Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
BlueLight Commercial Limited
Lloyd House, Colmore Circus Queensway
Birmingham
B4 6DG
Contact
Amy McTear
Amy.McTear@bluelight.police.uk
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKG31 - Birmingham
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://bluelightcommercial.police.uk/
one.3) Communication
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
Public order and safety
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
BlueLight Commercial - Social Media Management Platforms Market Engagement – PIN Extension
Reference number
BLC-0189
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
Original PIN reference 20241010-000003Extended Deadline to respond: 12 noon, Thursday 17th OctoberBlueLight Commercial Market Engagement Event - Social Media Management Platform(SMMP) BlueLight Commercial (BLC) are issuing this Prior Information Notice (PIN) as an invitation to our Market Engagement Event to gather market intelligence and to gain a better understanding of the capacity of the market for the delivery of Social Media Management Platforms that will be used by UK emergency services, including police, fire and rescue, and ambulance services.
two.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: £12,000,000
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
- 48000000 - Software package and information systems
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
Main site or place of performance
UK
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Original PIN reference 20241010-000003Extended Deadline to respond: 12 noon, Thursday 17th OctoberBlueLight Commercial Market Engagement Event - Social Media Management Platform(SMMP) BlueLight Commercial (BLC) are issuing this Prior Information Notice (PIN) as an invitation to our Market Engagement Event to gather market intelligence and to gain a better understanding of the capacity of the market for the delivery of Social Media Management Platforms that will be used by UK emergency services, including police, fire and rescue, and ambulance services.
two.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice
3 January 2025
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
BlueLight Commercial work in collaboration with blue light organisations to maximise commercial benefit to UK emergency services. Social media is a vital source of communication for emergency services, with organisations using several social media platforms to engage with the public regarding a range of national and local matters. The effective management of these accounts is essential to ensuring a consistent and professional service and is often done by centralised teams in corporate communications departments and control rooms, as well as via mobile neighbourhood policing teams.To further expand their communication capability, organisations are looking at social media management platforms, including those that have integrated Live Chat functionality, as an additional source of public contact for the reporting of incidents, intelligence, and crime.BlueLight Commercial therefore invites interested suppliers to attend a one-to-one market engagement session with BLC and the National Police Chief Council’s Digital Public Contact Social Media Lead. During the session you will be given the opportunity to introduce your company and your solution, and expand on pre-requisite areas around software advancements, system developments or additional capabilities. Interested suppliers must be able to provide a Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) Social Media Management software solution, or a combined Social Media Management and Live Chat software solution that meets the following minimum capability requirements:Social Media Management Platform - Manage all social media accounts via one unified inbox- Publish and manage, live and scheduled content across multiple social media channels- Continuity of experience for desktop and mobile users- Full audit capability - Analytics to understand and measure performance- Data export - The ability to manage user licences centrallyLive Chat- Capability to hold real time conversations between the public and organisation- Ability to manage multiple live chat conversations at once- Meet third party joining rules for the national police website, the "Single Online Home" (third party joining rules will be published with the Invitation to Tender)- Where both SMMP and Live Chat is provided, the ability for agents to manage both channels in an efficient and consistent manner without having to navigate to separate systemsThe intention is to hold the sessions remotely on Friday 18th, Monday 21st and Tuesday 22nd October 2024. A date will be allocated following receipt of expression of interest. The event will be limited to 3 people from each organisation.If you would like to register your interest to attend, please do so via e-mail to nationalict@bluelight.police.uk by 12 noon on Thursday 17th October 2024 stating the name, role and e-mail address of each attendee. If you have any questions, please contact BlueLight Commercial ICT Team at nationalict@bluelight.police.ukIt is important to note that this PIN is not a call for competition and as such potential providers will need to express interest in any future tender opportunity once a contract notice is published in Find a Tender Service (FTS). This PIN is not a pre-qualification questionnaire and is not part of any pre-qualification or selection process and is intended as an awareness, communication, and information gathering exercise only to help inform a subsequent procurement exercise.