Unified Communications and Data Managed Service

This Contracts Finder Notice is supporting the following Prior Information Notice (PIN) reference 2017/S 072 - 137101.

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) and Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust (HoEFT) are considering a joint procurement between UHB and HoEFT (the Authorities) to secure support services for the unified communications and data infrastructure at both Trusts.

A supplier information event was held in Birmingham on 24th April 2017. The Authorities are now seeking to engage further with the market, with a view to giving potential bidders the opportunity to review and provide feedback on a draft specification (Sample Service Specification). Such feedback will then be considered in the drafting of the procurement documents which will then be shared with the market in due course via a subsequent Contracts Finder notice.

The Authorities are now seeking feedback on the Sample Service Specification via responses to a written questionnaire (Pre-Market Engagement Questionnaire). Questionnaires should be returned by midday on 31 May 2017 in order that we can consider comments in advance of the commencement of the formal procurement process. Potential bidders may continue to respond following this date, however the Authorities cannot guarantee that any comments received after this date will be considered as part of the pre-market engagement exercise.

The Authorities also intend to undertake further engagement with the market including a series of webinars and one to one meetings, as further described within the attached document.

The next main event will be one to one sessions with interested parties. We anticipate holding these sessions during the period 6 June to 19 June 2017. If you are interested in attending a one to one session then please indicate your interest in your questionnaire response by midday on 31 May 2017.

Please note that due to time and resource constraints, it may not be possible for the Authorities to meet with all interested bidders. Further information can be found in the Pre-Market Engagement Questionnaire.

The following documents are now available to download via our Bravo eSourcing Portal:

• Supplier Information Day 24th April Agenda and Attendee List
• Supplier Information Day 24th April Questions and Answers
• Supplier Information Day 24th April Powerpoint Presentation
• Sample Service Specification and appendices
• Pre-Market Engagement Questionnaire

Additional information:

How to register

Register your company on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once) - Browse to the eSourcing Portal: https://nhs.bravosolution.co.uk/nhs_collaborative/web/login.html and click the link to register - Accept the terms and conditions and click 'continue' - Enter your correct business and user details - Note the username you chose and click 'Save' when complete - You will shortly receive an email with your unique password (please keep this secure); 2. Express an Interest in the Tender - Login to the portal with the username/password - Click the 'PQQs / ITTs Open to All Suppliers' link. (These are Pre-Qualification Questionnaires or Invitations to Tender open to any registered supplier) - Browse the PQQs (there may be more than one page) and select 'pqq_28407' by clicking on it. - Click the 'Express Interest' button at the top of the page - This will move the PQQ /ITT into your 'My PQQs/ My ITTs' page. (This is a secure area reserved for your projects only) - You can now access any attachments by clicking 'Buyer Attachments' in the 'PQQ/ ITT Details' box; 3. Responding to the Tender - Click 'My Response' under 'PQQ/ ITT Details', you can choose to 'Create Response' or to 'Decline to Respond' (please give a reason if declining) - You can now use the 'Messages' function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification - Note the deadline for completion, then follow the on-screen instructions to complete the PQQ/ ITT - There may be a mixture of online and offline actions for you to perform (there is detailed online help available). You must then submit your reply using the 'Submit Response' button at the top of the page. If you require any further assistance please consult the online help, or contact the eTendering help desk. Please note this is purely a market engagement exercise and any subsequent procurement will be advertised separately and all organisations wanting to participate will need to respond to the procurement advertisement as and when published. Please note that THIS IS NOT A PQQ and does not represent the commencement of the procurement process, we are using this functionality within the Bravo portal to communicate with interested parties.

Joint Procurement

Following agreement by the respective Trust Boards, UHB and the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust (HoEFT) are currently working on a business case to decide on the best way to create one legal entity, either through acquisition or merger. Accordingly, UHB is considering undertaking a joint procurement exercise with HoEFT for the services that are the subject of this notice, although this is subject to final approval by the respective Trust Boards. HoEFT operates from mainly three sites: Good Hope, Heartlands and Solihull.