The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Diversity & Inclusion in STEM is looking for a data consultant or agency to undertake mapping work of STEM skills in the UK.

The Request for Proposals (RfP) closes at 9.00am on Monday 30 May 2022. 

Download the Request for Proposals document (PDF). 

About the APPG 

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Diversity and Inclusion in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) was established in 2018 and aims to promote the inclusion and progression of people from minoritised backgrounds in STEM, and to encourage Government, parliamentarians, academics, businesses and other stakeholders to work towards a STEM sector that is representative of the UK population. We also want to consider and influence changes in policy that will lead to this outcome. 

The British Science Association (BSA) acts as Secretariat to the Group. The Group is made up of Members of Parliament and Lords and is a focus for collaboration with businesses and other organisations in the STEM sector.  

2022 Project: Regional STEM skills inequity

The APPG has announced its project focus for 2022 as ‘regional STEM skills inequity’. As part of this, the Group would like to commission data mapping of STEM skills inequity in the UK. This data analysis, carried out on a constituency level, will help to understand how skills provision varies across the UK and intersects with regional inequity. It will identify the place-based barriers to STEM and examine links between minoritised communities and STEM access.

The APPG's 2021 inquiry into the STEM workforce found that the STEM sector is not representative of the UK population. In 2019, 65% of the workforce were White men, and women, disabled people and racially minoritised people were more likely to be excluded from the sector in general. This exclusion increased for people with intersectional identities. This new focus will examine how these minoritised groups across the UK access skills provision and the role they play in the STEM skills landscape.

The project will develop a set of indicators and an index or map for STEM skills and inequity across the UK, using publicly available data sets. This work will be as intersectional as possible, combining skills data with demographic identity data.

The mapping will identify constituencies in the UK which rank high and low in terms of STEM skills provision. The definition of this provision will include indicators based on education (compulsory through further/higher education and apprenticeships), retraining and returners to work, job availability and industry opportunity, R&D investment and Government funding for STEM activities.

We would like to include measures of wider societal inequity such as population density and levels of Government and council funding for each constituency, as well as intersectional demographic population analysis (where possible), to shed more light on the barriers minoritised communities face. In this way the project will seek to identify links between provision and region in the UK. It will identify specific barriers and highlight key areas with untapped potential to contribute to the UK ‘science superpower’ status, and that would benefit from levelling-up.

Other potential areas for analysis include industry-specific mapping and cost/benefit analysis in terms of economic contribution of locations to national targets (for example R&D).

See page 8 of our 2020 data analysis for our definition of STEM.

Recent examples of potentially similar/relevant work include:

• The BSA’s/London Economics STEM engagement mapping project. This may be useful to build upon as the BSA recently conducted this work and has access to all data/methodologies.
• The Local Government Association: Mapping national employment and skills provision
• Bloomberg's Levelling Up analysis. This looks at inequity on a constituency level; the methodology may be of use.

What we need  

We are looking to create an index or map of STEM skills provision in the UK (ideally at a constituency level for all nations and regions, but this is dependent on the availability of consistent data), that intersects with socio-economic status and disadvantage. This is likely to be a composition of a number of datasets with appropriate weightings.  

We want the data included in the index or indicators to be:

• Mappable at a local level (Constituency preferred)
• Repeatable over space and time
• Consistent over space and time
• Contemporaneous and relevant
• Showing variation, range, or deviation between areas (e.g. not all areas are roughly equal)

We envisage data that the index or indicators might include data such as:

• The Education, Skills, and Training (EST) domain of the Indices of Multiple Deprivation
• Labour market statistics (NOMIS – proportion of adults by highest level of qualification, Labour Force Survey or Annual Population Survey)
• STEM GCSE (Double route vs Triple route) and A-Level data
• Schools funding and attainment data, National Pupil Database
• Business register (jobs in STEM industries, VAT-based business units)
• Locations of health assets (NHS trusts, research hospitals)
• Locations of higher education institutions, and area demographics
• HESA Students / subjects
• Apprenticeship starts based on sector, at all levels
• Geographic R&D investment, proliferation of spin-outs
• Availability of government schemes such the national retraining scheme and national careers service

These suggestions are a starter for ten, and we are aware that what we envisage will likely differ from what is possible, under the constraints of data availability.

We are looking for a data analyst/quantitative research agency or consultant(s) with:

• A track record of gathering public data sets to inform research and producing analysis reports;
• A solid knowledge of the landscape of social and economic data in the UK (awareness of STEM and skills is beneficial but not essential);
• Confidence in advising which data sets would work best for our needs;
• Access to data sets that would work best for our needs (including any paid or subscription services);
• Ability to meaningfully analyse, compile, and visualise data (including access to geospatial mapping software or tools);
• Experience of building knowledge quickly.

We need an agency or consultant(s) who can thoroughly scan the available data and suggest how it can build a UK picture of STEM skills. We will provide guidance on specific themes to focus on but would also like the chosen candidate to cast the net wide with their data collection and analysis.

We would appreciate any additional suggestions for other research to include and will work with the chosen supplier to finalise the scope of the work. We will provide guidance and a suggested research template for the chosen agency or consultant(s).

Outputs

The agency or consultant(s) will produce a   UK map, index, or set of indicators for STEM skills, including likely “hotspots and coldspots”. They should also provide clear methodology behind the index, and reference all data included in it. We intend to publish all outputs including underlying data.

We suggest that the work is split into two stages:

• A list of indicators, methodology for an index, and data tables
• Visualisation of the index/indicators and short report showing key trends

We would welcome any comments you may have on the suggested format of the outputs, based on your assessment of the available data.

This work will be done remotely and the chosen agency or consultant(s) should be available for video call briefings and updates throughout the work.

Your proposal

Please include the following information in your response:

• A biography(s) or CV;
• A short summary of your approach (up to 800 words);
• Your track record (a summary of your relevant experience);
• Names of one or more previous clients & a brief description of your work for them;
• Budget breakdown (including whether you will charge VAT) and your ability to deliver this project during autumn 2021 – winter 2022. We recommend providing a day rate and the number of days you think this research will take.
• An up-to-date Diversity and Inclusion Policy (for organisations only).

Timeline

Request for proposals issued	13 May 2022
Deadline for submissions	30 May 2022
Submissions reviewed and invites to interview issued	30-31 May 2022
Interviews conducted	w/c 13 June 2022
Contract offered	w/c 13 June 2022

How to apply

Please submit your proposal by 9.00am, Monday 30 May 2022 to Abigail Hilditch, Policy Partnerships Manager, BSA: [email protected].

Any enquiries in relation to this invitation to RfP can contact Abigail Hilditch via email to organise a call or meeting.

Please note that any responses given may be circulated to other potential bidders. If you require this information in a different format for accessibility reasons, please contact Abigail Hilditch.