Official UK procurement notice
ID 6723703 - DOF - EDD - NICS Identity Assurance (NIDA) Solution
Authority: CPD - Supplies and Services Division (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionDepartment of Finance (DoF) have a requirement for the support, maintenance and development of the existing Identity Assurance (NIDA) application, and associated Digital Identity Verification services. The contract will be for a service transition and implementation period of up to 3 months, followed by an initial period of 3 years from service commencement, with two further options to extend by up to 1 year each. Suppliers should refer to the Specification Schedule for full detail on the requirements of this contract.
- Not divided into lots: To reduce contract management overheads and facilitate a collaborative partnership between supplying parties
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 2 Sept 2031, 23:59 BST.
- No preliminary market engagement: A UK2 was published 25 June 2026, Notice identifier: 2026/S 000-059757, Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-06bce2. A Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) exercise was published 25th June 2026 on European Dynamics - Welcome to eTendersNI (ID 6548189), and an accompanying UK2 published on Find a Tender (Notice identifier: 2026/S 000-059757). The deadline for Supplier responses was 27th July 2026. Further meetings were held virtually between 1st September 2026 and 4th September 2026. The PME process has provided valuable insights into Supplier capabilities and preferences to deliver what have previously been separately contracted elements of this contract; Digital Identity Verification checks and the support, maintenance and development of NIDA application.
CPV: Computer network services · Data security software development services · File security software development services · IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support · Information technology services · Software package and information systems
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£5,500,000
- Technical & professional ability
CoP1 - Tenderers must hold a valid Cyber Essentials Plus Certification (or equivalent) at the time of Award.
CoP2 - Tenderers must hold a valid ISO/IEC27001:2022 Certification (or equivalent) at the time of Award.
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 (7)
- AC1 - Digital Verification: 21%
- AC2 - Continuous Evolution and Development of NIDA: 14%
- AC3 - Key Personnel/Technical Service Roles: 10.5%
- AC4 - Service Management: 10.5%
- AC5 - Service Transition and Implementation: 3.5%
- AC8 - Total Contract Price: 30%
- AC7 - Social Value: 10.5%
Published award criteria (7)
- AC1 - Digital Verification: As per tender documentation
- AC2 - Continuous Evolution and Development of NIDA: As per tender documentation
- AC3 - Key Personnel/Technical Service Roles: As per tender documentation
- AC7 - Social Value: As per tender documentation
- AC8 - Total Contract Price: As per tender documentation
- AC4 - Service Management: As per tender documentation
- AC5 - Service Transition and Implementation: As per tender documentation
- Technical & professional ability
CoP1 - Tenderers must hold a valid Cyber Essentials Plus Certification (or equivalent) at the time of Award.
CoP2 - Tenderers must hold a valid ISO/IEC27001:2022 Certification (or equivalent) at the time of Award.
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £3,394,033 (twice the annual value).
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula. Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How CPD - Supplies and Services Division buys Programming services of packaged software products (CPV 7221), and who usually turns up
CPD - Supplies and Services Division’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: Programming services of packaged software products (CPV 7221) →
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 15 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.
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 bid51% / 17%
2–343% / 17%
4–66% / 33%
7+0% / 33%
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 estimate20% / 47%
Within ±2%80% / 33%
Above estimate0% / 19%
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 72Published estimate£5.5m
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 72. 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.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid15%
2–363%
4–69%
7+13%
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.
Based on 5 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£5.4m–£5.5m
Estimate£5.5m
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loud Mouth Media LTDWorked for this buyer | ID 4090650 - DoF - Search Engine Advertising for the NI Direct Websitenotice published Oct 2022 | — | — | Similar wording and category |
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.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| £1.0m1 awards in 36m · last 31 months ago | None on file | no comparable pairs | |
| £400k1 awards in 36m · last 32 months ago | None on file | 12% below n=1 | |
CIVICA UK LIMITEDLarge | £47m158 awards in 36m · last this month | 63 live · £163m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 7% below n=19 |
AXIS12 LTDSME | £2.1m2 awards in 36m · last 9 months ago | None on file | at estimate n=1 |
| £8.2m1 awards in 36m · last 17 months ago | None on file | at estimate n=1 |
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
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 2 Sept 2031
- First published
- 23 Oct 2026, 15:51 BST
- Last source update
- 23 Oct 2026, 15:51 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 4 Dec 2026
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-100677- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078f73Find a Tender- Contract terms summary
For further details on invoicing procedures please see : www.finance-ni.gov.uk/ar ↗ ticles/account-ni-good-invoicing-practice.
Contract Value: The estimated value figure indicated in the Scope Section represents an overall estimated contract value. This value reflects the potential scale of the contract and takes into account potential optional extension periods and the uptake of potential optional services as detailed in the tender documents. This figure does not however take into account the application of indexation or increases to charges due to increases in the Real Living Wage. Neither CPD nor the contracting Authority can provide any guarantee as to the level of business under this contract. The Contracting Authority does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any tender. Suppliers remain responsible for all costs and expenses incurred by them or by any third party acting under instructions from the Supplier in connection with taking part in this procurement process regardless of whether such costs arise as a consequence, directly or indirectly of any amendments made to the procurement documents by the Contracting Authority at any time. No legally binding contract shall arise (and a Supplier shall have no legitimate expectation that a contract will be entered into) until such time as entry into the Contract has been confirmed by the Contracting Authority.
- Risks
The Contracting Authority has identified the following risks as risks that satisfy the criteria of Schedule 8 sub-paragraph (6)(a) of the Procurement Act 2023 i.e. that the risk/s could jeopardise the satisfactory performance of the contract but, because of its/their nature, cannot be addressed in the contract as awarded:
i) consumption/usage may increase or decrease due to unforseen circumstances
ii) the direction of Digital ID in government and thus implications on NIDA service.
The Contracting Authority has concluded that there is a possibility that the contract may have to be modified as a result of a materialisation of the known risk/s at a later date in accordance with Schedule 8 paragraph 5 of the Procurement Act 2023.
Exclusions: If at any time during the procurement, or post award, it comes to the attention of the Contracting Authority (CA) or CPD, by whatever means, that a Supplier has become ‘excluded’ or ‘excludable’ as per Sec 57 of the PA 2023, the CA, after compliance with its obligations under the PA 23, reserves the right to exclude said Supplier from the procurement procedure or terminate any contract they have been awarded.
The Contracting Authority expressly reserves the rights:
(I). not to award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by publication of this notice;
(II). to make whatever changes it may see fit to the content and structure of the tendering Competition;
(III). to award (a) contract(s) in respect of any part(s) of the [services] covered by this notice; and
(IV). to award contract(s) in stages,
and in no circumstances will the Authority be liable for any costs incurred by candidates.
This project will be used to progress the Government’s wider social, economic and environmental objectives.
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via eTendersNI- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 20 Nov 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 11 Nov 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Tenders must be submitted electronically via the relevant Call for Tender (CfT) opportunity on eTendersNI, website details immediately below.
Paper submissions will not be accepted or considered and will be rejected by the Contracting Authority.
The tender documents are available with unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at: URL etendersni.gov.uk/epps ↗
Timeline
23 Oct 2026 → 4 Jan 2027 · 5 dates- Tender notice published1 day ago23 Oct 2026, 15:51 BST
- Today24 Oct 2026
- Clarification questions byin 18 days11 Nov 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 27 days20 Nov 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 42 days4 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 72 days4 Jan 2027
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published23 Oct 2026, 15:51 BSTUK4
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- 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
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender