Public procurement notice: Modification Of A Contract/Concession During Its Term
Published: 2023-01-09
Buyer: The University of Edinburgh
Country: UK
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Restricted procedure
CPV classification: 48825000: Web servers | 72212200: Networking software programming services | 72212222 | 72415000: Website hosting services

Technical requirements: The University is planning to launch a new corporate University Web publishing service, by November 2021, to replace the current provision of a central University Website and its underlying monolithic Web Content Management (CMS), EdWeb. This procurement exercise will ensure that the following components and relevant activities of this service will be provided by an external supplier in full alignment with the University's strategies:
- A cloud-hosted website publishing platform with the ability to successfully sustain the current University Website and have the scale-ability, capacity and performance capability to extend in hosting the wider University web estate.
- A modular website, including its underlying CMS solution to replace the current one. This solution should be developed in alignment with user-centred practices and would be fit for purpose for the University's core use cases. Additionally, it should easily allow its continuous improvement by the University Website Service Team and integrate feedback or code contributions from the wider University website community.
- Migration of the current University website and its content to the Web Publishing Platform in it entirety, using the developed solution as appropriate.
- Close collaboration and knowledge sharing between the supplier and the central University's design, UX and development teams in required, to ensure decisions are made in partnership, support relevant skills development and enable the transition to a fully agile, continuous improvement model.
The University will accept bids from suppliers that intend to use subcontractors or otherwise relying on the capacities of other entities.
Under no circumstances will the University or any of its respective advisors be liable for any costs or expenses incurred by bidders and/or its respective advisors arising directly or indirectly from this procurement or termination thereof, including, without limitation, any changes or adjustments made to the procurement documentation, or the exclusion/disqualification of a bidder.
Please note the duration of the contract is based on an initial fixed term of 36 months with three further 12 month period of extension available to the buyer. This brings the total potential duration of the contract to 72 months.
This modification notice relates to a specific use case that is within the existing scope of the contract. Specifically, this includes the consolidation and transition of the various Degree Finders websites to the new web publishing platform that has been developed and provided by the appointed supplier, and follows the same specification and methodology as included under the originally appointed contract. This use case is anticipated to be completed within the original term including extensions of the originally awarded contract. This modification relates only to the overall value of the awarded contract, which has been increased by less than the 50% limit stated by the regulations.
The supplier has supported the buying organisation in transitioning numerous websites to a new web publishing platform that they provided under the original contract. This modification notice relates to a particular use case that is within the existing scope of the original contract. Specifically, this relates to the consolidation and transition of the various Degree Finders websites to the new web publishing platform that has been developed and provided by the appointed supplier, and follows the same specification and methodology as included under the originally appointed contract. However, the volume and poor state of the existing web pages together with increased staff turnover within the buyer organisation has necessitated more support from the appointed supplier to ensure the successful and timely completion of this use case.
In delivering the original contract the supplier built a unique experience of the existing legacy infrastructure and how to migrate to the new platform while mitigating the likely technical and operational risks that they have faced. Given this use case follows the exact same methodology of the current contract, together with the suppliers detailed knowledge of the web publishing platform they have provided, they are in a unique position to be able to deliver this use case efficiently. To appoint a new supplier would incur additional set-up and planning costs while the new supplier familiarised with the existing legacy technical and operational structure of the buyer, along with the new web publishing platform. In addition, the costs making up this use case are based on rates that were competitively tendered under the original appointment without any further indexation applied, and so are unlikely to be materially improved under competition.


Winner: Manifesto Digital Limited