Page 1 of 7 TENDER EVALUATION REPORT: 3380 MEDIA MONITORING SERVICES

Transcription

1 Page 1 of 7 FINANCE AND GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE REPORT TENDER EVALUATION REPORT: 3380 MEDIA MONITORING SERVICES Agenda Item February 2009 Division Media Relations Presenter Damien Cocks, Acting Media Relations Branch Manager. Purpose 1. To seek Council approval to enter into a two year contract for the provision of media monitoring services with Media Monitors Pty Ltd under an agreed schedule of rates. Recommendation from Management 2. That the Finance and Governance Committee recommends that Council award the contract for Media Monitoring Services (contract number 3380) to Media Monitors Pty Ltd for a term of two years with two options to extend for one year at the schedule of rates contained in the tender submission from Media Monitoring Services dated 24 October 2008 and otherwise in accordance with the negotiated terms and conditions of contract. Background 3. Media monitoring services ( the service ) have been used by the City of Melbourne through the Media Relations Branch since Until recently there was only one available provider in the marketplace: Media Monitors Pty Ltd. There is now new competition in the marketplace, therefore the service was put out for public tender. 4. The City of Melbourne currently receives around 450 print clips per month, and around 500 alerts summarising electronic media clips (radio and TV) per month. Electronic clips can be purchased on request. 5. The Media Relations Branch distributes relevant media coverage to work areas and Councillors on a daily basis. Current Arrangements 6. The City of Melbourne contracted Media Monitors Pty Ltd until October 2008 to supply media monitoring services. With the contract s expiry, a request for quotation was sought from the company and a new supplier in the market The Media Research Group Pty Ltd. The Media Research Group company provided the successful quotation until the tender process was completed. Monitoring arrangements are under an agreed schedule of rates. Proposed Arrangements 7. The service provider will be required to provide a comprehensive print and electronic media monitoring service capable of delivering daily content electronically, by no later than 7am. Further print monitoring will be required throughout the day and uploaded regularly, with an immediate alert of critical issues. 1

2 8. The service will provide for up to 100 City of Melbourne users to access a media portal through the intranet and remotely. Rationale for putting out to tender 9. The outsourcing of these functions is expected to achieve an accurate and timely media monitoring service that provides Council and administration with ready access to daily news, breaking news and relevant media information. This will enable the tracking and analysis of media comment on Council initiatives and decisions. 10. The service will also provide the ability to monitor media reports on a range of key issues with which the City of Melbourne has close involvement such as sustainability, research, city safety and public transport. The Expected Outcomes are: 11. Rapid access to comprehensive daily monitoring of print, electronic and on-line media outlets. 12. Ability to monitor and analyse what is being said publicly about City of Melbourne initiatives and Council decisions to contribute to reputation management strategies. 13. Guaranteed capture of all relevant mentions of City of Melbourne. (Media Monitors Pty Ltd delivers press monitoring to an accuracy level at or above 98 pre cent based on agreed brief and keyword search terms.) Invitation to Tender 14. The Invitation to Tender ( ITT ) was advertised in The Age on 4 October, 2008 and closed on October 24, 2008 after a 20 day tender preparation period. No late tenders were received. Three companies responded: Media Monitors Pty Ltd; The Media Research Group Pty Ltd; and Meltwater News Australia Pty Ltd. Key Issues: Tender Evaluation Process Page 2 of The Tender Evaluation Review panel consisted of: Name, Title (and / or company) Generalist or nominated Speciality Full / Advisory Member Ebony Beaton, Media Adviser Generalist Full Damien Cocks, Manager Media Relations Generalist Full Tiffany Crawford, Corporate Solicitor Generalist Full Ron Leong, Financial Analyst Speciality Advisory 16. The review panel did not meet until after the conclusion of the City of Melbourne Council elections, and all tenderers were informed that the process would be delayed because of the election period. 2

3 17. The review panel met on three occasions: 3 December, 2008, 6 December, 2008 and 12 January, Further information was sought from all three organisations including a costing exercise. The costing exercise was designed to provide the tender panel with a clear indication of a schedule of fees for the delivery of media clips, video and audio clips, internet clips and general alerts. The three tenderers were ed the costing exercise on 12 December 2008 and requested to provide their responses through the tender box by 23 December 2008 (a day 10 period). All companies were verbally contacted to ensure the letters had been received on 12 December The cost coding exercise was based on media activity received by the City of Melbourne for a one month period. It was constructed in lines with a normal billing process. 20. Media Monitors Pty Ltd was the only tenderer to submit the additional information on time and through the required tender box process, as requested. 21. Meltwater News Australia Pty Ltd was deemed by the panel to have significant non-conformances as it could only provide a service based on monitoring information available through the world wide web. Accordingly, its tender was not considered by the panel. Evaluation Criteria and Weighting System Page 3 of The following table lists the evaluation criteria that were stated in the ITT documents. The criteria are listed in order of importance, the most important being at the top of the list. The weightings for the evaluation criteria were declared to tenderers. Criteria Weightings Cost Schedule of Rates 60 % Quality Assurance Commitment to Quality Proposed Quality Assurance Processes 20 % Experience, Capability & Past Performance Current Commitments Expertise in Providing the Services Demonstration of Past Performances and Referee Reports Resources: People and Systems 10% Plan for Proposed Services On-site Management and Resources (Labour, Equipment & Systems) Off-site Management Support Structure, Services and Systems Innovation & Technology 10% Proposed personnel Contract Control and Reporting Systems Risk Management. 3

4 Evaluation criteria Page 4 of The panel supported a cost evaluation exercise for all three tenderers and accordingly additional information was requested from the tenderers. However, only Media Monitors Pty Ltd provided the information within the required time frame. 24. Media Research Group provided a lower schedule of rates across the board, however Media Monitors provided a stronger service in terms of personnel servicing the contract (seven staff compared to four), quality assurance (delivery of media clips and accuracy rate) and has more than 4000 clients nationally. Media Research Group failed to provide an adequate response in terms of quality assurance and further information sought from the company was not provided by the 23 December 2008 deadline. It should be noted that while Media Research Group did respond, their reply was couriered to the City of Melbourne on 30 December 2008 and was not placed in the tender box. 25. A summary of the scores assessed were documented by the Tender Evaluation Panel and is shown below: Evaluation Criteria Experience, Capability and Past Performance Weighting MRG Wghtd Media Mons Wghtd Plan for proposed services Quality Assurance Cost TOTAL TENDERER RANKING Performance Measurement 26. The successful performance of the Service Provider will be determined by: the timely and accurate delivery of media clips on a daily basis; an initial three month review, followed by six monthly thereafter; reports will be required if media clips are missed from daily distribution; feedback from Management and staff; and responsiveness to any queries that arise from Council. 27. Transcripts, video and audio will be available to be purchased when required and as assessed on a case by case basis. The Service Provider will provide these additional materials. 4

5 Concluding comments Page 5 of An addendum and letters of clarification were sent to all tenderers. The letters of clarification varied on questions raised by the Tender Evaluation Review Panel. All three tenderers were provided with the same cost coding exercise. 29. Media Monitors has provided all of the relevant financial information in the Financial Stability to Satisfactorily Perform the Services Reports and Information form. As a privately owned company not required to publish financial information for public distribution, Media Monitors asks that this information be classified as Commercial in Confidence. 30. All panel members concur with the recommendation to award the tender to Media Monitors Pty Ltd. Pecuniary Interest and Probity Statement 31. No member of the evaluation panel has a pecuniary or personal interest in the tenders or contract. 32. The evaluation has fully complied with the Local Government Act 1989 and the Conditions of Tendering. No potential tenderer had access to the final specification prior to its release. All advice, written or verbal, provided to a respondent clarifying any aspect of the tender documentation was also provided to all other respondents. No tenderer was provided any advantage over other tenderers, and all were treated fairly and equally during the tendering process. Information provided by tenderers which has been deemed confidential, has been protected, and will not be disclosed. A consistent standard for all tenderers has been used in assessing any request for confidentiality by a tenderer/s. Time Frame 33. The contract will commence on 1 April, 2009 for a period of two years, with two options to extend for one year. Finance 34. In the 2008/2009 budget a total of $150,000 has been allocated for Media Monitoring services. Expenditure incurred is directly related to the nature and number of media related activities during the financial year. The budget provided is the upper limit of spending allocated for these services. Legal 35. Section 186 of the Local Government Act 1989 applies in relation to contracts for the purchase of goods or services or the carrying out of works to the value of $150,000 or more. 5

6 Page 6 of 7 Agenda Item 5.5 Finance and Governance Committee 10 February 2009 FINANCE ATTACHMENT TENDER EVALUATION REPORT: 3380 MEDIA MONITORING SERVICES The 2008/2009 Annual Plan and Budget provides for expenditure of up to $150,000 for Media Monitoring services. The level of spending is determined by the branch and is dependant on the level of media activities over the course of the year. Joe Groher Manager Financial Services

7 Page 7 of 7 Agenda Item 5.5 Finance and Governance Committee 10 February 2009 LEGAL ATTACHMENT TENDER EVALUATION REPORT: 3380 MEDIA MONITORING SERVICES When Council intends to enter into a contract for the purchase of goods and services valued at $150,000 or more (levels increased by Order in Council dated 7 August 2008), section 186 of the Local Government Act 1989 ( the Act ) imposes a duty on the Council by public notice either to invite tenders or to invite expressions of interest. The Act does not require Council to accept the lowest tender. Kim Wood Manager Legal Services