This public procurement record has 6 releases in its history.

Award

23 Mar 2026 at 08:50

Award

02 Dec 2025 at 14:20

TenderUpdate

17 Apr 2025 at 09:39

Tender

27 Mar 2025 at 15:38

PlanningUpdate

24 Mar 2025 at 08:42

Planning

11 Mar 2025 at 07:31

Summary of the contracting process

The Association of North East Councils Limited is executing a procurement process titled "NEPRO Innovation" under the NEPRO brand framework. This is designed as a Neutral Vendor Managed Service that aims to assist Contracting Authorities by providing access to a single supplier—CONSTELLIA PUBLIC LTD—who will deliver a managed service encompassing a wide array of projects such as goods, services, works, technology, and research and development. Located in Gateshead, United Kingdom, the procurement falls under the category of sub-central government public authority. This procurement has concluded with the award decision completed on 23 March 2026, following a competitive flexible procedure which allows contracting with a selective procurement method. The contract period begins on 25 February 2026 and runs until 24 February 2030, with potential extensions up to 2034.

The "NEPRO Innovation" tender offers significant opportunities for business growth among large-scale enterprises capable of providing diverse services as outlined within the managed service. The framework, accessible throughout the United Kingdom and regions such as Guernsey, Isle of Man, and Jersey, not only reduces the barriers to innovation but also promotes challenge-based procurement and the drive to increase spending with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and VCSEs. This framework facilitates flexible delivery of multiple types of contracts, presenting lucrative prospects for suppliers who can adapt to bespoke requirements of Contracting Authorities and effectively manage a perpetual supply chain. Businesses with expertise in technology, construction, services, and goods that align with the framework’s broad categories are especially well-positioned to benefit.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Title

NEPRO Innovation

Notice Description

NEPO is establishing a Closed Framework which will operate as a Neutral Vendor Managed Service; NEPRO Innovation. The objective of this procurement is to provide Contracting Authorities with access to a single Supplier (the Delivery Partner) who will provide a managed service for the delivery of services, goods, works, technology and research and development. NEPRO Innovation is a new Framework for NEPO. As a strategic procurement solution, the Framework will fall under NEPO's 'NEPRO' brand. NEPRO provides outcomes-based frameworks for the public sector. The Delivery Partner will adopt a Managed Service for the delivery of projects in the following areas: * Goods * Works * Services * Technology * Research and Development A single project may include more than one of the above. The Delivery Partner will be able to flexibly deliver projects incorporating all areas, to suit Contracting Authorities' bespoke requirements. The Delivery Partner shall act as an innovation enabler, meeting the following innovation deliverables: * Reduce barriers to innovation * Create guidance and signpost existing guidance to support Contracting Authorities * Promote and facilitate innovative procurement practices * Encourage challenge-based procurement * Drive increased spend with SMEs and VCSEs * Raise innovation awareness through the Innovation Community NEPO expects the typical value of projects being delivered under the Framework, will be at PS25k and above. There will be no maximum project value. For the avoidance of doubt, the Delivery Partner will not provide services, goods, works and technology in its own right, but rather will deliver a Managed Service that allows Contracting Authorities to procure these elements. The Delivery Partner will bring together the bespoke requirements of Contracting Authorities and a perpetual Supply Chain capable of meeting those requirements. Equal importance will be placed on the service provided to Contracting Authorities and the management of the Supply Chain delivering the requirements. Through market-led, Outcome-based pricing, the Delivery Partner will provide a 'one stop shop' for all in-scope goods, services, technology, works and research and development and will have a positive impact at every stage of the delivery. The Delivery Partner will act as a single point interface between the Contracting Authority and the Supply Chain. The Delivery Partner will be required to accommodate the bespoke needs of each Contracting Authority in each project. This will require the ability to flexibly deliver goods, works, services, technology and research and development contracts and offer innovative and/or bespoke procurement processes. The successful bidder has been chosen through a two-stage competitive flexible procedure.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: The Framework is for a period of 48 months with the options to extend for up to a further 2 x 24-month periods. Justification for the longer framework term is provided under section 6 of this Notice.

