Award

Provision of a Research Information Management System

LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

24 Nov 2023 at 19:05

Summary of the contracting process

The procurement process for the provision of a Research Information Management System by Loughborough University has been completed. This involves the supply and implementation of an off-the-shelf system to support research and innovation projects, integration with the university's Finance and HR system, and user-friendly tools for monitoring progress and managing applications. The procurement method used was an Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition. The contract, valued at £2,500,000 GBP, was signed on 23rd November 2023 in Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire.

This tender presents an opportunity for businesses that specialise in providing industry-specific software packages for research and innovation management. Companies with experience in developing end-to-end application and award processes, reporting tools, and contracts management systems would be well-suited to compete for this contract. The successful vendor, Worktribe Ltd, was chosen due to its proven solution that met the university's comprehensive requirements and integration needs within a single platform, demonstrating a mature and user-friendly approach.

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Notice Title

Provision of a Research Information Management System

Notice Description

The proposed contract is for an off-the-shelf Research Management System that will support end-to-end processes for pre-award (bid development, costing and internal approval workflows), award set up, contracts management and post-award monitoring for research, innovation and consultancy projects within a single platform. The system implementation will include integration with Loughborough University's Finance and HR system. The system will provide a suite of user-friendly tools that enable appropriate access for different user groups at the University to be able to monitor progress, manage and report on research and innovation applications (both in-development and submitted), awards and projects.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Supply and implementation of a Research Management System to support end-to-end application and award processes (from bid development to project closure), comprised of the following products: Pre-award, Post-award, Reporting, and Contracts modules. The University has an ambitious new strategy for Research and Innovation and requires a system solution that will enable us to handle the increasing size and complexity of our research and innovation project portfolio. In pursuit of our strategic aims, the system will transform the way we manage research and innovation projects by, among many other things, streamlining and standardising our processes

Procurement Information

Negotiated procedure without prior publication Through review of frameworks, soft market testing and informal discussions with staff at other institutions, we have concluded that Worktribe is the only proven solution available in the market that meets LU's requirements. Other products were considered but ruled out as they did not offer functionality that addressed the full scope of the project requirements, and only delivered functionality to support some aspects. This would result in the need for use of multiple systems and complex integrations to deliver our requirements, which would inevitably increase complexity and implementation time required, and is inconsistent with our vision for a coherently integrated suite of digital tools and a reduction in the use of disparate technology. Use of multiple different systems would be to the detriment of user experience for our staff and would likely result in inefficiencies such as the re-keying of data across multiple systems. LU requires a solution that: *offers comprehensive end-to-end functionality for managing pre-award applications, costings, approval workflows, contracts, project set-up and post-award management for research, innovation and consultancy projects, as well as data and reporting capability for all information held within the system. *is a mature, tried and tested product that does not require any significant capability development *is recommended by multiple HEIs with similar integration requirements and research portfolio complexity *has proven integration capability with LU's Finance system (Unit4 ERP - Agresso) and HR System (iTrent) for seamless transition of information for the purposes of costing project proposals, setting up budget codes and managing project budgets. *enables user groups to access information that is relevant to their roles through a user-friendly interface *is offered off-the-shelf and the supplier must be in a position to meet LU's ambitious desired implementation timescales in support of the University's strategic goals. Concerns raised about other system solutions included: *Primary capabilities of the system were either as a Current Research Information System (CRIS) or as an Ethics system. Ethics processes and management of research outputs / institutional repository are outside of scope for this project and not currently of interest. *Solution did not include an established Full Economic Costing tool for research and innovation projects. *Solution did not offer tools to manage the contracts aspect of the requirement. *Complex, un-proven integrations with other systems would be required to deliver the full requirement. *Not widely proven in the sector by other HEIs with similar integration requirements and research portfolio complexity that is in line with LU's ambitions. Worktribe is the only vendor that offers an off-the-shelf, ready-to-use solution with end-to-end functionality and fully integrated workflows for Pre-Award, Post-Award, Contracts management and reporting within a single, user-friendly platform. Worktribe is therefore the only practical solution to meet LU's requirements.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-041cd4
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/034873-2023
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Goods
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

48 - Software package and information systems


CPV Codes

48100000 - Industry specific software package

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£2,500,000 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
24 Nov 20232 years ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
23 Nov 20232 years ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Not Specified
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY
Contact Name
Mrs Anna Elizabeth Ellis
Contact Email
a.ellis@lboro.ac.uk
Contact Phone
+44 1509223808

Buyer Location

Locality
LOUGHBOROUGH
Postcode
LE11 3TU
Post Town
Leicester
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLF East Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLF2 Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLF22 Leicestershire CC and Rutland
Delivery Location
TLF2 Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire

Local Authority
Charnwood
Electoral Ward
Loughborough Ashby
Westminster Constituency
Loughborough

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

WORKTRIBE

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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