Tenders

Invitation to tender: GOC’s qualitative research into reforming its system of
business regulation

We are seeking a market research agency to conduct online focus groups with members of the public to help inform a project we are carrying out into reforming our system of optical business regulation. It is important that we hear from members of the public on the policy changes we intend to make.

We have an approved budget of up to £20,000 including VAT and all other contractor costs. Proposals over £20,000 will not be considered. We also have a budget of £5,000 including VAT available for some omnibus questions that we may do as follow up (please refer to paragraphs 20 and 21 for more information).

The deadline for tenders is 5pm 6 November, with a view to delivering the final report by the 14 March 2025.

Find out more in our full Invitation to tender: GOC’s qualitative research into reforming its system of business regulation

Invitation to tender: qualitative research into the lived experience of patients and GOC registrant optometrists and dispensing opticians

We are seeking a market research agency to conduct qualitative research into the lived experiences of particular patient and GOC registrant groups and the difficulties they face in accessing, using, or delivering eye care.

• Patients: GOC research suggests that some patient groups (such as those with a disability, ethnic minorities and those experiencing difficult life circumstances such as financial or personal difficulties) report greater difficulties in accessing and using eye care services.
• GOC registrants: GOC research suggests that particular groups of optometrists and dispensing opticians (such as those with a disability, females and ethnic minorities) are more likely to experience challenging working conditions which can impact on their ability to deliver safe patient care.

The aim of this qualitative research is to build on the annual tracking (quantitative) research we currently carry out with patients and members of the public and GOC registrants. We want to delve more deeply into the ‘lived experiences’ of these groups, to provide us with greater insight and understanding.

As a regulator we are committed to improving the experiences of all patient groups by creating fairer and more inclusive eye care services. We are also committed to tackling negative working environments for our registrants as this not only impacts on their health and wellbeing but also on their ability to deliver safe patient care. These commitments are key objectives outlined in our draft corporate strategy 2025-30.

We would like the research to be carried out as two distinct projects (i.e. patients and GOC registrants) with two separate outputs (reports).

We have an approved budget of up to £70,000 including VAT and all other contractor costs. Proposals over £70,000 will not be considered. The deadline for tenders is 5pm 29 October, with a view to delivering the final report by the end of March 2025.

Find out more in our full Invitation to tender: GOC’s qualitative research into the lived experience of patients and GOC registrant optometrists and dispensing opticians.