plannedFind a Tender · planning

Communication Channel System/RFI/PRO/2026

BuyerTHE OPEN UNIVERSITY

Statusplanned

DeadlineNot published

ValueValue not published

Published1 Apr 2026

What is being bought

Preliminary Market Engagement: Request for Information to gather information on the market, potential suppliers and solutions.

Lot details

Lot LOT-0001

No lot description published.

Statusplanned

Contract periodFrom 1 Aug 2028 to 31 Jul 2038

What is included

Item	Category	Quantity
LOT-0001	Software package and information systems, Communication and multimedia software package	Not published

Comparable-procurement analytics

Benchmarked against retained Find a Tender procedures with CPV division 48. The category anchor is Software package and information systems (48000000); this is a deliberately broad market comparator. The comparison is shown at several levels rather than pretending one company or region is always the best benchmark.

Comparison set	Procedures	Reported bids per procedure	Named award suppliers	Price evidence
Market: CPV division 48	6,837	1 median · 9.6 average (2,488 of 6,837 with a bid count)	1.8 average (2,928 of 6,837 with named award suppliers)	Not published
Same buyer	6	1 median · 1 average (1 of 6 with a bid count)	1 average (2 of 6 with named award suppliers)	Not published

“Reported bids” is an official aggregate, sometimes reported per lot; it is the closest available competition measure. “Named award suppliers” are winners, not all applicants.

Price-outcome signal

Not enough comparable procedures currently publish both a GBP tender value and a usable lowest-valid-bid value to calculate a responsible price-reduction benchmark. Tenderline deliberately does not infer a saving from named award suppliers or from missing award values.

Procurement strategy & market signals

Framework agreementNot published

Dynamic purchasing systemNot published

Competitive procurementNot published

Recurring requirementNot published

Procurement method rationaleNot published

Rationale classificationsNot published

Special regimeNot published

Covered byNot published

Submission policyNot published

Selection criteriaNot published

Risk detailsNot published

Planning & early market engagement

BudgetValue not published

No-engagement rationaleNot published

Planning documents1

Planning milestones1

Milestone	Type	Due	Status
Suppliers are invited to submit information to help the OU information on the market, potential suppliers and solutions. The RFI document pack is available via the OU In-Tend Procurement Portal https://in-tendhost.co.uk/openuniversity/aspx/Home	engagement	1 Apr 2026	scheduled

Related procurements

No linked framework, prior procurement or reprocurement published.

Documents & submission route

Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender planning · marketEngagementNotice

Source data inventory

Diagnostic view. “Not published” means this current release does not provide a value.

OCID	ocds-h6vhtk-051150
Latest release ID	030593-2026
Latest release timestamp	Wed Apr 01 2026 15:58:42 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Source	find-a-tender
Official notice URL	Not published
Tender status	planned
Procurement method	Not published
Procurement method details	Not published
Main procurement category	goods
Above threshold	Not published
Legal basis	2023/54
Tender period: start	Not published
Tender period: end	Not published
Expression of interest deadline	Not published
Enquiry deadline	Not published
Award period: start	Not published
Award period: end	Not published
Submission method details	Not published
Submission languages	Not published
Electronic catalogue policy	Not published
Total tender value	Not published
Tender lots in source	1
Tender items in source	1
Tender documents in source	0
Awards in latest release	0
Contracts in latest release	0
Parties in latest release	1

Notice history

Date	Event	Reference
1 Apr 2026	planning	030593-2026
12 May 2025	planning	020611-2025

All source data

Unmodified official OCDS data retained by Tenderline for this procurement process.

