Credit: Scott Graham via Unsplash.
The Federal Government has released the tender for its Campaign Evaluation Services Arrangement, a four-year contract assessing all government communication campaigns over $500,000.
The move opens the door for research specialists, data analytics firms and evaluation agencies to compete for work held by Hall & Partners since 2018.
Finance wants the evaluator independent from campaign development and delivery.
Agencies awarded a contract under the Government Communications Campaign Arrangement, which handles campaign strategy, creative and delivery and is being finalised, become automatically ineligible for the evaluation contract.
Related companies and holding company members will also be scrutinised for conflicts of interest.
Hall & Partners secured both the 2018 and 2022 arrangements through limited tender processes under Commonwealth Procurement Rules exemptions, avoiding open competition.
The first deal generated 68 work orders worth $15.5 million between 2018 and 2022.
The second produced 49 contracts totalling $9.6 million, extended in January 2025 to align with the transition from the Government Communications Campaign Panel to the new Government Communications Campaign Arrangement in market.
Combined, the arrangements generated $25 million over eight years.
Finance notes this historical data should not be interpreted as indicative of future service requirements or expenditure levels.
The evaluation deal runs for four years from July 1, 2026, with potential extensions adding another four years.
Finance operates the Central Advertising System through its Master Media Agency, which handles advertising placement across campaign, non-campaign and complex non-campaign work.
The MMA arrangement started October 1, 2024.
The evaluation tender sits alongside these arrangements under Finance's Village Model.
Each campaign gets a dedicated village structured around thematic areas and comprises nine members delivering complementary services.
The evaluator sits across all six villages, working with campaign agencies, strategists, media planners and other specialists.
Finance describes it as an "integrated Village Member" expected to work with other members.
The successful tenderer must deliver services to multiple customers supporting multiple campaigns simultaneously.
The arrangement is mandatory for non-corporate Commonwealth entities procuring campaign evaluation for campaigns over $500,000, with exceptions including the Australian Electoral Commission.
The arrangement includes three service types: Arrangement Services provided to Finance as lead customer, Campaign Services offered to government entities for specific campaigns, and Contract Management Services supporting the head agreement administration.
Arrangement Services include developing a Campaign Evaluation Framework, Costing Model, Insights Database, Annual Insights Report, Learning and Insights Program, plus Transition-In and Transition-Out Plans.
Campaign Services are split into Initial Services and Evaluation Services.
Each campaign requiring evaluation triggers an order between the customer entity and the contractor under the head agreement.
Finance has also emphasised innovation, wanting the contractor to foster "a culture of learning and capability building that enhances the capability of Village Members and stakeholders and embraces emerging technologies and methodologies".
The contractor must also be able to scale resources up or down to accommodate changing requirements and unforeseen circumstances during campaigns.
They must respond to urgent or unexpected requests and high-risk, high-priority campaigns without compromising innovation, creativity, quality or timeframes.
The tender evaluation weighs technical criteria at different levels: capability to provide services (30%), demonstrated experience (25%), capacity to deliver (20%), innovation (15%), and contract transition management (10%).
Financial evaluation and non-technical risk assessment follow, leading to a value-for-money assessment.
The tender closes at 2pm AEDT November 26.
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