Essex County Council would like to invite prospective organisations to participate in a market engagement event in preparation for a forthcoming procurement opportunity to secure a two year Test and Learn project to provide a befriending, mentoring and peer led activities service to be conducted in the Braintree and Uttlesford District areas of Essex. The market engagement event will be conducted via MS Teams on 15th February 2022 and will include a discussion of the project proposal as outlined below.

The overarching aim of this project is to provide an early intervention offer which empowers and supports people with a Learning Disability and/or Autism (LD&A), without relying on formally commissioned services.  This support offer will act as an effective way of linking individuals with community focused support, including voluntary support, that match an individual’s goals and needs.

The support solutions within the offer, based on the provision of befriending, mentoring and peer-led activities, should be co-produced with LD&A adults who wish to access it.  The aim should be that peer-led groups should be fully led by adults.  The views of adults, families and carers will be key to ensuring that support is appropriate and responsive to changing patterns of need, and individuals are expected to play a key role in the co-production, design and delivery of services.

Please note that any dates within the adverts are provided for indicative purposes only as this project remains subject to governance approval. The Council will confirm the approved contractual duration within the Contract Notice and tender pack for this procurement.

If your organisation would like to attend this event, please:

• e-mail lorna.venters@essex.gov.uk by Friday 11th February 2022 confirming the number of colleagues who wish to attend and an e-mail address to enable the Council to send the link to join the online meeting.

• register your interest in attending the event on ProContract, the Council’s Tendering and Contract platform. Suppliers who have registered on the system are able to receive and return tender and quotation documents electronically. ProContract boasts a News Alert feature to communicate key information alongside an Easy access message inbox for quick and easy clarification on tenders. Registration is free.

Below are useful links to assist with registration.

ProContract Supplier Registration Link

Supplier Help Option