Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
UNIVERSITY OF WOLVERHAMPTON ENTERPRISE LIMITED
Wulfruna Street
WOLVERHAMPTON
WV11LY
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKG39 - Wolverhampton
Justification for not providing organisation identifier
Not on any register
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
Education
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
22-55 Student Records System
Reference number
22-55
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 48600000 - Database and operating software package
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.1.4) Short description
The University uses Tribal Education Ltd for its student record platform - including providing the infrastructure (servers, networks, licences etc.). This is a contract renewal with Tribal Education Ltd for the integrated solution.
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
Value excluding VAT: £5,030,165
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 48100000 - Industry specific software package
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKG - West Midlands (England)
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
We are implementing a contract renewal for our Student Record System, infrastructure and associated software. This facility is provided by Tribal Education Ltd. The Student Record System and infrastructure is a critical business system and is technically vital in delivering the University's core business of teaching, learning, and assessment.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.14) Additional information
Contract awarded for 4 year plus optional 12 month extension
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the cases listed below
- The services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
- absence of competition for technical reasons
Explanation:
Context:
We are implementing a contract renewal for our Student Record System, infrastructure and associated software. This facility is provided by Tribal Education Ltd. The Student Record System and infrastructure is a critical business system and is technically vital in delivering the University's core business of teaching, learning, and assessment.
Rationale for award:
University-specific implementation:
The University operates specific and unique business processes that are in the medium-term reliant on the operation of SITS due to its customisable nature. There are currently no other vendors offering a technical software solution that would support the University's unique processes without major upheaval and significant investment to the University, Processes, operating activities, staff and Students. The system is critical to the University's relationship with students; and any change will have considerable impact on the student experience. The University is going through a period of significant change at the current time, any further changes to systems and software whilst there are other uncertainties, would not be prudent at the present time especially as the University's priority is to ensure a reasonable level of stability for users across the board.
System integrations:
SITS integrates with a variety of key other systems that ensure operation of the organisation's business critical activities. Any change to the SITS provision will also impact the interoperability with other existing solutions. These complex integrations cover a range of service areas - such integrations would need entirely reconfiguring to avoid University operations ceasing and impacting on staff and the student experience. Integration failures will result in significant disruption to operations, and will directly impact the University's key stakeholders (both students and staffs) through a loss of service.
Staffing skills and knowledge:
The University has hundreds of active SITS users who, over a long period of time, have acquired extensive knowledge, skills, and expertise in its use. There is a considerable cost and risk implication of retraining staff in order to avoid significant disruption to business operations.
Maintaining University operations:
The migration to a new student record system is one of the most significant IT projects any university can undertake, and as such the timeline for doing so is envisaged as being a minimum of 3 years (from planning to implementation), the project will also involve considerable investment of human and financial resource. Given this, the cost of change and resource intensive complexity for the significantly embedded system would outweigh the service benefits and cost advantage of implementing a new solution at the present time.
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
Section five. Award of contract
Contract No
22-55
Title
22-55 Student Records System
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
3 November 2022
five.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Tribal Education Ltd
Bristol
BS2 0HQ
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UKK1 - Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath area
Companies House
04163300
The contractor is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot: £5,030,165
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
University of Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
WV1 1LY
Country
United Kingdom