Contract award notice
Results of the procurement procedure
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
Invest Northern Ireland
Bedford Square 1, Bedford Street
BELFAST
BT2 7ES
UK
E-mail: SSDAdmin.CPD@finance-ni.gov.uk
NUTS: UKN
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
Address of the buyer profile: https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
I.5) Main activity
General public services
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
ID 5449059 - Invest NI - Graduate to Export Development programme
Reference number: 5449059
II.1.2) Main CPV code
80000000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
Invest NI’s Graduate to Export Development Programme (G2E Programme) launched in February 2019, and targets SMEs in Northern Ireland to help expand their business internationally with the assistance of a supported graduate. As part of the programme, participating companies will develop their international business capabilities, gained from having a dedicated market research resource and on completion of the graduate intervention, they will have an export development / market entry plan for their chosen market. The Programme, in turn, will provide graduates with a valuable opportunity to gain practical experience and business skills in international business development in addition to obtain academic qualifications. Invest NI is seeking to engage a Contractor for the development, delivery, and management of future G2E cohorts with an anticipated launch date of March/April 2025. The Contractor shall design and deliver a Post Graduate Diploma for participating graduates which will have a commercial focus and a meaningful accreditation focusing on global best practice in international business development. The Contractor shall also work with the participating companies to assist them develop / refine their market research projects and oversee their execution by the programme graduates. The completion of these projects by the graduates should be a prerequisite of academic accreditation. The G2E Programme will comprise of up to 3 cohorts of 201 graduates per cohort all of whom are employed by Invest NI client companies (primarily SME’s). It is anticipated that the contract will be for an initial period of 5 years with each cohort lasting 18 months. Invest NI reserve the option to extend the contract for a further period of 12 months. Each cohort is subject to budgetary approval and to satisfactory Contractor performance.
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
381 200.00
GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
79000000
80430000
80510000
80570000
79310000
79342000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKN
UKN0
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
Invest NI’s Graduate to Export Development Programme (G2E Programme) launched in February 2019, and targets SMEs in Northern Ireland to help expand their business internationally with the assistance of a supported graduate. As part of the programme, participating companies will develop their international business capabilities, gained from having a dedicated market research resource and on completion of the graduate intervention, they will have an export development / market entry plan for their chosen market. The Programme, in turn, will provide graduates with a valuable opportunity to gain practical experience and business skills in international business development in addition to obtain academic qualifications. Invest NI is seeking to engage a Contractor for the development, delivery, and management of future G2E cohorts with an anticipated launch date of March/April 2025. The Contractor shall design and deliver a Post Graduate Diploma for participating graduates which will have a commercial focus and a meaningful accreditation focusing on global best practice in international business development. The Contractor shall also work with the participating companies to assist them develop / refine their market research projects and oversee their execution by the programme graduates. The completion of these projects by the graduates should be a prerequisite of academic accreditation. The G2E Programme will comprise of up to 3 cohorts of 201 graduates per cohort all of whom are employed by Invest NI client companies (primarily SME’s). It is anticipated that the contract will be for an initial period of 5 years with each cohort lasting 18 months. Invest NI reserve the option to extend the contract for a further period of 12 months. Each cohort is subject to budgetary approval and to satisfactory Contractor performance.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion: AC1 Executive Education Training - Design and Content
/ Weighting: 24.75
Quality criterion: AC2 Executive Education Training – Training Provider Experience
/ Weighting: 15.75
Quality criterion: AC3 Academic Supervisor Experience
/ Weighting: 15
Quality criterion: AC4 Social Value
/ Weighting: 10.5
Quality criterion: AC5 Implementation Plan
/ Weighting: 9
Cost criterion: AC6 Total Contract Price
/ Weighting: 25
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
Yes
Description of options:
There is one option to extend the contract for an additional 12 months
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
Open procedure
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
IV.2) Administrative information
IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number in the OJ S:
2024/S 000-037917
Section V: Award of contract
Contract No: 1
Title: Contract
A contract/lot is awarded:
Yes
V.2 Award of contract
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
07/03/2025
V.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
Number of tenders received from SMEs: 1
Number of tenders received from tenderers from EU Member States: 0
Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: 1
Number of tenders received by electronic means: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
University of Ulster Business Institute
Business Institute Shore Road
Newtownabbey
BT37 0QB
UK
Telephone: +44 2890368088
E-mail: HC.CAMERON@ULSTER.AC.UK
NUTS: UKN
Internet address(es)
URL: https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
The contractor is an SME:
Yes
V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot:
Total value of the contract/lot:
: 381 200.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information
The successful contractor’s performance on the contract will be regularly monitored in line with the tender documentation. Contractors. not delivering on contract requirements is a serious matter. It means the public purse is not getting what it is paying for. If a contractor. fails to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance they will be given a specified time to improve. If, after the specified time, they still. fail to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance, the matter will be escalated to senior management in CPD for further action. If. this occurs and their performance still does not improve to satisfactory levels within the specified period, it may be regarded as an act of. grave professional misconduct and they may be issued with a Notice of Unsatisfactory Performance and the contract may be terminated.. The issue of a Notice of Unsatisfactory Performance can result in the Contractor being excluded from all procurement competitions being. undertaken by Centres of Procurement Expertise on behalf of bodies covered by the Northern Ireland Procurement Policy for a period of. three years from the date of issue.
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
The UK does not have any such bodies with responsibility for appeal/mediation procedures. Instead; any challenges are dealt with by the High Court, Commercial Division, to which proceedings may be issued regarding alleged breaches of the PCR 2015 as amended.
Belfast
UK
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
10/03/2025