Planning Information

This notice has been created in retrospect as the original preliminary market engagement activities were scheduled prior to the Procurement Act 2023 commencement date and the ability to produce this notice was not yet available. The original notice can be found here: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/002475-2025?origin=SearchResults&p=1 NEPO sent out a Prior Information Notice on 24th January 2025 with the following information: "NEPO seeks to establish a Framework for provision of goods, works, services and technology ("NEPRO x Innovation"). It is envisaged NEPRO x Innovation will operate as a Neutral Vendor Managed Service vehicle. The purpose of the prior information notice (PIN) is to provide advance notice to the marketplace for the future opportunity and the intentions of NEPO to hold market engagement meetings with suppliers to help shape the future Framework. NEPO are not advertising this PIN as a mechanism to reduce future procurement timescales. The market engagement meetings are advertised openly via this PIN but are limited to a particular number. Market engagement meetings will take place between Tuesday 18th February and Friday 21st February. The "Market Consultation Questionnaire" (market engagement invite) will be made accessible via the Open e-tendering system on Friday 24th January 2025 with a submission deadline of 5 p.m. Friday 7th February 2025. Suppliers wishing to access and complete the "Market Consultation Questionnaire" (Market engagement invite) must first register on the e-tendering system using the following link https://www.open-uk.org.(https://www.open-uk.org). Within the Questionnaire, Suppliers will be given the opportunity to register for a market engagement meeting by directly emailing NEPRO to select two meeting dates highlighting their preferred choice. Market engagement meetings are limited in number and will take place the week commencing Monday 17th February 2025. Appointments will be no longer than 150 mins. NEPO intends to conduct these sessions in person in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. In-person meetings will be determined via correspondence but are expected to take place at NEPO's offices. The time and location of each appointment will be confirmed following the registration deadline. NEPO may, by exception, use its discretion to facilitate online meetings in the event that in-person meetings are not feasible for suppliers. Places will be secured on a first-come, first-serve basis via directly emailing NEPRO to select two meeting dates highlighting their preferred choice. Suppliers wishing to attend the market engagement meetings should be capable of meeting the requirements outlined above. NEPO reserves the right to seek assurances from interested suppliers prior to allocating a place. Attendance at the market engagement is optional and does not provide suppliers with an advantage in any future related procurement. Attendance also does not constitute as an intention to tender for any future related procurement, nor does the meeting location. Please note the above dates may be subject to change depending on availability and supplier uptake. In addition to the market engagement meetings, NEPO may also publish a soft market testing questionnaire via our Open E-Procurement system. Should this be issued, the questionnaire will allow a further opportunity for those suppliers unable to attend the market consultation meetings to contribute towards shaping the future NEPO535 Framework design. Should the questionnaire be issued, this will be published through Open for access and completion." All those who attended preliminary market engagement sessions were either in attendance in-person at NEPO offices or via an arranged Microsoft Teams call online. All clarifications were made available on our Open E-procurement system ('Open'). Preliminary market engagement was restricted to six face-to-face sessions allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Due to the high interest in the preliminary market engagement sessions, NEPO allocated an additional six online sessions. To facilitate the additional sessions, NEPO needed to shorten the online sessions to 75 minutes. The same information was disseminated in both the face-to-face and online sessions. As a result, NEPO engaged in four 150-minute face-to-face preliminary market engagement sessions and two 75-minute online sessions. These took place between 18th February and 24th February 2025. To ensure the preliminary market engagement was sufficiently robust, NEPO also issued a Preliminary Market Engagement Questionnaire on 28th February 2025 via Open. This allowed NEPO to obtain wider feedback and assess the appetite and capability of the market. NEPO issued the presentation slides from the preliminary market engagement sessions with this questionnaire, to ensure transparency and to ensure that no distortion of competition and no unfair advantage was gained by those able to attend market engagement. Within the questionnaire, NEPO sought feedback on: pricing, rebate, contract value and term, contract governance and terms and conditions, financial appraisal and insurances. The deadline for submitting the preliminary market engagement exercise was 10th March 2025 concluding the preliminary market engagement period. A copy of the preliminary market engagement presentation slides, clarifications and a summary of NEPO's findings from preliminary market engagement can be provided by NEPO. Please contact us to request these documents via the following email address: nepro@nepo.org