Complete current OCDS release JSON

{
  "id": "030593-2026",
  "tag": [
    "planning"
  ],
  "date": "2026-04-01T16:58:42+01:00",
  "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-051150",
  "buyer": {
    "id": "GB-CHC-RC000391",
    "name": "THE OPEN UNIVERSITY"
  },
  "tender": {
    "id": "OUPA11459",
    "lots": [
      {
        "id": "LOT-0001",
        "status": "planned",
        "hasRenewal": true,
        "contractPeriod": {
          "endDate": "2038-07-31T23:59:59+01:00",
          "startDate": "2028-08-01T00:00:00+01:00",
          "maxExtentDate": "2043-07-31T23:59:59+01:00"
        }
      }
    ],
    "items": [
      {
        "id": "LOT-0001",
        "relatedLot": "LOT-0001",
        "additionalClassifications": [
          {
            "id": "48000000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Software package and information systems"
          },
          {
            "id": "48500000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Communication and multimedia software package"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "title": "Communication Channel System/RFI/PRO/2026",
    "status": "planned",
    "legalBasis": {
      "id": "2023/54",
      "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents",
      "scheme": "UKPGA"
    },
    "description": "Preliminary Market Engagement: Request for Information to gather information on the market, potential suppliers and solutions.",
    "mainProcurementCategory": "goods"
  },
  "parties": [
    {
      "id": "GB-CHC-RC000391",
      "name": "THE OPEN UNIVERSITY",
      "roles": [
        "buyer"
      ],
      "address": {
        "region": "UKJ12",
        "country": "GB",
        "locality": "Milton Keynes",
        "postalCode": "MK7 6AA",
        "countryName": "United Kingdom",
        "streetAddress": "Walton Hall"
      },
      "details": {
        "classifications": [
          {
            "id": "publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment",
            "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE",
            "description": "Public authority - sub-central government"
          }
        ]
      },
      "identifier": {
        "id": "RC000391",
        "scheme": "GB-CHC"
      },
      "contactPoint": {
        "email": "finance-tenders@open.ac.uk"
      }
    }
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "planning": {
    "documents": [
      {
        "id": "030593-2026",
        "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/030593-2026",
        "format": "text/html",
        "noticeType": "UK2",
        "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
        "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
        "datePublished": "2026-04-01T16:58:42+01:00"
      }
    ],
    "milestones": [
      {
        "id": "engagement",
        "type": "engagement",
        "status": "scheduled",
        "dueDate": "2026-04-01T23:59:59+01:00",
        "description": "Suppliers are invited to submit information to help the OU information on the market, potential suppliers and solutions. \nThe RFI document pack is available via the OU In-Tend Procurement Portal \nhttps://in-tendhost.co.uk/openuniversity/aspx/Home"
      }
    ]
  },
  "initiationType": "tender"
}

Complete JSON history (2 releases)

