ITT - Pride In Place Deliberative Engagement

The procurement contact named on the official notice.

Maidstone Borough Council (“the Council”) invites tenders from suitably qualified and experienced organisations to design and deliver an independent, high-quality deliberative community engagement for the Park Wood & Senacre Pride in Place Programme.

The Council is seeking a partner capable of designing and facilitating a robust, representative and independently delivered process through which residents can meaningfully shape the 10-year Pride in Place Plan for their neighbourhood.

The purpose of this procurement is not to undertake a traditional consultation exercise, but to establish a legitimate community mandate that will guide long-term governance and investment decisions.

Pride in Place is a flagship UK Government initiative providing £20 million of long-term investment over a ten-year period.

Unlike short-term grant programmes or transactional engagement approaches, Pride in Place is designed to transfer meaningful influence into the hands of residents and embed community-led governance at the centre of place-based change.

The programme represents a shift away from reactive interventions toward sustained, generational change.

It seeks to address structural drivers of local challenge through a decade-long investment strategy shaped, prioritised and stewarded by the community itself.

Achieving this requires a structured process through which residents are able to engage with balanced evidence, explore trade-offs, deliberate on competing priorities, and develop shared principles to inform strategic decision-making.

Central to this model is the establishment of a Neighbourhood Board - a community-led body comprising residents and local stakeholders.

The Board will act as steward of the programme and oversee delivery across three core pillars: • Building thriving places • Strengthening communities • Taking back control The deliberative engagement commissioned through this tender will form the foundational evidence base and community mandate upon which the Board’s 10-Year Pride in Place Plan and initial Investment Strategy will be developed.

This includes establishing a representative and legitimate community voice, articulating shared values and long-term priorities, and producing a clear and actionable roadmap capable of guiding the Neighbourhood Board as it assumes its governance role.