ANALYSING THE USE OF MEDIATION IN THE PLANNING SYSTEM BASED ON CASE STUDY EXAMPLES - EVALUATOR ROLE
The Scottish Government is seeking Expressions of Interest from contractors who wish to be invited to tender for the above contract.
Background
In March 2009 the Directorate for the Built Environment published a practical guide to the possible uses of mediation in planning in Scotland. The Guide is available on the Scottish Government web page. The Scottish Government now intends to commission a project to apply formal mediation to 3 - 5 planning disputes of various scale in order to provide case study examples and a report that examines the overall effectiveness of the technique.
Analytical Task
The analytical task for this Expression of Interest is to analyse the effectiveness of formal mediation as a means of resolving planning disputes in 3 - 5 specific case studies. It is expected that the contractor will explore stakeholders' views and expectations prior and subsequent to the mediation event. It is also expected that the contractor would observe the mediation events and write a final report with reasoned consideration of effectiveness, views of stakeholders, practicality and lessons learnt. A mediator will be separately commissioned to undertake the mediation of the case study planning disputes.
Criteria for Assessment
Expressions of interest will be assessed on the following criteria:
- A well-informed and current understanding of relevant social research methods and analysis including observation.
- Proven relevant analytical expertise in the development, implementation, analysis and reporting of case study evidence from a range of sources including observation.
- Proven experience of synthesising a number of case studies into a report which identifies key themes and focuses on cost effectiveness, good practice and lessons learnt across all case studies.
- A reasonable understanding of the tensions that may be expected in planning disputes.
- An indication of sufficient capacity to conduct the research and analysis and produce a high quality report during the period January 2010 to September 2010.
A shortlist of contractors will be selected, based on the above criteria, to receive a formal invitation to tender. Only a limited number of contractors will be invited to tender for the project and the submission of an expression of interest should not be taken as a guarantee of inclusion on the shortlist. All contractors will be informed of whether they have been short listed approximately one week after the deadline detailed below.
Research Budget & Timescales
Expressions of interest must be returned by 10.00am on Friday 20 November. It is anticipated that a contract will be awarded by early January and the work will be completed by September 2010.
How to express interest
Those wishing to express interest in this commission should complete the attached form (the link to the form can be found at the bottom of this page) and return it to researchsupportmailbox@scotland.gsi.gov.uk no later than 10.00am on Friday 20 November.
Please note that:
- Your Expression of Interest should not include a formulation of the research proposal at this stage.
- We do accept joint expressions of interest - the relevant knowledge, skills and experiences of each party should be set out in the EoI form.