The Listening Project was announced earlier this year as an official part of the Covid-19 inquiry, which will “examine the UK’s preparedness and response to the pandemic and draw lessons for the future”. A spokesman for the Covid-19 group Bereaved Families for Justice said the contract risked being “yet another example of those in power being able to mark their own homework”. But the contract for the project, estimated to be around £1m, will be awarded to just one of 12 companies on a pre-approved government list, many of which also took on work for the government during the pandemic. An industry veteran contacted by the Guardian called it a “ludicrous, farcical conflict of interest”. The Listening Project, which is due to launch in mid-November, was announced by research chair Heather Hallett and was designed to enable bereaved people to talk about the loss of loved ones, their grief and the impact on their mental state. health. It aims to inform research understanding of how the pandemic has affected people “in a less formal setting than a public hearing”. However, a significant number of the companies on the pre-approved list participated in key government communications campaigns. London-based agency MullenLowe was awarded a series of contracts by the Cabinet in August 2020 to deliver “Covid-19 awareness campaigns” – including creating the slogan “Hands, Face, Space” and later the heartwarming “ Look into my eyes,’ which asked people to reconsider their rule-breaking. In addition to MullenLowe, PR agencies Engine and 23red were also contracted to work on the Cabinet Office’s Covid-19 communications hub. This hub also developed hand hygiene communication, the ‘Stay at home’ slogan and subsequent ‘Stay alert’ messages, which drew widespread criticism. Another company on the list, Freuds, was awarded a contract to provide “strategic communications”, including “reputation management”, for the beleaguered Test and Trace coronavirus system – without a tender process. Accenture, the parent company of Accenture Song, another company on the list, has been awarded long-term contracts for software services and business support for Test and Trace. FCB Inferno won the contract for the Home Office campaign to encourage victims of domestic abuse to seek help during the lockdown restrictions. M&C Saatchi won a contract during the pandemic for Public Health England for the ‘Better Health’ campaign on adult obesity, which outlined the benefits of weight loss in healthier outcomes for Covid-19. Another company on the list, Unlimited and Pablo, was recently appointed by the Cabinet Office’s Government Communications Service as a standby service – effectively the ‘go-to’ service for the Cabinet Office, although it did not manage any of the major Covid-19 communication campaigns. The government is inviting companies to apply for the contract, not the other way around, and there is a chance the contract could be awarded to a company that was not involved in Covid-19 or NHS communications after the deadline this Friday. The new contract for the research project says the Listening Project will “also show the country that we are ‘listening’ to what the country wants to tell us, helping to maintain trust and confidence in the research and its findings”. It says it will have to “balance the need to ‘listen’ to as many people as possible while being proportionate in its delivery to ensure value for money for the taxpayer and research”. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The contract also states that whichever company undertakes the project will have to ensure that “there are high standards of ownership that do not impede the delivery of the legal processes of the research”. A spokesman for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice said: “This is incredibly disappointing. The fact that Lady Hallett is leaving grieving families out in the cold and having their stories collected by a third party is bad enough… The potential conflict of interest is as clear as day and looks like yet another example of those in power being allowed to highlight their own their work. “Hallett herself has acknowledged that for lessons to be learned from the investigation that will prevent the monumental scale of daily deaths we saw from ever happening again, the bereaved must be at the heart of it. “The inquiry must appear urgently and explain how they will implicate us. So far they have rejected our recommendations and told us next to nothing about their plans.” A spokesman for the inquiry said: “The UK’s Covid-19 inquiry is completely independent of government. “Listening exercise procurement is conducted using a Crown Commercial Service framework to ensure value for money for the taxpayer. The contract will be awarded in accordance with strict procurement and transparency regulations. “The research has robust procedures in place to address conflicts of interest. “A separate company will be acquired to analyze the data collected from the listening exercise. “The inquiry will investigate how the government communicated with the public – that is part of the inquiry’s terms of reference, which sets out the scope of the inquiry.” A Cabinet source said: “All bidders are required to declare any potential conflicts of interest as part of the standard due diligence required under procurement rules. “These will be investigated once the bidding process closes. The inquiry will make the final decision on which supplier to appoint.”
