2. An Indicative Activity Schedule For Market Testing Soft Services 

Approach to testing 

• Decide benchmarking or market testing with client.

Preparatory 

•  Review and if applicable, update service specifications to reflect current service.

•  Include service variations and material specification 'creep'

•  Review key movements in service economics and expectations of market testing outcomes with client

•  Identify service activity, staff transfer and specification information for provision by incumbent service provider

•  Ring-fence the issues/services to be addressed in the benchmarking/market testing process and identify how supplementary issues will be addressed. 

Confirm key requirements

•  Changes to service specification

•  Service groupings to be tendered and their associated costs

•  Core and variant bid options

•  Shortlisting & selection processes including evaluation criteria

•  Governance Structures

•  Evaluation process

•  Procedure should too few bidders compete

•  Timetable for market testing process

•  Mechanism for adjustment of unitary fee

•  Confirm PPP collateral agreements that new provider will need to accept in addition to service contract.

Pre-qualification 

•  Advertise pre-qualification

•  Send out pre-qualification questionnaires

•  Pre-qualification questionnaires submission date

•  Evaluate and announce shortlist

Finalise tender 

•  Client sign-off to finalised tender specification and build specification tender document pack

Tender 

•  Send invitation to tender to shortlisted bidders

•  Tender submission deadline

•  Tender evaluation

•  Announcement of preferred provider

Mobilisation 

•  Financial close

•  Commence staff transfer consultations minimum of 90 days before commencement

•  Service handover/ commencement

•  Contract market test date

•  Adjust unitary fee to reflect new service