportunities for companies provides a route to market for new ideas creates opportunities to work directly with the public sector Contracts for Innovation competitions are open to all eligible organisations that can demonstrate a route to market for their solution. Under current regulations, Contracts for Innovation contracts are open to applications from organisations registered in the UK, European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). Developments are 100% funded and focused on specific identified needs, increasing the chance of exploitation. Contracts for Innovation encourages the creation and protection of new (intellectual property) IP. Applicants retain all the rights to both foreground and background IP but will be expected to grant certain royalty-free licences to the funder for use of the foreground IP. Contracts for Innovation is a procurement of R&D services. If successful, you will receive a contract to deliver the proposed activity. Costs quoted must reflect actual costs at a ‘fair market value’ and not include profit. You must submit an invoice for the work undertaken. All payments are made in arrears on submission of an invoice. Invoices must be submitted within 30 days of the end of each monitoring period for all completed milestones. If you are VAT registered, your total costs are expected to include VAT that you would charge as a service provider. VAT is the responsibility of the invoicing business and applicants should ensure that VAT has been calculated correctly as part of their application. You will need to confirm your VAT status as part of the application process Note – we are seeing a rise in double counting of VAT during the application process, making some applicants ineligible. To avoid this, it is important you input your costs minus VAT. VAT is added on by us in the Innovation Funding Service (IFS). Suppliers for each project will be selected by an open competition process and retain the intellectual property generated from the project, with certain rights of use retained by the contracting authority. This is an excellent opportunity to establish an early customer for a new technology and to fund its development. Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Development Matters - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) provide the standards and guidance for EYFS. Where relevant, for FE teachers tools should be aligned to the non-statutory Occupational Standard for Learning and Skills Teachers. Briefing slides Download briefing slides: IFS Contracts for Innovation Applicant Briefing AI Tools for Education..pdf (opens in a new window) If your application is successful Finance checks We will carry out checks to make sure you are an established company with access to the funds necessary to complete the project as per the applicant declaration. You must respond to any requests Department for Education (DfE) has sent for additional information to avoid any delays. Failure to respond may result in your offer being withdrawn. Your contract offer letter Your contract offer letter will be sent to you via email. We will then require successful applicants to register on DfE’s e-sourcing platform (Jaggaer) within 7 days. This will avoid any delays in processing payments. You may also be asked to register as a vendor on the DfE Finance System. The process for invoicing and payments will be outlined in the finalised contract. Security If your application is successful, you will be required to complete DfE's standard supplier security questionnaire. If your application is unsuccessful You will be notified of the outcome of your application via email. The attached letter will provide feedback from evaluators. Sometimes your application will have scored well, and you will receive positive comments from the assessors. You may be unsuccessful as your average score was not above the funding threshold or your project has not been selected under the portfolio approach if this is applied for this competition. Support for SMEs from Innovate UK Business Growth If you receive an award, you will be contacted about working with an innovation and growth specialist at Innovate UK Business Growth. This service forms part of our funded offer to you. These specialists focus on growing innovative businesses and ensuring that projects contribute to their growth. Working one-to-one, they can help you to identify your best strategy and harness world-class resources to grow and achieve scale. We encourage you to engage with Innovate UK Business Growth, delivered by a knowledgeable and objective specialist near you. Protecting your innovation A Secure Innovation campaign has been developed to help founders and leaders of innovative startups protect their technology, competitive advantage, and reputation. This was developed by UK’s National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). Data sharing This competition is jointly operated by Innovate UK and the Department for Education (each an ‘agency’). Your submitted application and any other information you provide at the application stage can be submitted to each agency on an individual basis for its storage, processing and use. Any relevant information produced during the application process concerning your application can be shared by one agency with the other, for its individual storage, processing and use. This means that any information given to or generated by Innovate UK in respect of your application may be passed on to the Department for Education and vice versa. Innovate UK and the Department for Education are directly accountable to you for their holding and processing of your information, including any personal data and confidential information. Data is held in accordance with their own policies. Accordingly, Innovate UK, and the Department for Education will be data controllers for personal data submitted during the application. Innovate UK’s Privacy Policy Innovate UK Business Connect Privacy Policy Department for Education’s Personal information charter Department for Education’s Data Protection Policy Innovate UK complies with the requirements of UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and is committed to upholding data protection legislation, and protecting your information in accordance with data protection principles. The Information Commissioner’s Office also has a useful guide for organisations, which outlines the data protection principles Further help and guidance If you want help to find an organisation to work with, contact the Innovate UK Business Connect. If you have any questions about the scope requirements of this competition, email [email protected]. Please note that clarification questions relating to the scope of requirements or specification will be managed by DfE. Any emails will be directed to DfE for response. You can contact DfE directly via email to [email protected]. DfE will work with Innovate UK to answer your questions. DfE will collate all questions and publish them in a log on a regular basis. This log will be available via contracts finder. Clarification questions will be accepted until 9am on the 30th September. Final responses will be published by close of business on 2nd October. Please include the following reference in the subject line of your email: A-1008 - AI Tools for Education: competition. If you need more information about how to apply or you want to submit your application in Welsh, email [email protected] or call 0300 321 4357. Our phone lines are open from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). Innovate UK or any of our partners will not tolerate abusive language in any written or verbal correspondence, applications, social media or any other form that might affect staff. —