Public procurement notice: Contract Notice
Published: 2025-12-23
Buyer: The Bytes Project
Country: UK
Region: LU000
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Open procedure
CPV classification: 72200000 | 72230000: Custom software development services | 72261000: Software support services | 72262000: Software development services
Estimated value: 170000 GBP
Submission deadline: 2026-01-26
Award criteria: price, quality
EU fund: eu-funds

Technical requirements: The procurement concerns the design, development, implementation and support of a digital platform to deliver the SEUPB-funded CyberQuest project across Northern Ireland and border counties. The platform will support participant management, data capture, reporting, career pathway planning and ongoing programme delivery.
The place of performance is Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
Any request for review must be submitted in accordance with the applicable procurement regulations and within the relevant statutory time limits.
Tenders must be submitted electronically via the buyer’s submission platform.
Design, development, implementation, and support of a secure, cloud-based digital platform for SEUPB CyberQuest Project, including data capture, KPI reporting, career planning tools, GDPR compliance, scalability, and 44-month support.
The contract is for the design, development, implementation, and support of an integrated digital platform to deliver the SEUPB-funded CyberQuest Project across Northern Ireland and the border counties of Cavan and Monaghan. The platform must:
Core Components
Data Capture and Impact Evaluation System
Real-time monitoring and evaluation capabilities.
Automated KPI tracking and SEUPB-ready reporting.
Geographic and demographic analytics, cross-border activity tracking.
Secure data storage with 7-year retention and export capability (CSV, PDF, JSON).
Career Planning and Workforce Management Platform
Skills portfolio for 2,000 WP1 participants.
Digital wallet for 200 WP2 participants for secure credential storage.
Career pathway planning, job matching, and employer integration.
Technical Requirements
Cloud-based infrastructure (AWS/Azure/Google Cloud) with UK/EU data residency.
99.9% uptime guarantee; page load time <2 seconds for 95% of requests.
Scalability to support 500–1,000 concurrent users and future growth.
Full compliance with UK & EU GDPR and Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act.
Security standards: Cyber Essentials Plus (minimum), ISO 27001 preferred.
End-to-end encryption (AES-256), MFA, SSO, tamper-proof audit logs.
Programme Delivery
Support for Work Package 1 (2,000 participants) and Work Package 2 (200 participants).
Integration with SEUPB reporting systems and partner platforms.
Mobile-first design with WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility compliance.
Gamification features (badges, progress bars) to drive engagement.
Implementation Timeline
Phase 1: Platform development (Months 1–2).
Phase 2: Integration and testing (Months 3–4).
Phase 3: User acceptance and training (Month 3–4).
Phase 4: Deployment and go-live (Month 4).
Phase 5: Ongoing support and enhancement (Months 5–32 + 12-month sustainability).
Support & Maintenance
Business hours support (08:00–18:00 UK time) and 24/7 emergency support for critical issues.
SLA commitments: Critical issues resolved within 4 hours; security patches applied within 48 hours.
Quarterly updates and penetration testing.
End-of-Contract Obligations
Complete data export in multiple formats.
Secure deletion and certification within 60 days post-handover.
Transfer of digital wallets and skills portfolios to client.
Clarification period closes 10 days following publication date.


Winner: Publications Office of the European Union