Scope
Reference
ID 6020932
Description
The College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE), are seeking to appoint a Supplier to design, administer and deliver the professional support element of the Horticulture Pilot Scheme, an initiative which aims to stimulate growth within Northern Ireland's (NI's) horticulture industry. The Pilot Horticulture Scheme is a key component of DAERA's Sustainable Agriculture Programme (SAP), which encompasses a range of strategic measures designed to support the long-term development and sustainability of the production horticulture industry in Northern Ireland. Suppliers should refer to the Specification Schedule for full detail on the deliverables and requirements of this contract. Neither CPD nor the Buyer can provide any guarantee as to the level of business under this contract.
Total value (estimated)
- £5,024,000 excluding VAT
- £6,028,800 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 29 January 2026 to 30 April 2030
- Possible extension to 30 April 2031
- 5 years, 3 months, 3 days
Description of possible extension:
CAFRE reserve the right to extend the contract for an additional fifth year
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 79410000 - Business and management consultancy services
- 77000000 - Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services
- 79000000 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security
- 79400000 - Business and management consultancy and related services
- 79600000 - Recruitment services
- 79200000 - Accounting, auditing and fiscal services
- 80500000 - Training services
- 80510000 - Specialist training services
Contract locations
- UKN - Northern Ireland
Participation
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
Submission
Enquiry deadline
28 November 2025, 11:59pm
Tender submission deadline
8 December 2025, 11:59pm
Submission address and any special instructions
Tenders must be submitted electronically via the relevant Call for Tender (CfT) opportunity on eTendersNI, website details immediately below.
Paper submissions will not be accepted or considered and will be rejected by the Contracting Authority / Buyer.
The tender documents are available with unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at: URL https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Award decision date (estimated)
29 January 2026
Award criteria
| Name | Description | Type |
|---|---|---|
| AC1 Experience of Facilitators | 13.3 percent |
Quality |
| AC2 Business Continuity | 13.3 percent |
Quality |
| AC3a Methodology - Contract and Administration Requirements | 2.8 percent |
Quality |
| AC3b Methodology: Delivery of Grower Workshops/Visits/Information Sessions | 3.5 percent |
Quality |
| AC3c Methodology - Identification of Areas of Business Growth | 2.1 percent |
Quality |
| AC3d Methodology - Production of a Business Development Plan | 2.1 percent |
Quality |
| AC3e Methodology - Delivery of Professional Mentoring Support | 2.8 percent |
Quality |
| AC4 Social Value | 10.5 percent |
Quality |
| AC6 Resource Distribution | 4.9 percent |
Quality |
| AC7 Risk Management | 4.9 percent |
Quality |
| AC8 Contract and Account Management | 4.9 percent |
Quality |
| AC9 Price | 30 percent |
Price |
Weighting description
70 percent quality and 30 percent cost.
Please refer to the Instructions to Tender document for further information on all criteria.
Other information
Payment terms
For further details on invoicing procedures please see : https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/ar ticles/account-ni-good-invoicing-practice.
The estimated value figure indicated in the Scope Section represents an overall estimated contract value. This value reflects the potential scale of the contract and takes into account potential optional extension periods and the uptake of potential optional services as detailed in the tender documents. Neither CPD nor the contracting Authority can provide any guarantee as to the level of business under this contract. The Contracting Authority does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any tender. Suppliers remain responsible for all costs and expenses incurred by them or by any third party acting under instructions from the Supplier in connection with taking part in this procurement process regardless of whether such costs arise as a consequence, directly or indirectly of any amendments made to the procurement documents by the Contracting Authority at any time. No legally binding contract shall arise (and a Supplier shall have no legitimate expectation that a contract will be entered into) until such time as entry into the Contract has been confirmed by the Contracting Authority
Description of risks to contract performance
If at any time during the procurement, or post award, it comes to the attention of the Contracting Authority (CA) or CPD, by whatever means, that a Supplier has become 'excluded' or 'excludable' as per Sec 57 of the PA 2023, the CA, after compliance with its obligations under the PA 23, reserves the right to exclude said Supplier from the procurement procedure or terminate any contract they have been awarded.
The Contracting Authority expressly reserves the rights:
(I). not to award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by publication of this notice;
(II). to make whatever changes it may see fit to the content and structure of the tendering Competition;
Applicable trade agreements
- Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Open procedure
Justification for not publishing a preliminary market engagement notice
Preliminary market engagement was undertaken under ID 5450807/ID 5826850. It was advertised via eTendersNI on 24 July 2024 and closed 09 September 2024. It is noted the PME undertaken for this requirement was carried out before the PA2023 and PR 2024 went live on 24 February 2025, therefore a PME notice was not applicable.
Contracting authority
College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE)
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PYCL-3331-QQMP
Greenmount Campus, 45 Tirgracy Road
Antrim
BT41 4PS
United Kingdom
Email: SSDAdmin.CPD@finance-ni.gov.uk
Website: https://www.cafre.ac.uk/
Region: UKN0D - Antrim and Newtownabbey
Organisation type: Public authority - central government
Devolved regulations that apply: Northern Ireland
Other organisation
These organisations are carrying out the procurement, or part of it, on behalf of the contracting authorities.
CPD - Supplies & Service Division
Summary of their role in this procurement: Construction and Procurement Delivery - Supplies and Services Division, is a Centre of Procurement Expertise and provides a central procurement function for central government in Northern Ireland
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PVWG-8426-YWXV
Clare House, 303 Airport Road West
Belfast
BT3 9ED
United Kingdom
Region: UKN06 - Belfast