Official UK procurement notice
Exploring Innovative Models for Procuring Professional Services within the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE)
Authority: Northern Ireland Housing Executive (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionTHIS IS NOT A PROCUREMENT OR TENDER EXERCISE BY THE NORTHERN IRELAND HOUSING EXECUTIVE (NIHE).
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) is undertaking a preliminary market consultation exercise to gather supplier views on current procurement arrangements and alternative models for procuring professional services. The purpose of this engagement is to obtain market insight into innovative approaches that could enhance transparency, efficiency, value for money, supplier relationship management and service delivery outcomes.
This exercise forms part of a research project and dissertation entitled:
"Exploring Innovative Models for Procuring Professional Services within the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE): A Business Case for Transparency, Efficiency and Enhanced Supplier Management."
The research aims to explore market perspectives on existing procurement practices, identify examples of good practice, and examine alternative procurement and contractual models that may support improved outcomes for both NIHE and suppliers.
The information gathered through this questionnaire will be used for research purposes and may also help inform future business planning, strategic thinking and procurement considerations within NIHE. Responses will not be evaluated, scored or used as part of any current or future tender assessment process.
Participation in this consultation is entirely voluntary. Participation, or non-participation, will not advantage or disadvantage any organisation in any future procurement exercise. Likewise, the submission of information through this questionnaire does not create any obligation on NIHE to undertake a procurement exercise or enter into any contractual arrangement.
Respondents are encouraged to provide candid feedback and share views on current market practices, challenges, opportunities and innovative solutions. Any commercially sensitive information provided will be treated appropriately and will not be published in a manner that identifies individual organisations without consent.
For the avoidance of doubt, this exercise is being conducted solely for information gathering and research purposes and does not form part of a formal procurement process.
Further information including the questionnaire is available using the following link:
www.smartsurvey.co.uk/t/HESupplierSurvey/ ↗
There are no tender documents to be completed as part of this exercise other than the questionnaire.
CPV: Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Northern Ireland Housing Executive buys Architectural, construction, engineering (CPV 71), and who usually turns up
Northern Ireland Housing Executive’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Architectural, construction, engineering (CPV 71) →
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. The market figure counts awards delivered in Northern Ireland.
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 115 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.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.
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 bid12% / 21%
2–328% / 22%
4–644% / 34%
7+16% / 24%
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.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate46% / 47%
Within ±2%42% / 37%
Above estimate12% / 16%
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 71Estimate not published
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 71. The comparison uses that group.
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 92 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid21%
2–322%
4–634%
7+24%
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.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steffco Ltd trading as ResourceEarlier contract | T1691 - Provision of Print and Distribution of Streets Ahead Magazine for the Northern Ireland Housing Executivenotice published Oct 2024 | — | £111k | Matched as the earlier contract |
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- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 31 Jul 2026, 16:46 BST
- Last source update
- 31 Jul 2026, 16:46 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-072897- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06d942Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
31 Jul 2026 → 24 Aug 2026 · 3 dates- Planning notice published88 days ago31 Jul 2026, 16:46 BST
- Contract starts85 days ago3 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
- Market engagement63 days ago24 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
THIS IS NOT A PROCUREMENT OR TENDER EXERCISE BY THE NORTHERN IRELAND HOUSING EXECUTIVE (NIHE).
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) is undertaking a preliminary market consultation exercise to gather supplier views on current procurement arrangements and alternative models for procuring professional services. The purpose of this engagement is to obtain market insight into innovative approaches that could enhance transparency, efficiency, value for money, supplier relationship management and service delivery outcomes.
This exercise forms part of a research project and dissertation entitled:
"Exploring Innovative Models for Procuring Professional Services within the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE): A Business Case for Transparency, Efficiency and Enhanced Supplier Management."
The research aims to explore market perspectives on existing procurement practices, identify examples of good practice, and examine alternative procurement and contractual models that may support improved outcomes for both NIHE and suppliers.
The information gathered through this questionnaire will be used for research purposes and may also help inform future business planning, strategic thinking and procurement considerations within NIHE. Responses will not be evaluated, scored or used as part of any current or future tender assessment process.
Participation in this consultation is entirely voluntary. Participation, or non-participation, will not advantage or disadvantage any organisation in any future procurement exercise. Likewise, the submission of information through this questionnaire does not create any obligation on NIHE to undertake a procurement exercise or enter into any contractual arrangement.
Respondents are encouraged to provide candid feedback and share views on current market practices, challenges, opportunities and innovative solutions. Any commercially sensitive information provided will be treated appropriately and will not be published in a manner that identifies individual organisations without consent.
For the avoidance of doubt, this exercise is being conducted solely for information gathering and research purposes and does not form part of a formal procurement process.
Further information including the questionnaire is available using the following link:
www.smartsurvey.co.uk/t/HESupplierSurvey/ ↗
There are no tender documents to be completed as part of this exercise other than the questionnaire.
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published31 Jul 2026, 16:46 BSTUK2
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 (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender