Official UK procurement notice
Voluntary and Community Infrastructure Support Service - Preliminary Market Engagement
Authority: Swindon Borough Council (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionSwindon Borough Council invites you to contribute to preliminary market engagement in relation to a Voluntary and Community Infrastructure Support Service and welcomes the views of providers on the questions set out in the accompanying questionnaire.
The purpose of this engagement is to gather feedback from the market to help shape the final service specification and commercial model, ensuring the procurement delivers a high-quality, sustainable, and responsive infrastructure support service for the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector.
CPV: Civic betterment and community facility support services · Community action programme · Equal opportunities consultancy services · Health and social work services · Specialist training services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Swindon Borough Council buys Miscellaneous membership organisations services (CPV 9813), and who usually turns up
Swindon Borough Council’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: Miscellaneous membership organisations services (CPV 9813) →
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.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside 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 77 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 bid15% / 20%
2–318% / 70%
4–632% / 0%
7+35% / 10%
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 estimate54% / 29%
Within ±2%25% / 71%
Above estimate21% / 0%
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 9813Published estimate£798k
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 48 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid25%
2–338%
4–621%
7+17%
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.
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.
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.
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
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- 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
- 10 Jul 2026, 13:10 BST
- Last source update
- 10 Jul 2026, 13:10 BST
- Authority reference
1- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-065148- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06c881Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
10 Jul 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 3 dates- Planning notice published106 days ago10 Jul 2026, 13:10 BST
- Market engagement89 days ago27 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
Preliminary Market Engagement (PME)
Voluntary and Community Infrastructure Support Service
Swindon Borough Council invites you to contribute to preliminary market engagement in relation to a Voluntary and Community Infrastructure Support Service and welcomes the views of providers on the questions set out in the accompanying questionnaire.
The purpose of this engagement is to gather feedback from the market to help shape the final service specification and commercial model, ensuring the procurement delivers a high-quality, sustainable, and responsive infrastructure support service for the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector.
Service Overview
Swindon Borough Council is seeking to commission a provider to deliver a Voluntary and Community Infrastructure Support Service for organisations operating within Swindon.
The service will strengthen the capacity, sustainability, and effectiveness of the VCSE sector, enabling organisations to better support residents and communities and contribute to wider system priorities such as prevention, wellbeing, and reducing inequalities.
The commissioned service is expected to provide a coordinated and inclusive offer, supporting both established organisations and emerging community groups.
Core Service Components
The provider may be required to deliver the following elements:
- Information, Advice and Guidance
Supporting VCSE organisations with governance, legal structures, policies, and operational development.
- Organisational Development and Capacity Building
Providing tailored support to strengthen leadership, workforce, and organisational resilience.
- Funding and Income Generation Support
Assisting organisations to access grants, diversify income and improve financial sustainability.
- Volunteer Development and Brokerage
Supporting recruitment, retention, and good practice in volunteering.
- Partnership and Collaboration Development
Facilitating networking, partnerships, and collaboration across the VCSE sector and with statutory partners.
- Representation and Strategic Voice
Ensuring the VCSE sector is effectively represented in local system partnerships and decision-making structures.
- Community Development and Engagement
Supporting grassroots organisations and enabling community-led activity and participation.
Service Aims
The overarching aims of the Voluntary and Community Infrastructure Support Service are to:
- Strengthen the resilience and sustainability of the VCSE sector
- Support organisations to deliver high-quality, inclusive services
- Enable effective collaboration between VCSE organisations and public services
- Promote community-led approaches and local participation
- Contribute to improved outcomes for residents, particularly those facing inequality
Key Expectations of the Provider
The successful provider will be expected to:
- Deliver a coherent, accessible, and inclusive infrastructure support offer
- Ensure services are responsive to the diverse needs of the VCSE sector
- Provide support that is:
o Proportionate and needs-led
o Inclusive of small and grassroots organisations
o Flexible and adaptable
- Demonstrate:
o Strong understanding of the VCSE sector
o Experience in delivering infrastructure or capacity-building support
o Ability to engage effectively with a wide range of stakeholders
- Work collaboratively with:
o Swindon Borough Council
o Health partners and system stakeholders
o VCSE organisations across Swindon
Contract Intentions
Swindon Borough Council intends to:
- Commission a provider to deliver a borough-wide infrastructure support service
- Use feedback from this engagement to:
o Finalise service design
o Refine delivery expectations
o Inform the procurement approach
Estimated Contract Length and Value
The contract term and value are currently under development and will be confirmed as part of the Council’s commissioning and procurement process.
Engagement Process
To participate in this Preliminary Market Engagement: DN821953
- Suppliers must register on ProContract via: www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk ↗
- Suppliers must register an interest to access the PME documentation
- Responses to the PME questionnaire must be submitted by: 27th July 2026
- Today24 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 158 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published10 Jul 2026, 13:10 BSTUK2
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
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender