Decision details

Approval of the Procurement Proposals for the design and installation of the fit out of The Atkinson Museum Galleries

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Built Environment on the proposed procurement strategy for the appointment of a specialist museum gallery fit out company to design and manage the installation of the fit out of the galleries at The Atkinson, subject to a successful bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

Decision Made:

That:

(1)       the Director of Built Environment be authorised to conduct an OJEU Open Procedure tender exercise to appoint a specialist consultant for the fitting out of the Museum Galleries at The Atkinson;

(2)       the basis of the evaluation of the tenders, as set out in paragraphs 2.2 to 2.4.of the report be approved;

(3)       the Director of Built Environment be authorised to accept the highest scoring tender in accordance with the approved basis of evaluation and to submit a report on the outcome to the Cabinet Member for Children, Schools, Families and Leisure;

(4)       the Cabinet Member for Children, Schools, Families and Leisure be authorised to accept the Target Price for the Installation

Reasons for Decision:

To enable the procurement of the appropriate company to design and manage the installation in the Museum galleries. The tender exercise would be required to follow an OJEU Part A Open Procedure. As part of this process, approval was needed for Chief Officer delegated authority to award the contract for the design and establishment of a target cost for the project and for Cabinet Member authority for the delivery of the installation.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

An alternative approach would be to engage a consultant to complete the detailed design. This would then be tendered and a separate contract awarded for the fit out and installation.

Whilst there was some merit in this process, it would add to the timescale involved through the need for two separate tendering processes and necessary approvals. Also it was clear from discussions with musuem and gallery directors, that most specialist  museum  fit out contractors take responsibility for the design process and therefore it was unlikley that a seperate tendering process would realise best value.