Official UK procurement notice
Procurement for the Centre for Advancing Practice ePortfolio (Supported Route)
Authority: NHS England (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe commissioning of Process Outsourcing Services for the Centre for Advancing Practice ePortfolio (Supported) Route. The Centre for Advancing Practice is commissioning external support to ensure the continued delivery, quality, and scalability of its national recognition and quality assurance functions for advanced practitioners. Increasing demand, alongside internal workforce constraints, requires a supplier to provide additional operational, academic, and technical capacity across three core areas:
- The ePortfolio (Supported) Route
- Reviewer and expert infrastructure
- Implementation and ongoing management of digital badges
CPV: Adult and other education services · Education and training services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£900,000
- Economic & financial standing
As details in the ITT documents
- Technical & professional ability
As details in the ITT documents
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 (2)
- Commercial: 30%
- Technical/Quality Including Sustainability and Social Value: 70%
Published award criteria (2)
- Technical/Quality Including Sustainability and Social Value: Technical/Quality, Including Sustainability and Social Value
- Commercial
- Economic & financial standing
As details in the ITT documents
- Technical & professional ability
As details in the ITT documents
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 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- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- 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
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 14 Apr 2026, 15:45 BST
- Last source update
- 29 Jun 2026, 14:18 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 15 Jun 2026
- Authority reference
C443417- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-040215- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-068240Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 26 May 2026, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 18 May 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Interested suppliers must submit a completed Bid Response Document via the Atamis e-Tendering Portal: health-family.force.com/login ↗
Please note:
- Expressions of interest and bid submissions will not be accepted by any other means.
- All documentation and supporting information are available via the e-tendering portal.
- Bidders must respond to all questions in the bid documentation.
Timeline
14 Apr 2026 → 3 Jul 2026 · 9 dates- Planning notice published185 days ago14 Apr 2026, 15:45 BST
- Market engagement175 days ago24 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
NHS England is hosting a Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) event for prospective providers interested in delivering process outsourcing services for the Centre for Advancing Practice ePortfolio (Supported) Route.
The event will provide:
- An overview of the proposed service model
- NHS England’s requirements and desired outcomes
- An outline of the anticipated procurement approach and timescales
- An opportunity for participants to provide feedback on NHS England’s assumptions and intended outcomes.
Event Details
- Date: Thursday 23 April 2026
- Time: 10:00am – 11:00am
- Format: Virtual (Microsoft Teams)
Registration and Participation
This is a free and open event available to all prospective service providers.
Organisations wishing to attend must register via the following events.teams.microsoft.com/event/52720a23-d190-… ↗ . Full joining details will be issued to registered attendees only.
- Registration deadline: Wednesday 22 April 2026
Each organisation may nominate up to two attendees.
When registering, please include:
- Names and job titles of attendees
- A brief summary of your organisation’s technical capability
- Relevant experience in delivering analogous outsourced services (e.g. professional education services, portfolio assessment, digital platforms, quality assurance, or credentialing services)
Request for Information (RFI)
As part of this market engagement, interested suppliers are also required to complete the attached Request for Information (RFI) and submit it via the portal by:
- Friday 24 April 2026
The proposed contract duration is three years (an initial two‑year term with the option to extend for one year). The contract value is up to £900,000 (exclusive of VAT) over the full term. Anticipated service commencement: July 2026.
This market engagement is conducted solely to inform NHS England’s decision making process and does not commit NHS England to proceeding with a procurement. Should NHS England decide to proceed, a separate Contract Notice will be published.
Participation in this PME is not mandatory to participate in any future procurement, and organisations that do not engage at this stage will not be disadvantaged.
- Tender notice published169 days ago30 Apr 2026, 20:36 BST
- Next notice expected168 days ago1 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Clarification questions by151 days ago18 May 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission deadline143 days ago26 May 2026, 12:00 BST
- Award decision expected by123 days ago15 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Latest notice published109 days ago29 Jun 2026, 14:18 BST
- Contract starts106 days ago3 Jul 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
9 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 14 Apr 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published14 Apr 2026, 15:45 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published15 Apr 2026, 09:20 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published17 Apr 2026, 09:21 BSTUK2
- Tender notice published30 Apr 2026, 20:36 BSTUK4
- Status changed to active30 Apr 2026, 20:36 BST
- Procurement method changed30 Apr 2026, 20:36 BST
- Deadline published: 26 May 2026, 12:00 BST30 Apr 2026, 20:36 BST
- Contract details notice published29 Jun 2026, 14:18 BSTUK7
- Status changed to complete29 Jun 2026, 14:18 BST
Published amendments (2)
Each organisation may nominate up to two attendees. If the system does not allow simultaneous registration for multiple participants, each attendee should register individually. Attendees may join the session together. It is recommended that those most likely to be involved in any potential tender attend. Request for Information (RFI) As part of this market engagement, interested suppliers are als…
Extended the closing deadline to 24/04/2026
Routine re-releases (5)
- 2026-04: 2 releases · 14 Apr 2026, 15 Apr 2026
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Financial Management AssociationSMEVCSE | — | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Procurement of Process Outsourcing Services for the Centre for Advancing Practice ePortfolio (Supported) Route · Healthcare Financial Management AssociationSMEVCSE
- Signed
- 25 Jun 2026
- Value
- £600,000
- Period
- 3 Jul 2026 – 2 Jul 2028 · up to 2 Jul 2029 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- The extension is subject to the availability of funding.
- Options
- 24 months, with the option to extend by a further 12 month periods (maximum potential contract term: 36 months)
1 agreed KPI: Contract management KPIs, ePortfolio (supported) Route KPIs,
- Contract management KPIs, ePortfolio (supported) Route KPIs,, KPI 1: Monthly KPI pack and contract performance reporting timeliness Objective: Ensure timely and complete contract performance reporting to support effective governance and decision-making. Measurement criteria: Percentage of monthly KPI packs and associated performance reports submitted by the agreed submission date. Reporting frequency: Monthly KPI 2: Risk/issue/action log currency Objective: Maintain accurate, current operational governance records to support control and auditability. Measurement criteria: Percentage of weeks in which risk log, issue log, and action log are updated and shared in advance of the weekly operational meeting. Reporting frequency: Monthly (with weekly internal tracking) ePortfolio (supported) Route KPIs KPI 3: Timeliness of end-to-end application processing Objective: Ensure timely access for practitioners and employers by processing applications within agreed route timelines while maintaining quality and governance. Measurement criteria: Percentage of applications progressed through the end-to-end workflow within the agreed timescales for each stage (as defined in Centre standard operating procedures for the cohort). KPI 4: Applicant timeline adherence (12-month submission window monitoring) Objective: Ensure route timelines are adhered to, including monitoring and managing applicants submitting within the required 12-month timeframe (where applicable) in line with Centre standard operating procedures. Measurement criteria: Percentage of applicants receiving timely prompts/escalations and accurate tracking against the 12-month requirement. KPI 5: Accuracy, completeness, and auditability of assessment and moderation records Objective: Ensure all assessment, moderation, and QA records are complete, accurate, and auditable to support challenge, complaint handling, FOI requests, and legal review. Measurement criteria: Percentage of reviewed case files meeting “audit-ready” standard at first check (mandatory fields completed, evidence attached/available as required, clear decision rationale recorded, panel records complete). KPI 6: Quality and standardisation panel delivery (initial review and sampling panels) Objective: Deliver robust and timely quality monitoring and standardisation activity across cohorts, with documented outputs. Measurement criteria: Percentage of required panels delivered to schedule and with outputs completed (records/minutes, decisions, feedback drafted where applicable). KPI 7: Education Provider standardisation workshops delivery Objective: Support consistent national application of standards through six-monthly standardisation workshops for Education Providers. Measurement criteria: Delivery of planned workshops and timely circulation of materials and outputs (slides, Q&A log, actions). KPI 8: ePortfolio inbox / service desk response time Objective: Provide timely support to users and stakeholders via the route inbox and agreed support channels (response expectation: 24–48 hours). Measurement criteria: Percentage of inbound queries receiving a substantive response within 48 hours (business days). KPI 9: Complaint handling timeliness and closure Objective: Ensure complaints are managed promptly, transparently, and with learning applied to reduce recurrence. Measurement criteria: (1) Percentage of complaints acknowledged within 2 working days; and (2) percentage resolved within the agreed timeframe (as defined in standard operating procedures). KPI 10: Data accuracy and completeness (applicant/learner master data) Objective: Maintain accurate, complete, and up-to-date applicant/learner and workflow data within the Centre portal and related records. Measurement criteria: Percentage of sampled records meeting data quality standard (completeness, correctness, currency).
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- The Academy for Healthcare Science LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (5)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender