SC230074 Design and Pilot of Antenatal/Postnatal offer for Men

KCC is looking for a suitable organisation to carry out engagement, co-creation and piloting activities to inform development of a model of support for expectant and new dads/partners.

This project is part of wider planned activities to support expectant / new mums and families in relation to peri-natal mental health and parent infant relationships; however this project will specifically focus on developing a model of support for dads/ partners who identify as male.

The requirement will include:

1. Engagement activities to identify the key concerns of expectant and new dads / partners and what kinds of support (including content, delivery method, frequency etc) they would find useful. This will include capturing views from expectant fathers, new fathers, partners and key workforce groups including Health Visitors and maternity staff and producing an interim report with recommendations for agreement with KCC, prior to commencement of points 2 and 3 below.

2. Co-creating an antenatal and/or postnatal support offer for new dads / partners that responds to the findings from the engagement activity above. This will involve working with new and expectant dads / partners, health visitors, maternity colleagues and other partners. Involvement should be continued with those who have contributed to engagement activities wherever possible.

3. Scoping and conducting a small pilot of an antenatal and/or postnatal support offer for new dads / partners, based on the learning from points 1 and 2, to be agreed in advance with KCC. The findings of this will need to be detailed in a learning report at the end of the project with recommendations for agreement with KCC.
We would like to ensure the diversity of participants and to identify and engage new dads and partners across Kent, with particular focus on the target groups below, whose voices may be less often heard:
• Non-biological dads/partners / foster dads/partners / adoptive dads/partners.
• Young men
• Dads/ partners from different ethnic minorities
• Dads/ partners living in deprived areas / those in debt / those unemployed
• Dads/ partners with existing mental health difficulties / dads/partners in relationship with mother who has mental health difficulties.

It is KCC’s intention to award the contract for a period of approximately 10 months, to begin in early June 2023 and end on 31/03/2024.

The procurement process is being run as a Request for Quotation (RFQ) process and full details are set out in the Request for Quotation document. Please visit www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk to see full details.

Tenderers are asked to return their responses as detailed in this document by 12.00 (midday) on Wednesday 24th May 2023.

All clarification questions must be submitted by 12.00 midday on Wednesday 17th May 2023.