Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 12 Nov 2025, 16:25 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

ID 5876374 - DFE – NWRC - NI FE Colleges – Provision, Development and Support of a Learner Management System and On-line Portal (PME)

Authority: North West Regional College (Central government)·On behalf of: CPD

ServicesBelow threshold
Planned pipeline valueValue not publishedpipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 2 Nov 2026from the planned procurement notice
Contract term 5 yrsends 31 Aug 2032 · up to 31 Aug 2037 with extensions · starts 1 Sept 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The Further Education Sector in Northern Ireland, comprising of 6 Regional Colleges, is currently preparing to initiate a procurement process to establish a contract with a Supplier for provision, development and Support of a Learner Management System and On-line Portal, as detailed in the Pre-Market Engagement documentation. The NI FE Colleges wish to engage with the market at this stage to; establish the level of market interest, understand the capacity of the market to deliver, understand any possible risks or issues that may not have been previously considered, gain insight to the market possibilities and potential innovative solutions, help define the requirements and to gather information that will be beneficial in the tendering process. Suitably qualified and experienced suppliers who may have an interest in this project are invited to complete the questionnaire that is available to registered suppliers via the documents area of the CfT on eTendersNI for this Pre-Market Engagement. In responding, you should understand that detailed and lengthy submissions are not necessary at this stage. However, we would welcome any pertinent information on your company’s capability and views on an approach to the provision of the required services. Any submission received in response to this exercise will not constitute a contractual agreement between the respondent and NWRC, NI FE Colleges. Interested parties shall bear their own costs of participation in this Market Engagement. NWRC, on behalf of the NI FE Colleges shall not be liable for the costs, expenses or losses howsoever arising (including, without limitation, any loss of profit or other economic loss incurred), regardless of the outcome of the Market Engagement. The next stage in the process will be considered once this exercise has been completed. **PLEASE NOTE: ALL COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRES MUST BE SUBMITTED VIA THE MESSAGING FUNCTION on eTendersNI, within this CFT, BEFORE 3pm ON 10 DECEMBER 2025**

PLEASE NOTE: The Pre-Market Engagement Questionnaire can be accessed in the Cft Documents area

CPV: Computer network services · Computer support and consultancy services · Computer-related services · Data services · Document management software development services · Document management software package · Document management system · IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support · IT software package · Software package and information systems · Software package suites · Software programming and consultancy services · +1 more

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published

Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published

How North West Regional College buys Document creation software package (CPV 4831), and who usually turns up

North West Regional College has little published record in this market. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Document creation software package (CPV 4831) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerNorth West Regional College · all categories
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: no supplier sizes published · market: CPV 4831 · UK-wide, n=17
—41%

No supplier sizes published for this authority.

How often do local suppliers win?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 1 of 2 known-location awards · market: CPV 4831 · UK-wide, n=10
1 of 250%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.

How long to a decision?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: no decision dates published · market: division 48 · Northern Ireland, n=5
—29 days

Half of these awards have an award date within 29 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
i

How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.

Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.

The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.

Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: exactly 2 of 2 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 4831 · UK-wide, n=25
2 of 280%

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyerToo few to chart: 1 lot with bid counts, 5 needed · all categories
The market379 lots with bid counts · division 48 · UK-wide
15% had one bid
Market · select a colour for counts
1 bid15%
Market: 58 of 379 lots with published bid counts.
2–331%
Market: 118 of 379 lots with published bid counts.
4–632%
Market: 120 of 379 lots with published bid counts.
7+22%
Market: 83 of 379 lots with published bid counts.

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyerToo few to chart: 1 lot with estimate and award, 5 needed · all categories
The market230 lots with estimate and award · division 48 · UK-wide
55% below estimate
Market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate55%
Market: 126 of 230 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%25%
Market: 57 of 230 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate20%
Market: 47 of 230 lots with an estimate and award.
2

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.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 722160 monthsEstimate not published

This lot is listed as CPV 7221. The table above uses the notice category.

Expected competition
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 55 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet27% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 55 similar lots
1 bid27%
15 of 55 similar past lots received 1 bid (27%).
2–338%
21 of 55 similar past lots received 2–3 (38%).
4–622%
12 of 55 similar past lots received 4–6 (22%).
7+13%
7 of 55 similar past lots received 7+ (13%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 3 bids.
Commercial price forecast
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.

—Estimate not published
The buyer published no estimate for this lot, so there is nothing to forecast against. A price prediction here would be a number about a number we do not have.

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.

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.

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
Below threshold
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
12 Nov 2025, 16:25 GMT
Last source update
12 Nov 2025, 16:25 GMT
Authority reference
ID 5876374
FTS notice number
2025/S 000-073303
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Computer network servicesComputer support and consultancy servicesComputer-related servicesData servicesDocument management software development servicesDocument management software packageDocument management systemIT services: consulting, software development, Internet and supportIT software packageSoftware package and information systems
+3 moreSoftware package suitesSoftware programming and consultancy services
Delivery area
Northern Ireland (UKN)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05dfe3 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

12 Nov 2025 → 1 Sept 2027 · 4 dates
  1. Planning notice published345 days ago
    12 Nov 2025, 16:25 GMT
  2. Market engagement317 days ago
    10 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT

    If you wish to participate in the Contracting Authority's Preliminary Market Engagement for this requirement, a questionnaire for completion is available via eTendersNI under ID 5876374.

    The questionnaire must be completed and submitted via eTendersNI by 3pm on the engagement deadline date detailed above.

    Details of additional participating bodies can be found detailed within the questionnaire document found within the CFT Documents area within eTendersNI.

  3. Today
    23 Oct 2026
  4. Tender notice expectedin 10 days
    2 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
  5. Contract startsin 312 days
    1 Sept 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    12 Nov 2025, 16:25 GMT
    UK2

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

3 public bodies on the notice

North West Regional College

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central governmentNorthern Irish devolved regulations apply GB-PPON: PRHT-9325-BBHZ Strand Road, Londonderry, Northern Ireland, BT48 7ALContact email

Other public bodies

  • CPDBeneficiary authority
  • CPD Supplies and Services DivisionProcess contact pointProcuring entityConstruction and Procurement Delivery – Supplies and Services Division, is a Centre of Procurement Expertise and provides a central procurement function for central government in Northern Ireland.GB-PPON: PVWG-8426-YWXV BELFAST, Northern IrelandContact email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure