Official UK procurement notice
BRCD Contracts for Innovation Challenge 1
Authority: Newry Mourne & Down District Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe tender opportunity will be published on Simply Do platform under the challenge titled: Predicting Demand. Managing Tomorrows Visitors, Today
“How can local authorities anticipate and manage visitor demand and movement across key destinations, while understanding the factors driving these changes, so they can proactively mitigate potential impacts before they become a problem.”
This challenge is focused on transforming how local authorities manage visitor destinations. Using Castlewellan Forest Park as a real-world test environment, the initiative addresses the growing pressures that large rural tourism destinations face from fluctuating visitor demand, which impacts local roads, parking, waste services, biodiversity, and infrastructure.
Historically, council management has relied on static measures and reactive interventions, such as annual visitor numbers or seasonal passes, which fail to provide real-time insights or predictive intelligence. The proposed project aims to transition local authority management from a fragmented, reactive approach to a connected, evidence-led, and predictive decision-making model.
- How the procedure runs: This procurement will follow a Competitive Flexible Procedure under the Procurement Act 2023 in multiple stages. The stages relating to the competition will be published and run by SIB via SIBs the Simply Do platform - see instructions under ‘Submission’ for registering on the Central Digital Platform and Simply Do platform prior to release of the tender. The tender process will be open to all suppliers and all tender documentation will be provided on the Simply Do Platform. The key stages will consist of: Stage 1: Invitation to Tender Stage 2: Development Phase Stage 3: Build Phase Optional stages & rights - Newry Mourne and Down District Council reserves the right to add an optional dialogue or negotiation stage within, or at the end of stage 3. Any use of a dialogue or negotiation stage will be followed by an additional final tender submission. If used, this stage will be described in the letter issued at the completion of Stage 3. The Council reserves the right under the Procurement Act 2023 to: - Cancel the procurement procedure at any stage. - Not to award a contract as a result of the procurement process. - Make any modifications during a competitive flexible procedure, provided that the deadline to participate or submit a first or only tender has not passed (section 31(1)(b)) - Make non substantial modifications, during a competitive flexible procedure, up to the deadline of the final tendering stage (section 31(2)(a)) - Refine or supplement the award criteria during a competitive flexible procedure (section 24(1)) - Re-run or re-start any stage of the competition at any time. - Directly award a contract at any stage during the competition if only a single supplier enters or meets the requirements. Engagement Process Description: Subject to the necessary approvals, it is the intention of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council to host an information session on the anticipated Contracts for Innovation (CFI) NMDDC Challenge 1 following its release in November 2026. The session is provisionally scheduled to take place online via MS Teams on 18th November starting at 11am lasting approximately 45 minutes. To register your interest in attending search for "Belfast Region City Deal – Contracts for Innovation" - https://belfastregioncitydeal.co.uk/projects/contracts-for-innovation-solving-challenges-across-the-belfast-region
CPV: IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support · Networks · Research and development services and related consultancy services · Sensors · Software package and information systems
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Open framework
- Framework period
- 4 yrs from 18 Dec 2026
Who may buy through it
Belfast City Council
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council
Ards and North Down Borough Council
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council
Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedWhat it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
- “BRCD Contracts for Innovation Challenge 1” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Newry Mourne & Down District Council buys Surveillance and security systems and devices (CPV 3512), and who usually turns up
Newry Mourne & Down District Council has little published record in this market. Compared with other frameworks and DPS only. Whole-market view: Surveillance and security systems and devices (CPV 3512) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 80 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid20% / 0%
2–30% / 25%
4–640% / 30%
7+40% / 45%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Not comparable on a framework or DPS: the price is set later, on each call-off.
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 3512Estimate not published
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 20 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid0%
2–325%
4–630%
7+45%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Belfast City Council Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Ards and North Down Borough Council Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council Mid and East Antrim Borough Council
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 27 Oct 2026, 15:11 GMT
- Last source update
- 27 Oct 2026, 15:11 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 18 Dec 2026
- Authority reference
Tender 65/2026- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-101655- Latest notice
- Planned procurement notice (UK3)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-079177Find a Tender
- How it runs
This procurement will follow a Competitive Flexible Procedure under the Procurement Act 2023 in multiple stages.
The stages relating to the competition will be published and run by SIB via SIBs the Simply Do platform - see instructions under ‘Submission’ for registering on the Central Digital Platform and Simply Do platform prior to release of the tender. The tender process will be open to all suppliers and all tender documentation will be provided on the Simply Do Platform.
The key stages will consist of:
Stage 1: Invitation to Tender
Stage 2: Development Phase
Stage 3: Build Phase
Optional stages & rights -
Newry Mourne and Down District Council reserves the right to add an optional dialogue or negotiation stage within, or at the end of stage 3. Any use of a dialogue or negotiation stage will be followed by an additional final tender submission. If used, this stage will be described in the letter issued at the completion of Stage 3.
The Council reserves the right under the Procurement Act 2023 to:
- Cancel the procurement procedure at any stage.
- Not to award a contract as a result of the procurement process.
- Make any modifications during a competitive flexible procedure, provided that the deadline to participate or submit a first or only tender has not passed (section 31(1)(b))
- Make non substantial modifications, during a competitive flexible procedure, up to the deadline of the final tendering stage (section 31(2)(a))
- Refine or supplement the award criteria during a competitive flexible procedure (section 24(1))
- Re-run or re-start any stage of the competition at any time.
- Directly award a contract at any stage during the competition if only a single supplier enters or meets the requirements.
Engagement Process Description:
Subject to the necessary approvals, it is the intention of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council to host an information session on the anticipated Contracts for Innovation (CFI) NMDDC Challenge 1 following its release in November 2026.
The session is provisionally scheduled to take place online via MS Teams on 18th November starting at 11am lasting approximately 45 minutes.
To register your interest in attending search for "Belfast Region City Deal – Contracts for Innovation" - belfastregioncitydeal.co.uk/projects/contracts-f… ↗
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 11 Dec 2026, 16:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Accepted languages
- en
Access to the opportunity is only provided through the Simply Do platform.
To access the tender opportunity when released, Suppliers need to set up an account on Simply Do platform.
To participate within the Competitive Flexible Procedure (CFP) suppliers will need to register and create an account on both platforms below:
- Central Digital Platform - www.sign-in.service.gov.uk/register ↗
- Simply Do Platform - www.simplydo.co.uk ↗
For transparency purposes, two suppliers have been involved in the pre procurement process to support the development of the challenge:
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council and Belfast City Council have engaged with PPL (UK) Ltd and the Strategic Investment Board to establish whether a solution currently exists in the market to inform the challenge brief outlined within the procurement description section of this notice.
Timeline
27 Oct 2026 → 18 Dec 2026 · 5 dates- Planning notice published6h ago27 Oct 2026, 15:11 GMT
- Today27 Oct 2026
- Tender notice expectedin 13 days9 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Admission / appointment period endsin 44 days · period end, not a bid countdown11 Dec 2026, 16:00 GMT
- Contract startsin 51 days18 Dec 2026
- Award decision expected byin 52 days18 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Planned procurement notice published27 Oct 2026, 15:11 GMTUK3
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specificationsAccess: Documents will be available to access on the Simply Do Platform
Notices published for this procedure
- Planned procurement notice Planned procurement notice on Find a Tender