Official UK procurement notice
ID 5449059 - Invest NI - Graduate to Export Development programme
Authority: Invest Northern Ireland (Central government)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionInvest NI’s Graduate to Export Development Programme (G2E Programme) launched in February 2019, and targets SMEs in Northern Ireland to help expand their business internationally with the assistance of a supported graduate. As part of the programme, participating companies will develop their international business capabilities, gained from having a dedicated market research resource and on completion of the graduate intervention, they will have an export development / market entry plan for their chosen market. The Programme, in turn, will provide graduates with a valuable opportunity to gain practical experience and business skills in international business development in addition to obtain academic qualifications. Invest NI is seeking to engage a Contractor for the development, delivery, and management of future G2E cohorts with an anticipated launch date of March/April 2025. The Contractor shall design and deliver a Post Graduate Diploma for participating graduates which will have a commercial focus and a meaningful accreditation focusing on global best practice in international business development. The Contractor shall also work with the participating companies to assist them develop / refine their market research projects and oversee their execution by the programme graduates. The completion of these projects by the graduates should be a prerequisite of academic accreditation. The G2E Programme will comprise of up to 3 cohorts of 201 graduates per cohort all of whom are employed by Invest NI client companies (primarily SME’s). It is anticipated that the contract will be for an initial period of 5 years with each cohort lasting 18 months. Invest NI reserve the option to extend the contract for a further period of 12 months. Each cohort is subject to budgetary approval and to satisfactory Contractor performance.
CPV: Adult-education services at university level · Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security · Education and training services · Market research services · Marketing services · Personal development training services · Specialist training services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£444,000
What 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).
Published sub-criteria (6)
- AC1 Executive Education Training - Design and Content: 24.75%
- AC2 Executive Education Training – Training Provider Experience: 15.75%
- AC3 Academic Supervisor Experience: 15%
- AC5 Implementation Plan: 9%
- AC6 Total Contract Price: 25%
- AC4 Social Value: 10.5%
Published award criteria (6)
- AC1 Executive Education Training - Design and Content: 24.75
- AC2 Executive Education Training – Training Provider Experience: 15.75
- AC3 Academic Supervisor Experience: 15
- AC4 Social Value: 10.5
- AC5 Implementation Plan: 9
- AC6 Total Contract Price: 25
- Price carries 25 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2.5 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes
- First published
- 22 Nov 2024, 17:33 GMT
- Last source update
- 10 Mar 2025, 13:01 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- 15 Jan 2025 – …
- Authority reference
5449059- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-008525- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-04be3bFind a Tender
- Review procedure
CPD will comply with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and, where.. appropriate, will incorporate a standstill period (i.e. a minimum of 10 calendar days) at the point information on the award of contract is. communicated to tenderers. That notification will provide full information on the award decision. This provides time for the unsuccessful. tenderers to challenge the award decision before the contract is entered into.
Publisher note: The successful contractor’s performance on the contract will be regularly monitored in line with the tender documentation. Contractors. not delivering on contract requirements is a serious matter. It means the public purse is not getting what it is paying for. If a contractor. fails to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance they will be given a specified time to improve. If, after the specified time, they still. fail to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance, the matter will be escalated to senior management in CPD for further action. If. this occurs and their performance still does not improve to satisfactory levels within the specified period, it may be regarded as an act of. grave professional misconduct and they may be issued with a Notice of Unsatisfactory Performance and the contract may be terminated.. The issue of a Notice of Unsatisfactory Performance can result in the Contractor being excluded from all procurement competitions being. undertaken by Centres of Procurement Expertise on behalf of bodies covered by the Northern Ireland Procurement Policy for a period of. three years from the date of issue.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 15 Jan 2025, 15:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- {"written"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Participation fee
- document
- Bids opened
- 15 Jan 2025, 15:30 GMT
Timeline
15 Jan 2025 → 15 Apr 2025 · 4 dates- Submission deadline15 Jan 2025, 15:00 GMT
- Bids opened15 Jan 2025, 15:30 GMT
- Notice published10 Mar 2025, 13:01 GMT
- Bids must remain valid until15 Apr 2025, 23:59 BST
Notice history
2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 10 Mar 2025- Status changed to complete10 Mar 2025, 13:01 GMT
- Buyer details updated10 Mar 2025, 13:01 GMT
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Ulster Business InstituteSMEContract | £381,200 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract · University of Ulster Business InstituteSME
- Signed
- 7 Mar 2025
- Value
- £381,200
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1bids · 1 electronic · 1 from abroad | 1 | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeDispute resolution & review bodies
- The UK does not have any special review body with responsibility for appeal/mediation procedures in public procurement competitions. Instead; any challenges are dealt with by the High Court, Commercial Division, to which proceedings may be issued regarding alleged breaches of the PCR2015 as amended.Mediation bodyReview body
- The UK does not have any such bodies with responsibility for appeal/mediation procedures. Instead; any challenges are dealt with by the High Court, Commercial Division, to which proceedings may be issued regarding alleged breaches of the PCR 2015 as amended.Review body
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- University of Ulster Business InstituteAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Technical selection criteria