Higher education services

Tender description

Tenders are invited for an online programme management partner (the ‘OPM Partner’) for the University of Keele in accordance with the invitation to tender (ITT) documentation. The services required under the contract are specified in the scope of services in Section 2 of the ITT. The University of Keele (the ‘University’) requires an Online programme management Partner (the ‘OPM Partner’) to work in partnership to develop a suite of online/blended Master’s programmes, targeted at the post-experience working professional market in the UK and worldwide. The programmes are to be fully online, but with a possible design that caters for students to attend optional face to face delivery. The adoption of a highly scalable partnership to target a diverse audience of adult learners across the globe will positively impact a number of the aims of the University’s Strategic Plan. These include increasing diversity, widening participation, improving student satisfaction, increasing completion rates and diversifying income. The contract for the online programme management partner is a services concession contract. Tenderers should therefore note the following critical contract requirements: (i) the consideration (payment) to the appointed OPM Partner (‘Concessionaire’) will consist solely in the right to exploit the services that are the subject of the contract. There will be no payment from the University to the concessionaire; (ii) the University will transfer to the concessionaire the operating risk in exploiting the services. Your financial model must adhere to the critical contract requirements detailed in ‘i’ and ‘ii’ above. Any tenderer who submits a financial model on a different basis that fails to meet these critical contract requirements will be deemed to have submitted a non-compliant tender and will not be considered further. The concession contract for the online programme management partner will have an initial 7-year guaranteed term with an option to extend for a further 3-year period. The estimated total value of the concession contract over its duration (including the extension option if this is taken up) is 5 000 000,00 GBP excluding VAT. The University gives no guarantee whatsoever as to the level of business that will be achieved by the appointed OPM Partner (Concessionaire) under the concession contract. Given the need for one OPM Partner (Concessionaire) to coordinate the delivery of all of the services required, the concession contract has not been divided into lots. The University is undertaking this procurement in accordance with the 'Light Touch Regime' ('Social and other specific services') — Regulation 19 of the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016 (CCR16). The tender evaluation is divided into 2 stages — the selection stage evaluation and the award stage evaluation as detailed in the invitation to tender (ITT) documentation.