Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 17 Sept 2026, 11:58 BST

Official UK procurement notice

003843 - Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) for Virtual Reality (VR) Headsets

Authority: Durham County Council (Local council)

GoodsBelow thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable
Published estimate £15,000≈ £15k / year · £18,000 inc. VAT
Tender notice expected Date not publishedfrom the planned procurement notice
Contract term 1 yrstarts 1 Feb 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The Council is inviting suppliers to participate in preliminary engagement to gain insight from the market with the purpose of making any potential future exercise, well framed, feasible, focused and of likely interest to the market.

Durham County Council (DCC) is looking to explore the market options for Virtual Reality (VR) headsets suitable for use in a range of care settings.

Scope

• Provision of standalone virtual reality headsets suitable for use in a range of care settings, including all required accessories and chargers

• The solution must provide immersive 360-degree experiences that can be delivered safely in seated, supervised one-to-one or small group sessions.

• Content should support reminiscence, relaxation, wellbeing, social interaction and meaningful activity primarily for older people, including people living with dementia and other adult service user groups as appropriate.

• The supplier should provide local content relevant to County Durham and the North East where available, with the option to develop or commission new experiences linked to local places, history, culture and service-user interests.

• Content should be refreshed regularly so the service has access to new experiences over time and can maintain interest for repeat users.

Read the full description (329 more characters)

• The specification should support both individual personalised use and planned group activity sessions within a range of care settings.

• The solution must be suitable for social staff to operate following training, with clear guidance on when VR may or may not be appropriate for an individual.

Written response questionnaires ca

CPV: Computer equipment and supplies · Multimedia equipment · Software package and information systems

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Lot 1Planned 1 yrSMEVCSE
Contract period: 1 Feb 2027 — 31 Jan 2028 (1 yr)Eligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligibleDelivery: North East
30200000 Computer equipment and supplies32322000 Multimedia equipment48000000 Software package and information systems

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Goods
Notice status
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Below threshold
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
No (one-off requirement)
First published
17 Sept 2026, 11:58 BST
Last source update
17 Sept 2026, 11:58 BST
Authority reference
OPEN20262071
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Computer equipment and suppliesMultimedia equipmentSoftware package and information systems
Delivery area
North East (UKC14)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-07743a

How it was run

Submission deadline

Timeline

3 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Planning notice published2 days ago
    17 Sept 2026, 11:58 BST
  2. Market engagementin 20 days
    10 Oct 2026, 00:59 BSTWritten response questionnaires can be accessed free of charge by registering on the Open Tendering Portal at www.open-uk.org The deadline for written submissions, via the Open Portal is Friday 9th October at 12 noon.
  3. Contract startsin 134 days
    1 Feb 2027, 00:00 GMT

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    17 Sept 2026, 11:58 BSTUK2

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Durham County Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PMPB-8772-VYWM Corten House, Dunholme Close, Durham, North East, DH1 5WB
View buyer profile →

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure