Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Directive 2014/24/EU
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
Aberystwyth University
c/o Finance Office, Student Welcome Centre, Penglais Campus
Aberystwyth
SY23 3FB
UK
Contact person: Lee Pereira
Telephone: +44 1970628716
E-mail: lep27@aber.ac.uk
NUTS: UKL1
Internet address(es)
Main address: www.aber.ac.uk/
Address of the buyer profile: https://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA1009
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Other: University
I.5) Main activity
Education
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
CRM Phase 2 (University Admissions)
Reference number: AU/2020/311/CRM2
II.1.2) Main CPV code
48190000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
II.1.4) Short description
University admissions system for all types of student, including direct applications (UG and PG), short courses, distance learning, pre-sessional, and UCAS. Delivered as SaaS including consultancy and training for implementation. The solution must extend upon the University’s existing Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM marketing and recruitment system and work seamlessly in all respects with it. The solution must support the complete admissions journey from Marketing and Recruitment, through to Applications, including the use of intelligent decision making and student data transfer. The University operates a bespoke in-house developed SRS that the solution will integrate with. The system must be delivered bi-lingually in Welsh and English. The University requires an ability to input and shape the development of the product to ensure it meets our requirements.
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
500 000.00
GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
72212190
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKL1
Main site or place of performance:
Aberystwyth University
Penglais Campus
Aberystwyth
Ceredigion
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The University intends to contract with the only identified provider that fully meets its requirements, early in May 2021 for a 3 year period with up to an additional optional 2 years and is publishing its intentions in this regard via this VEAT notice, to maximise transparency, confirm the process to be followed and the reasons for same.
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
No
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition
Justification for selected award procedure:
The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the Directive
Explanation:
Following extensive market research the University is of the opinion that its requirements can only be met by the solution suggested by Tribal Education Ltd and the justification for this opinion is as follows:
The University needs to ensure Phase 2 Admissions works seamlessly with Phase 1 (Marketing and Recruitment) – this is key to the project’s rationale and hence the initial contract for both phases through G-Cloud. The requirement is for seamless integration between phase 1 and 2.
The majority of UK Universities have off-the-shelf commercial Student record systems that provide UCAS application integration. Aberystwyth University is in the unusual position of having an in-house developed SRS and application processing system. The University's requirement is to replace the in-house developed application acceptance and processing element. Therefore the requirement is for a UCAS and direct applications system that does not have to be part of a wider off-the-shelf SRS (i.e. standalone from a wider SRS).
The Admissions component must be delivered as SaaS in line with the University’s “Cloud First” approach and operate seamlessly with Microsoft Portal and Dynamics being used for Phase 1 and direct applicants.
The Admissions system provided needs to integrate with our in-house SRS.
AI supported intelligent decision making should form part of the solution or feature on the product’s near-term roadmap.
The user interface must be fully bilingual, supporting both the Welsh and English languages and allow seamless switching between them.
In order to provide full transparency the University is publishing this VEAT Notice to inform the supply market of their intentions and also to confirm that a contract has not been offered currently, to the selected supplier. The University's intention is to publish this notice and allow a 10 day period to pass prior to a contract being offered without prior publication or a call for competition. If a potential supplier believes they can also provide a solution that fully meets these requirements, they can submit a written statement detailing their solution, within the next 10 days and the University will evaluate before moving ahead with any contract award.
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
Section V: Award of contract/concession
Contract No: AU2020/311/CRM2
V.2 Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession
16/04/2021
V.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
TRIBAL EDUCATION LTD
Kings Orchard, 1 Queen Street
Bristol
BS20HQ
UK
Telephone: +44 8453133151
NUTS: UK
The contractor is an SME:
No
V.2.4) Information on value of the concession and main financing terms (excluding VAT)
Total value of the concession/lot:
500 000.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information
(WA Ref:109869)
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
High Court
Royal Courts of Justice, The Strand
London
WC2A 2LL
UK
Telephone: +44 2079477501
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
16/04/2021