Newcastle United Foundation - Tender - Immersive Content Production - Sunderland Software ...

Newcastle United Foundation
Tender - Immersive Content Production

Summary
Newcastle United Foundation is seeking an ambitious, innovative, and creative
immersive partner to help bring VR careers content to children and young people
accessing the exciting new NUCASTLE building due to open in March 2022 . The
chosen agency will need to have experience of delivering educational immersive
content and come with ideas for scaling initial content delivery to ultimately develop a
library of diverse experiences as funding allows.

For this reason, the Foundation is looking for a long-term partner to make a
real difference in young people's lives and inspire them to explore careers
education in a way they've never experienced before.

Organisation Background
Newcastle United Foundation are improving the lives of almost 50,000 people in the
local community each year, with record levels of participation across their Football,
School and Community programmes. Using the Newcastle United brand, they
engage, inspire, and motivate people that others cannot reach.

The Foundation harness the local passion for football and use it to help
disadvantaged children, young people, and families across our region. From summer
schools to fundraising events, the community is at the heart of everything they do,
guiding how they help.

In spring 2019, Newcastle United Foundation collected the keys to Murray House
Recreational Centre – a disused building that once served struggling communities in
Newcastle’s city centre. Just a five-minute walk from the iconic structure of St.
James’ Park, they made plans for an ambitious redevelopment of the site, proposing
a world class facility for the people of Newcastle and beyond.

NUCASTLE, powered by Newcastle Building Society, will help the Foundation to
reach thousands of children, young people, adults and elderly residents across the
North East. NU Futures, the flagship programme in NUCASTLE will be delivered
from the first floor in four innovative classrooms, including a high-tech digital hub
which will feature immersive technology. The aim of the programme is to provide
young people with access to engaging and exciting experiences that open their
minds to new opportunities through careers education and a brand-new programme
of activity involving interactive careers advice using VR and AR, supplemented with
one-to-one careers mentoring.

   ® For more information about the NU Futures Programme please see the
       Appendix at the end of this document.
   ® For more information about the Newcastle United Foundation visit the
       website: https://nufoundation.org.uk
   ® For more information about NUCASTLE visit following page on the
       Foundation website: https://nufoundation.org.uk/about-us/teamup

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Project Background
Newcastle United Foundation have been working with Digital Catapult North East
Tees Valley in order to carry out initial exploration and ideas generation for
immersive content and supporting the team to understand the potential of the
technology. Through the North of Tyne Digital Pathfinders programme they are now
seeking tender submissions for immersive content developers to create initial
content in a series of experiences that will be piloted in the NUCASTLE building as it
opens its doors to young people from the region.

Digital Pathfinders is a programme designed for SMEs, charities and social
enterprises based in Newcastle, Northumberland, and North Tyneside. We help
businesses and organisations become more successful and resilient through the
adoption of digital technology.

For more information about Digital Pathfinders visit: https://www.digitalpathfinders.uk

Objectives
The main objectives of this opportunity are:

   •   To provide young people in the North East with an engaging, innovative and
       educational experience that will inspire them to explore different careers.
   •   To work with Newcastle United Foundation staff and stakeholders to put
       young people at the heart of the development ensuring content is suitable and
       relevant.
   •   To create an infrastructure that will allow for future development of a library of
       content exploring career opportunities from a wide range of sectors and jobs.
   •   To deliver high quality immersive content that will invoke an emotional
       response and have the educational value to make a real impact on anyone
       who experiences it.

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Requirements
Having spent time discussing a range of ideas, one has been prioritised to be
developed as part of this tender. The creative and educational elements of the
experiences would need to be defined, but to provide a basic outline, we would
expect to have at least three to five "Employer Experiences" where we would work
with different employers that have a diverse range of jobs, to give young people an
understanding of the breath of opportunities available to them when considering a
future career. The two initial ideas of employers we have explored are:

   •   The Newcastle United Experience. Meeting different members of the staff
       that help to run Newcastle United through an immersive experience that could
       take place behind the scenes on match day. From coaches to marketing staff,
       stewards to perhaps players this content would potentially end in walking out
       onto the pitch at St. James' Park with the sound of the crowd and emotion of a
       topflight match.
   •   The NHS Experience. Meeting members of staff in an NHS setting would
       provide a wide range of roles from administration to being a doctor or from
       nursing staff to surgery. As the Foundation already have strong relationships
       with the NHS this should be feasible to facilitate and would be a strong choice
       for a second experience.

It is intended that creation of this content would be produced in a way that could be
replicated from both a format and technology perspective, providing a consistent
experience while being hosted in diverse settings. This would make it possible to add
new experiences based on building corporate partnerships or securing further
funding, assuming successful outcomes from this pilot. We plan to update and add
additional immersive experiences every 3 years.

Things to consider
   •   Content must be safe, accessible, and inclusive, catering for a wide range of
       backgrounds and abilities.
   •   Content should be accessible to an age range of 11 to 25 years olds with the
       primary age group of 14-16 year-olds. Ideally, we would like to see examples

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of where you have delivered immersive content for this age group and
    understand your approach to inclusivity. Bearing in mind the target age group
    we would like to understand how you will ensure the experiences are
    interactive and fun to use whilst retaining the core aim of improving careers
    education.
•   Content would be primarily provided for up to 20x Oculus Quest headsets, but
    we would be interested to understand the scope and cost implications of
    making the content available on other headsets too.
•   We would like to understand the technology platform that the content would
    be developed using and whether it would be transferable and accessible by
    other content providers if necessary. This is crucial to prevent vendor lock-in
    and ensure sustainability, despite the intentions to develop a long-term
    relationship with the chosen supplier.
•   It is important that we capture feedback from young people who have
    accessed the experiences to measure impact and project success. The ideal
    situation would be that this is done during or right after the experience, but as
    part of it so that we get engaged responses. Creative ideas of how to
    integrate feedback are especially welcomed.
•   During ideation, the concept of "choose your story" was brought up - like
    platforms such as TryLife. Using this interactive format makes the filming and
    storytelling more complicated but would add a level of interactivity that would
    engage and involve the user. If this is feasible within the budget, please
    indicate it in your response.
•   An indication of how you would involve young people in the development
    process is important. The content must work for them before production
    begins due to the scale of the investment and experience says that involving
    young people not only decreases the risk of this not being the case, but they
    also come up with creative ideas that will add value to the output.
•   Initially it is expected that this content would only be available exclusively on
    headsets hosted in the NUCASTLE building, however please provide insight
    into any considerations that would have to be made to open the content up to
    other partners in the future if so desired.

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Timescales
The project would be expected to start in November 2021 with the aim of launching
at least two experiences by the end of March 2022 at the latest.

Tender Process
There are several phases in the tender process. We appreciate the work and time
that goes into tendering. At the same time this is a critical development for
Newcastle United Foundation, made possible through public funding, so we need to
make sure we find the right supplier. We do not need or expect every detail to be
considered at this stage but need tender submissions that will demonstrate why we
should speak to you, and why you would make the ideal partner for this and future
content production.

The process is as follows:

 Phase                                       Date

 Launch of tender                            Monday 4th October 2021

 Opportunity to submit questions until       Wednesday 20th October 2021 (4pm)

 Question responses published                Monday 25th October 2021

 Tender submission deadline                  Monday 1st November 2021 (4pm)

 Short-listing and notification              Friday 5th November 2021

 Meetings with short-listed companies        w/b 8th November 2021 (estimated)

 Decision made and contracting               Friday 12th November 2021 (estimated)

If you have any questions regarding the tender, please submit them using the
following form before Wednesday the 20th October:
https://form.jotform.com/212307577180050

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Criteria
Submissions will be assessed based on the following criteria:

 Criteria          Description                                                 Percent
 Creativity        Providing ideas and narrative that bring the                25%
                   immersive education experience to life.
 Skills and        Demonstrable skill in developing immersive content          25%
 experience        and experience working with education and young
                   people.
 Timescales        Ability to provide a plan that will deliver high quality,   25%
                   creative content within the proposed timescales.
 Scope and         Cost breakdown that provides assurances that the            25%
 budget            brief can be met to a high standard within the
                   maximum budget.

Budget
The budget for this phase of the development is a maximum of £80,000.

   •   A full breakdown of expected costs for the various elements of development
       should be included, as well as estimates for costs in adding future
       experiences to the library.
   •   If there are any ongoing costs necessary to service, the applications please
       provide these and ensure they are included within the budget for at least one
       year.

How to get involved
To apply for this opportunity please submit your details, and attach a proposal
responding directly to the requests and criteria in this brief using the following online
form: https://form.jotform.com/212307561203342

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Appendix: NU Futures Programme
Description
As a leading player in promoting inclusion, employability and education, Newcastle
United Foundation is determined to play a prominent role in realising the North of
Tyne Combined Authority’s (NTCA) ambitious vision of a more dynamic and
inclusive economy: one that brings together people with opportunities, narrows
inequalities, and ensures that all residents have a stake in our region’s future.
Building on our proven track record in transforming the lives of some of the most
disadvantaged young people in the area, and harnessing the power of the Newcastle
United brand, the NU Futures project will deliver a new and ambitious approach to
tackling the entrenched problems of exclusion, wealth inequalities and low regional
productivity, by better connecting young people with opportunities in the North of
Tyne economy.

Too many young people in the North of Tyne area are disconnected from high quality
job and career opportunities. NU Futures is a creative and ambitious project that will
transform the way young people transition from education to careers. NU Futures
has two core elements that, together, will prepare young people aged 11 to 25 for
‘not just any job’, but a job that offers progression, career development, and the
potential to grow skills and increase income.

   •   NU Futures Centre: A brand new specialist venue where young people will
       take part in fun sports, leisure, wellbeing and technology activities, alongside
       interactive learning about future careers. The NU Futures Centre will provide
       a high-quality destination away from school that delivers a memorable and
       motivational experience for all the young people that visit. Fully equipped with
       the latest augmented and virtual reality technology, innovative STEM facilities,
       digital classrooms, sports, and health and wellbeing facilities, this will be a
       special place where young people feel valued in an environment that raises
       their aspirations and enables them to thrive.
   •   NU Futures Programme: An interactive programme of activity that engages
       young people in careers education and skills development in a different way.
       Tapping into their love of football, sport and technology, young people will

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take part in fun, immersive activities to learn about potential careers and
       develop valuable work skills and aptitudes. The NU Futures Programme
       combines engagement, careers and skills activities delivered from a network
       of outreach centres (including schools, community and sport venues) at
       locations across the North of Tyne area, as well from the NU Futures Centre.

NU Futures is a powerful collaboration between NU Foundation, leading local
businesses, schools, and other high-quality education and training partners, such as
the Prince’s Trust, The Wise Group and local colleges. We want to encourage and
welcome NTCA and the local authorities to join our partnership, helping to position
the North of Tyne area as a UK leader and innovator in preparing young people for
the future world of work. Together, we will unlock the talents and potential of every
individual, equipping young people with the ambition, confidence, and skills needed
to thrive in the economy of the future.

To achieve a more dynamic economy, and to close the wealth and productivity gap
with other regions, the North of Tyne area needs to ensure that all its young people
can pursue successful careers in local growth industries. This will ensure that
businesses have the skilled and motivated workforce they need to grow and
generate wealth locally.

At the same time, to achieve an inclusive economy, and close the wealth gap
between the richest and poorest communities in the North of Tyne area, the region
must ensure that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are given the extra
support needed to overcome the barriers they face, boosting their confidence, and
aspiration and enabling them to compete in the labour market with other young
people. This will ensure that no-one is left behind and all young people have the
opportunity to share in the region’s growing prosperity.

NU Futures will deliver on both these objectives. It will provide an inspirational and
engaging programme with a core offer available to all young people aged 11 to 16,
and to all secondary and middle schools across the North of Tyne area. It will also
offer a programme of targeted support, focused on disadvantaged 11-to-16-year-olds
who are disengaged from education, as well as young people aged 16 to 25 who
face disadvantage and specific barriers to a fulfilling career.

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The grant requested from the NTCA Investment Fund will support the capital costs of
building the NU Futures Centre, as well as contributing to the initial revenue costs of
delivering the NU Futures programme of activity.

Every year, the NU Futures Project will engage 11,600 young people (aged 11-25)
from across the North of Tyne area, of which 5,800 will benefit from intensive careers
education and skills development, enhancing their knowledge of exciting careers in
the local economy and developing their skills for work.

820 young people pa will achieve a qualification, and the project will create 40 new
apprenticeship jobs each year for young people, plus a further 40 traineeships. It will
also support 400 disadvantaged 16-to-25-year-olds pa to develop skills for work, with
280 progressing into a job or further education. All of this will be achieved through a
partnership with 240 businesses and more than 50 schools across the North of Tyne
area.

Over the first 10 years of the project, 49 direct new jobs and 365 indirect new jobs
will be created. The new skills developed by young people, and the new jobs
created, will generate additional wealth in the North of Tyne economy, amounting to
£35.4m net additional GVA, in return for the £5.3m investment requested from
NTCA. The project will also deliver £17m pa in social return on investment by
improving the lives of young people.

                                                Supported as part of the North of
                                                Tyne Digital Pathfinders programme.
                                                https://www.digitalpathfinders.uk

Funded by:                Delivered by:

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