Prior information notice
This notice is for prior information only
Section I: Contracting
authority
I.1) Name and addresses
The Coal Authority
200 Lichfield Lane
MANSFIELD
NG184RG
UK
Contact person: Procurement
E-mail: procurement@coal.gov.uk
NUTS: UKF15
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/the-coal-authority
I.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge at:
https://inbye.coal.gov.uk/s2c/
Additional information can be obtained from the abovementioned address
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
I.5) Main activity
Public order and safety
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
Strategic Support and Development (IT Services)
II.1.2) Main CPV code
72000000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
The Coal Authority (the "Authority") is looking to engage a strategic supplier to provide resources and services for our support and development contract for which the procurement is expected to begin in early 2025.
This notice is provided to advertise and seek responses to a series of market engagement opportunities which will in turn provide further detail and inform the planned procurement and help shape the requirements.
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKF1
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The aim of this procurement exercise is to let a contract and find a strategic long-term partner(s) to work / collaborate with our internal digital team and business and to either wholly, or partly provide support and resources to the development and maintenance of our core strategic system.
The types of work we expect to be undertaken during the contract period include;
Transition activities
• Work with incumbent supplier to undertake knowledge transfer and on-boarding of existing support and development activities
• Support Digital team in developing a collaborative and cohesive future operating model for the delivery of digital services
Core activities
• Operational application development and support
• Delivery / Release management
• Geospatial information services
• Project led development and support
• Incident and change management
• Architectural support
• Business Analysis and user research support
• Quality Assurance
• Cloud infrastructure support (AWS)
• Managed Cloud (Azure services)
• Service desk and Service management
• Microsoft infrastructure
• End User Device (EUD) management
• Database
• Supply of DDAT Resources within a flexible model
• Support business continuity exercises and response activities
Flexible activities
• Ability to deliver new projects using a range of technologies within a cloud ecosystem
• Support the development of the enterprise architecture at various levels
Please see VI.3) Additional information of this notice for a more detailed description of the services.
II.2.14) Additional information
The Authority shall be holding an early market engagement meeting via Microsoft Teams to which all interested suppliers are invited. This meeting will be held on Tuesday 17th September 2024 14:30 - 16:00 where the Authority will, give an introduction to the Authority, provide updates on the requirement; present further details on the proposed procurement and timescales; as well a short Question and Answer opportunity.
This will be followed up with a second sessions on Thursday 26th September 2024 - 09:30 - 12:30 which will be held at our offices in Mansfield. This will include a site visit and further in-depth discussions around the existing operations and the future scope of services including feedback on the proposed service and procurement.
The Authority invites suppliers to express their interest in this market engagement opportunity via the InBye Portal no later than 16:00 Friday 13th September 2024.
To register please log on to http://redirect.transaxions.com/events/yWVlE
Should you have any questions, please contact Rebecca Vines on 01623 637351
II.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice:
03/02/2025
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information
The Authority is an arm's length body that sits under the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) responsible for the legacy of the coal mines in Great Britain and is a category 2 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act.
The Authority's current Digital strategy incorporates a blend of internal development and external supplier engagement to manage and maintain its Digital estate. A core element of the contract will be to support and develop the Authority's enterprise mining information system (Inferis), which uses a variety of technologies including GIS providing services both internally and externally including an e-commerce site and data delivery services.
The Authority's strategy focusses on using commodity solutions where feasible and building bespoke systems when it provides strategic advantage, utilising a federated architecture encompassing cloud databases and applications. The strategy for commodity services emphasises a Microsoft 365 compatibility and integration.
The organisation has developed capabilities in various technical fields to become an 'intelligent client', able to collaborate and effectively manage requirements and third-party involvement. Our aim is maintain and continue to develop this with our strategic partner over the life of this contract.
This procurement is expected to begin early 2025 and this notice is initially to seek responses to a series of Market Engagement opportunities that will help finalise the procurement. The main objectives of the Market Engagement sessions are:
• To understand how we might best undertake this procurement activity,
• what our optimum options for structuring to meet the requirements of the proposed contract are and the proposed service delivery model,
• and seek expert views on how the market can best meet the needs of the organisation
The Authority shall be holding an early market engagement meeting via Microsoft Teams to which all interested suppliers are invited. The meeting will be held on Tuesday 17th September 2024 14:30 - 16:00 where the Authority will, give an introduction to the Authority, provide updates on the requirement; present further details on the proposed procurement and timescales; as well a short Question and Answer opportunity.
This will be followed up with a second sessions on Thursday 26th September 2024 - 09:30 - 12:30 which will be held at our offices in Mansfield. This will include a site visit and further in-depth discussions around the existing operations and the future scope of services including feedback on the proposed service and procurement
The Authority invites suppliers to express their interest in this market engagement opportunity via the InBye Portal no later than 16:00 Friday 13th September 2024.
To register please log on to http://redirect.transaxions.com/events/yWVlE
Should you have any questions, please contact Rebecca Vines on 01623 637351
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
08/08/2024