Public procurement notice: Contract Notice
Published: 2018-02-06
Buyer: The Open University
Country: UK
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Competitive dialogue
CPV classification: 48000000 | 48440000 | 48450000 | 48490000 | 72212190
Estimated value: 35000000 GBP
Submission deadline: 2018-03-09
Award criteria: The most economic tender

Technical requirements: To preserve its place as one of the UK’s leading academic institutions, The Open University has embarked on a programme of Students First Transformation, which will lead the transition to a new operating model. One of the key enabling workstreams within Students First Transformation is the Digital Technologies workstream. The aims and objectives of this workstream are to drive forward the necessary organisational and technical changes to ensure that The Open University becomes a truly digital first organisation and enables the other workstreams of Students First Transformation to achieve their objectives by providing the underlying technical infrastructure and business ownership necessary to meet future demands. Through the Digital Technologies workstream, the University is specifically looking to procure a new integrated HR, Finance and Student Record System, together with the services to configure, integrate, implement and host this system, and ongoing support and maintenance.
The functional scope of the solution is to cover enterprise level finance (including procurement and optionally estates management) and HR. Student Records will need to cover the student journey from recruitment through to award/graduation, as well as managing the research and curriculum portfolio. Integration will be required to a number of core University information systems and third party software packages. Configuration and implementation will require close working with the University and their external partners, and will include support for the migration of data from current systems. Fully managed off-premise hosted or ‘Software as a Service’ solutions are required. Further information on high level requirements will be provided with the Selection Questionnaire. It is expected that there will be a phased transition over several years, although the detailed approach will be explored during dialogue.
Initial term of the contract will be 10 years with a right for the University to exercise a break clause (in whole or in part) to take effect at the end of contract years 5, 8 and 10. On expiry of the initial term, the term may be extended by a period of 5 years at the University's option. The contract will have a maximum term of 15 years.
The estimated total contract value is in the range of GBP 30 000 000 and GBP 40 000 000 (excluding VAT). This is an indicative figure calculated for the maximum term of the contract (15 years) and the actual figure will depend on a number of factors, including contract term and the pricing model adopted.
In order to respond to this Notice bidders will need to register and/or log on to https://in-tendhost.co.uk/openuniversity/aspx/Home
To express an interest select view tender details in the top right hand corner. Then click on express interest. When registering, bidders should only register their company once, although you can register multiple contacts. If you have any difficulty in uploading a response please contact the University via finance-tenders@open.ac.uk All communication regarding this opportunity must be conducted via the OU in-tend portal.
After registration bidders will be able to download a descriptive document (in the form of a draft Invitation to participate in dialogue) and selection questionnaire (SQ). The SQ response should be uploaded via the In-tend portal by 12:00 noon on 9.3.2018.
The University shall not be liable for any costs or expenses incurred by any candidate or tenderer in connection with the completion and return of the information requested in this contract notice, or in the completion or submission of any tender.
The University reserves the right to change without notice the procedure for awarding the contract, to reject all or any bids for the contract; to terminate discussions with any or all interested tenderers and /or to stop the process and not award a contract at any time without liability on its part. The University also reserves the right to award a contract for only part of the advertised scope. Tenders and all supporting documentation for the contract must be priced in sterling.


Award value: 35000000