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-04eb42
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/026045-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

03 - Agricultural, farming, fishing, forestry and related products

09 - Petroleum products, fuel, electricity and other sources of energy

14 - Mining, basic metals and related products

15 - Food, beverages, tobacco and related products

16 - Agricultural machinery

18 - Clothing, footwear, luggage articles and accessories

19 - Leather and textile fabrics, plastic and rubber materials

22 - Printed matter and related products

24 - Chemical products

30 - Office and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packages

31 - Electrical machinery, apparatus, equipment and consumables; lighting

32 - Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment

33 - Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products

34 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation

35 - Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment

37 - Musical instruments, sport goods, games, toys, handicraft, art materials and accessories

38 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

39 - Furniture (incl. office furniture), furnishings, domestic appliances (excl. lighting) and cleaning products

41 - Collected and purified water

42 - Industrial machinery

43 - Machinery for mining, quarrying, construction equipment

44 - Construction structures and materials; auxiliary products to construction (except electric apparatus)

45 - Construction work

48 - Software package and information systems

50 - Repair and maintenance services

51 - Installation services (except software)

55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services

60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

63 - Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services

64 - Postal and telecommunications services

65 - Public utilities

66 - Financial and insurance services

70 - Real estate services

71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

75 - Administration, defence and social security services

76 - Services related to the oil and gas industry

77 - Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

80 - Education and training services

85 - Health and social work services

90 - Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services

92 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services

98 - Other community, social and personal services


CPV Codes

03000000 - Agricultural, farming, fishing, forestry and related products

09000000 - Petroleum products, fuel, electricity and other sources of energy

14000000 - Mining, basic metals and related products

15000000 - Food, beverages, tobacco and related products

16000000 - Agricultural machinery

18000000 - Clothing, footwear, luggage articles and accessories

19000000 - Leather and textile fabrics, plastic and rubber materials

22000000 - Printed matter and related products

24000000 - Chemical products

30000000 - Office and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packages

31000000 - Electrical machinery, apparatus, equipment and consumables; lighting

32000000 - Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment

33000000 - Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products

34000000 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation

35000000 - Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment

37000000 - Musical instruments, sport goods, games, toys, handicraft, art materials and accessories

38000000 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

39000000 - Furniture (incl. office furniture), furnishings, domestic appliances (excl. lighting) and cleaning products

41000000 - Collected and purified water

42000000 - Industrial machinery

43000000 - Machinery for mining, quarrying, construction equipment

44000000 - Construction structures and materials; auxiliary products to construction (except electric apparatus)

45000000 - Construction work

48000000 - Software package and information systems

50000000 - Repair and maintenance services

51000000 - Installation services (except software)

55000000 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services

60000000 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

63000000 - Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services

64000000 - Postal and telecommunications services

65000000 - Public utilities

66000000 - Financial and insurance services

70000000 - Real estate services

71000000 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

75000000 - Administration, defence and social security services

76000000 - Services related to the oil and gas industry

77000000 - Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services

79000000 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

80000000 - Education and training services

85000000 - Health and social work services

90000000 - Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services

92000000 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services

98000000 - Other community, social and personal services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£20,000,000,000 Over £10B
Lots Value
£20,000,000,000 Over £10B
Awards Value
£20,000,000,000 Over £10B
Contracts Value
£20,000,000,000 Over £10B

Notice Dates

Publication Date
23 Mar 20265 months ago
Submission Deadline
11 Apr 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
26 Mar 2025Expired
Award Date
2 Dec 20258 months ago
Contract Period
25 Feb 2026 - 24 Feb 2030 4-5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
The Association of North East Councils Limited
Additional Buyers

THE ASSOCIATION OF NORTH EAST COUNCILS LIMITED

Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
GATESHEAD
Postcode
NE8 3DF
Postcode Area
Newcastle upon Tyne
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLC North East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLC43 Tyneside
Delivery Location
Not specified

Local Authority
Gateshead
Electoral Ward
Bridges
Westminster Constituency
Gateshead Central and Whickham

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

CONSTELLIA PUBLIC LTD

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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