Provision of Short-Term Interviewer Capacity for ONS Surveys

About the Office for National Statistics (ONS)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the UK's largest independent producer of official statistics and the National Statistical Institute. We collect, analyse, and publish high‑quality data about the UK's economy, population, and society to support decision‑making across government, academia, and the private and voluntary sectors. ONS surveys-including flagship household and social surveys-play a critical role in providing robust evidence that informs public policy, resource allocation, and national understanding of social and
Introduction
ONS is exploring potential commercial options to meet a short‑term capacity requirement for experienced interviewers to support ongoing ONS survey operations. The requirement spans a 12‑month period and is expected to involve approximately 100 interviewers located across the UK (locations will be refined during further design and engagement).
The interviewer roles will include a mixture of:
- "Knock to Nudge" field engagement-encouraging selected households to participate in ONS surveys;
- Social Survey Interviewers-undertaking structured interviews to ONS standards.
ONS will provide survey‑specific training; however, to ensure quality and reduce attrition, we are seeking individuals with prior interviewing experience, ideally within large‑scale social or household surveys.
At this exploratory stage, ONS is interested in all potential delivery models, including but not limited to:
- Agencies or organisations supplying experienced interviewer staff
- Freelance or self‑employed interviewers
- Survey organisations with capacity to second field staff
- Consortia or hybrid models combining different sources of capacity
ONS may fulfil this requirement through one or multiple suppliers and welcomes innovative and scalable solutions that can be deployed rapidly.
Detailed Scope of Requirement
1. Workforce Requirement
Approx. 100 interviewers, subject to refinement...