1 Apr 2026 · 030593-2026 · planning

{
  "id": "030593-2026",
  "tag": [
    "planning"
  ],
  "date": "2026-04-01T16:58:42+01:00",
  "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-051150",
  "buyer": {
    "id": "GB-CHC-RC000391",
    "name": "THE OPEN UNIVERSITY"
  },
  "tender": {
    "id": "OUPA11459",
    "lots": [
      {
        "id": "LOT-0001",
        "status": "planned",
        "hasRenewal": true,
        "contractPeriod": {
          "endDate": "2038-07-31T23:59:59+01:00",
          "startDate": "2028-08-01T00:00:00+01:00",
          "maxExtentDate": "2043-07-31T23:59:59+01:00"
        }
      }
    ],
    "items": [
      {
        "id": "LOT-0001",
        "relatedLot": "LOT-0001",
        "additionalClassifications": [
          {
            "id": "48000000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Software package and information systems"
          },
          {
            "id": "48500000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Communication and multimedia software package"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "title": "Communication Channel System/RFI/PRO/2026",
    "status": "planned",
    "legalBasis": {
      "id": "2023/54",
      "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents",
      "scheme": "UKPGA"
    },
    "description": "Preliminary Market Engagement: Request for Information to gather information on the market, potential suppliers and solutions.",
    "mainProcurementCategory": "goods"
  },
  "parties": [
    {
      "id": "GB-CHC-RC000391",
      "name": "THE OPEN UNIVERSITY",
      "roles": [
        "buyer"
      ],
      "address": {
        "region": "UKJ12",
        "country": "GB",
        "locality": "Milton Keynes",
        "postalCode": "MK7 6AA",
        "countryName": "United Kingdom",
        "streetAddress": "Walton Hall"
      },
      "details": {
        "classifications": [
          {
            "id": "publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment",
            "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE",
            "description": "Public authority - sub-central government"
          }
        ]
      },
      "identifier": {
        "id": "RC000391",
        "scheme": "GB-CHC"
      },
      "contactPoint": {
        "email": "finance-tenders@open.ac.uk"
      }
    }
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "planning": {
    "documents": [
      {
        "id": "030593-2026",
        "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/030593-2026",
        "format": "text/html",
        "noticeType": "UK2",
        "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
        "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
        "datePublished": "2026-04-01T16:58:42+01:00"
      }
    ],
    "milestones": [
      {
        "id": "engagement",
        "type": "engagement",
        "status": "scheduled",
        "dueDate": "2026-04-01T23:59:59+01:00",
        "description": "Suppliers are invited to submit information to help the OU information on the market, potential suppliers and solutions. \nThe RFI document pack is available via the OU In-Tend Procurement Portal \nhttps://in-tendhost.co.uk/openuniversity/aspx/Home"
      }
    ]
  },
  "initiationType": "tender"
}

12 May 2025 · 020611-2025 · planning

{
  "id": "020611-2025",
  "tag": [
    "planning"
  ],
  "date": "2025-05-12T16:23:13+01:00",
  "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-051150",
  "buyer": {
    "id": "GB-CHC-RC000391",
    "name": "THE OPEN UNIVERSITY"
  },
  "tender": {
    "id": "OUPA11459",
    "lots": [
      {
        "id": "LOT-0001",
        "status": "planned",
        "contractPeriod": {
          "endDate": "2037-01-29T23:59:59+00:00",
          "startDate": "2027-01-30T00:00:00+00:00"
        }
      }
    ],
    "items": [
      {
        "id": "LOT-0001",
        "relatedLot": "LOT-0001",
        "additionalClassifications": [
          {
            "id": "48000000",
            "scheme": "CPV",
            "description": "Software package and information systems"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "title": "Contact System ",
    "value": {
      "currency": "GBP",
      "amountGross": 0
    },
    "status": "planned",
    "legalBasis": {
      "id": "2023/54",
      "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents",
      "scheme": "UKPGA"
    },
    "description": "Call Centre Contact System",
    "communication": {
      "futureNoticeDate": "2026-01-01T23:59:59+00:00"
    },
    "mainProcurementCategory": "goods"
  },
  "parties": [
    {
      "id": "GB-CHC-RC000391",
      "name": "THE OPEN UNIVERSITY",
      "roles": [
        "buyer"
      ],
      "address": {
        "region": "UKJ12",
        "country": "GB",
        "locality": "Milton Keynes",
        "postalCode": "MK7 6AA",
        "countryName": "United Kingdom",
        "streetAddress": "Walton Hall"
      },
      "details": {
        "classifications": [
          {
            "id": "publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment",
            "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE",
            "description": "Public authority - sub-central government"
          }
        ]
      },
      "identifier": {
        "id": "RC000391",
        "scheme": "GB-CHC"
      },
      "contactPoint": {
        "email": "finance-tenders@open.ac.uk"
      }
    }
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "planning": {
    "documents": [
      {
        "id": "020611-2025",
        "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/020611-2025",
        "format": "text/html",
        "noticeType": "UK1",
        "description": "Pipeline notice on Find a Tender",
        "documentType": "plannedProcurementNotice",
        "datePublished": "2025-05-12T16:23:13+01:00"
      }
    ]
  },
  "initiationType": "tender"
}