Official UK procurement notice
Invitation to Tender - SmartNano Event Services - Northern Ireland
Authority: Digital Catapult (Public body)
Sectors: Business Services & Consultancy (79) Delivery: Northern Ireland (UKN)
Published estimate£150,000≈ £75k / year · £180,000 inc. VAT
Submissions closed 30 May 2025awarded 17 Jul 2025
Awarded to GEMX LIMITED
Contract term 2 yrsends 30 Jun 2027 · starts 1 Jul 2025
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionAn external supplier is sought who will be able to operate network or cluster that will support SmartNanoNI's activities and goals. It will be predominantly focused on the North West Region of Northern Ireland but it will have some level of engagement across all of Northern Ireland. It is anticipated the work contracted will allow a range of companies to engage with skills development programmes, that impacts will be collected and reported
on and that there will be introductions made bringing Northern Ireland companies into contact with SmartNanoNI partners.
CPV: Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedPublished value£150,000
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)1
- Condition of participation
Suppliers are required to complete the Supplier Information Questionnaire.
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).
How bids were scored
Published sub-criteria (6)
- Relevant track record & experience: 20%
- Project management and communication approach (including project timeline) and Bidder’s process of managing complex projects: 10%
- Event Attendance & Innovation: 5%
- Overall quality and delivery of Northern Ireland commercial ecosystems: 30%
- Price: 30%
- Social Value: 5%
Published award criteria (6)
- Overall quality and delivery of Northern Ireland commercial ecosystems : Bidders must show strong evidence of their familiarity of the Northern Ireland commercial ecosystem, especially with regard to the companies in the photonics, advanced engineering, data analytics and smart manufacturing sectors. Bidders must detail how they would typically approach projects that may be awarded to them based on the scope of work.
- Relevant track record & experience : Bidders must detail and provide evidence of their track record of promoting and raising the profile of the photonics, advanced engineering, data analytics or smart manufacturing sectors and the ability to do so predominantly in the North West area of Northern Ireland. Bidders must demonstrate their previous experience of supporting skills and workforce development and the ability to do so and the ability to do so by engaging with organisations such as engaging with schools, North West Regional College, Atlantic Technological University and Ulster University.
- Project management and communication approach (including project timeline) and Bidder’s process of managing complex projects : Bidders should demonstrate their project management and communication approach: in particular, they must be able to demonstrate their experience of managing business interaction events (approx. 9 per year) such as business breakfasts, showcases and networking events among local companies, research organisations and government representatives.
- Event Attendance & Innovation : Bidders must outline how they have encouraged innovation and the ability to promote and facilitate collaboration between Northern Ireland companies and the SmartNanoNI partners.
- Social Value : Digital Catapult wants to purchase services that deliver wider benefits to people, the environment and the economy within their sphere of operation. The social value priority theme for this requirement is tackling economic inequality as follows: • Support innovation and disruptive technologies throughout the supply chain to deliver lower cost and/or higher quality goods and services. • Promoting sustainability practices and technologies. Please set out activities you would be able to undertake which would support and enable the contracting Digital Catapult to achieve this aim and delivering against the above Social Value priority.
- Price
Conditions of participation1
- Condition of participation
Suppliers are required to complete the Supplier Information Questionnaire.
What this means for your bid
- Price carries 60 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 6 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Below threshold - open competition
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- 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
- 7 May 2025, 10:36 BST
- Last source update
- 13 Oct 2025, 14:48 BST
- Authority reference
P2025-195- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-019299- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-050da1Find a Tender
How it was run
Official noticeRun through: mytenders · Who buys & how to bid on myTenders
Access & registration note: Free publication showcase; bidding happens on buyer portals
- Submission deadline
- 30 May 2025, 12:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 23 May 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
Timeline
7 May 2025 → 13 Oct 2025 · 5 dates- Tender notice published7 May 2025, 10:36 BST
- Clarification questions by23 May 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission deadline30 May 2025, 12:00 BST
- Contract starts1 Jul 2025, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published368 days ago13 Oct 2025, 14:48 BST
Notice history
3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 7 May 2025- Tender notice published7 May 2025, 10:36 BSTUK4
- Contract details notice published13 Oct 2025, 14:48 BSTUK7
- Status changed to complete13 Oct 2025, 14:48 BST
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecastAwards 1
Awarded value £150,0001 contract exc. VAT
Contracts signed 1latest 17 Jul 2025
| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| GEMX LIMITEDSME | — | — | Awarded |
Contracts
SmartNano Event Services - Northern Ireland · GEMX LIMITEDSME
- Signed
- 17 Jul 2025
- Value
- £150,000
- Period
- 17 Jul 2025 – 30 Jun 2027
- Status
- active
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- GEMX LIMITEDAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (6)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications ITT
- Bidding documents and specifications Appendix A - Commercial Pricing Schedule
- Bidding documents and specifications Appendix B - SIQ
- Bidding documents and specifications Appendix C - Terms and Conditions
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender