Electronic Committee System

Procurement description

Caerphilly County Borough Council is undertaking preliminary market engagement to gather information and insight from suppliers regarding Electronic Committee Management Systems.

The Council is exploring options for a modern, bilingual (English and Welsh) digital solution to support the efficient management, publication and governance of committee agendas, reports, minutes and Member information. This engagement aims to understand current market capabilities, potential delivery models, indicative costs, and future innovation within this area.

The Council’s current system contract is due for renewal, and no final specification has yet been defined. The purpose of this market engagement is therefore to inform the development of a future procurement strategy and to help shape the Council’s requirements ahead of any formal tender process.

Suppliers of relevant software solutions are invited to review the outline functional areas provided and respond to a series of structured questions regarding system capabilities, technical features, bilingual support, system security, public‑facing functionality, Member services, integration options and implementation considerations.

This is not a call for competition and does not form part of a formal procurement process. No supplier selection or award will result from this exercise. The Council may use the information gathered to refine its approach, assess market readiness and inform potential future tender documentation.

All responses received through this engagement will be treated transparently and used solely for market research and planning purposes.

Main category

Goods

Delivery regions

• UKL16 - Gwent Valleys

Total value (estimated)

200000.00 GBP Excluding VAT

240000.00 GBP Including VAT

Contract dates (estimated)

01 August 2026, 00:00AM to 31 July 2031, 23:59PM

Extension end date (if all the extensions are used): 31 July 2036

Caerphilly County Borough Council

Is the total value above threshold?

Above threshold

CPV classifications

• 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
• 48000000 - Software package and information systems
• 75110000 - General public services

Delivery regions

• UKL16 - Gwent Valleys

Sustainability

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)

Contract start date (estimated)

01 August 2026, 00:00AM

Contract end date (estimated)

31 July 2031, 23:59PM

Extension end date (estimated)

31 July 2036, 23:59PM

Can the contract be extended?

Yes

Engagement process description

1. General System Capability

Please provide an overview of your Electronic Committee Management System, including its key modules and typical deployment model (SaaS, hosted, on‑premise).

How long has your system been in operational use within UK public sector organisations?

What is the typical implementation timeline for a local authority of similar size to ours?

2. Bilingual Functionality (English & Welsh)

Does your system support full bilingual functionality (English and Welsh) across:

Member profiles

Committee webpages

Public search functions

Agenda/minutes generation

If yes, please describe how bilingual content is managed and displayed.

Is there any functionality that cannot be delivered bilingually as standard?

3. Document Management, Agenda Packs & Minutes

Please describe how your system produces agenda packs combining agendas and reports into a single PDF.

How does your system manage exempt/private/confidential items within agenda packs?

Does your system include a version control and audit trail for agenda/report changes?

What tools exist for creating, editing and approving minutes?

4. Search, Storage & Record Management

Please outline your system's storage, search and advanced search capabilities for:

Reports

Minutes

Historic meeting items

How long can documents be retained in the system and what retention‑policy tools are available?

Does your solution support integration with existing corporate document management systems?

5. Access Control & Security

How does the system manage secure access to exempt reports (e.g., integration with corporate login / Microsoft Azure AD / Single Sign-On)?

Are access permissions configurable by user role, meeting type, or document classification?

6. Public-Facing Features

Does your system support publication to both internal intranet and external internet sites?

If yes, please describe how exempt items are restricted from public view.

Please describe your public-facing Member search function (Name, Ward, Political Group etc.).

How are Members’ profile pages generated and updated?

7. Democratic / Governance Features

How does the system record and store declarations of interest made at meetings?

How does your system manage:

Member attendance

Committee membership history

Training records

Election history

Can your solution automatically generate statistical reports (e.g., annual reports, attendance summaries)?

Please provide examples.

8. Additional Functional Areas

Does your system provide functionality for:

Members’ annual reports publication

Upfront register of interests

Ward/boundary information

Recording outside body membership

Please explain how each is managed.

Do you offer an online petitions facility?

If yes, please outline key features.

Can the system generate committee web pages, including Terms of Reference (TOR), meeting dates and content?

What branding or customisation options exist to apply corporate design themes?

9. Webcasting Integration

How does your system integrate with webcasting platforms?

Live stream embedding

Archived webcast links

Are there specific technical requirements for integration?

10. Implementation, Training & Support

What onboarding, training and support services do you provide for:

Governance officers

IT administrators

Elected Members

What ongoing support models do you offer (e.g., helpdesk hours, SLA times, update frequency)?

11. Technical & Integration Questions

Please describe available integrations (APIs, connectors) for:

Corporate login systems

Webcasting

Publishing platforms (CMS)

Document storage

What are the system’s typical browser, device and accessibility requirements?

12. Commercial & Future Considerations

What licensing models do you offer (per user, per Member, organisation-wide etc.)?

Are there any optional modules or add‑ons we should be aware of?

What future developments or upgrades are planned for the next 12–24 months?

Due date

29 April 2026, 23:59PM

Has the engagement period already ended?

No

Publication date of tender notice (estimated)

30 April 2026