Provision of Virtual Learning Environment for the University of Derby

The University of Derby wishes to invite suppliers to participate in a pre-procurement market engagement in relation to the future procurement of a new Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). We wish to engage in dialogue with capable suppliers prior to finalising our requirements specification.

This exercise is to help us assess the maturity, depth and innovation of the marketplace, and also to understand the range and scope of available solutions. The outcome of this exercise will provide input into a future tender which is planned for May/June/July 2022.

We will not be assessing proposals provided in response to this market engagement exercise and this is NOT a Call for Competition. Should they wish to, any capable supplier will be provided with an opportunity to formally bid for a future tender opportunity, regardless of their response to this market engagement.

We welcome responses from organisations who feel that they have ideas on how the future of virtual learning can be delivered to our students. Suppliers are also invited to provide advice to ensure our vision and requirements are reasonable and realistic. The university is keen to be at the forefront of innovative solutions and services and provide our students with the best experience possible, so future-focussed platforms, features, ideas and user experiences are encouraged.

If you feel that your organisation is able to contribute to this exercise, please email procurement@derby.ac.uk to request a document containing further details. Please ensure that your e-mail subject contains the reference: PROC IJ/DMC ITT598 Your response to the document must be submitted no later than 15:00 on 09/05/2022.

Following receipt of the responses, and depending on the information obtained, we may choose to engage directly with suppliers by phone, e-mail or Teams meeting to clarify elements of their response in order to further refine our tender requirements.

Organisations who do not engage in this exercise will not be disadvantaged in any future procurement, as this pre-procurement market engagement is only an exploratory fact-finding exercise: it is not an invitation to tender or a request for formal expressions of interest. The expected formal tender process will commence ONLY after the early Market Engagement has concluded.