Planning

Soft Market Test for Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

CORNWALL COUNCIL

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

31 Jul 2025 at 13:05

Summary of the contracting process

Cornwall Council is conducting a soft market test for its Geographic Information Systems (GIS) contract, focusing on planning the procurement process to replace its existing platform, which is provided by ESRIUK and due to expire in February 2026. The Council is seeking innovative solutions within the IT services industry category, particularly in Geographic Information Systems and Software package and information systems, with an emphasis on SaaS (Software as a Service) offerings that minimise reliance on on-premises servers or Cornwall Council's Azure infrastructure. The preliminary market engagement is currently underway, with milestones including a Request for Information (RFI) due by the 15th of August 2025. Interested suppliers should contact Alex Kirk and Elaine Bennett for further documentation. The procurement stage is presently in planning, highlighting key engagement opportunities in Truro, UK, with a gross value of £2,000,000 allocated to this initiative.

This tender presents significant business growth opportunities for companies specialising in IT services, consulting, software development, and GIS solutions. SMEs are particularly encouraged to compete, given the potential to contribute to Cornwall Council's transition to a modern, cloud-hosted GIS service that supports the Council's strategic aims over the next decade. Businesses with expertise in SaaS services, capable of delivering complex migration plans and seamless integration into the Council's IT ecosystem, stand to benefit from engaging in this procurement process. The opportunity to work with a public authority in sub-central government offers a valuable avenue for establishing partnerships and expanding influence in the public sector procurement landscape. Anticipated renewal options further enhance the prospects for sustained engagements through 2036.

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Notice Title

Soft Market Test for Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Notice Description

A comprehensive overview of Cornwall Council's Geographic Information System (GIS) platform and detailed description of the Council's GIS contract requirements can be attained by emailing Alex Kirk (Alex.Kirk@cornwall.gov.uk) and Elaine Bennett (Elaine.Bennett@cornwall.gov.uk) to request copies of the Request for Information (RFI) and draft Statement of Requirements (SoR) documents. A brief overview is provided below. Cornwall Council currently procure their Enterprise Geographic Information System (GIS) platform from ESRIUK. The contract ends in mid February 2026, so we are coming to the market to ensure we have a single integrated platform in place to allow us to seamlessly continue supporting the business needs of the Council after that date. An overview of the environment in which the platform will need to operate and the GIS services we currently provide is given below for your information. We are also focusing on the areas of development within this industry segment and how they will enable us to align the delivery of the GIS service with the wider technical and strategic aims of the Council over the next ten years on a 5 year plus 5 year basis. To that end, the solution must be a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that includes a professional GIS product or links to one client-side. The platform and migration methodology must enable us to seamlessly continue to support the business needs of the Council whilst removing the dependency on on-premises or Council cloud hosted server solutions by 2030 at the latest. Any submission must clearly show that the offer will allow for both the continuation of services and migration to cloud hosted (SaaS) services for server-based functionality and data storage with no dependency on on-premise servers and no or minimal dependency on Cornwall Council's Azure infrastructure. We are aware that the current platform is large scale and complex meaning that the migration to a SaaS service will require extensive assessment and planning to ensure its success. Therefore, we are seeking a detailed and costed migration plan as part of this tender with the view to assessing the likely impacts and costs of migration, but the delivery of that migration will not be in scope.

Planning Information

Cornwall Council is issuing a preliminary market engagement notice via the Central Digital Platform to determine if there's suitable suppliers and software solutions within the market to meet the Council's Geographic Information System (GIS) contract requirements. The Council's existing GIS contract ends mid-February 2026 and any alternative software and services must be able to provide a seamless continuation of the Council's broad, mature and fully integrated GIS related service offerings. Cornwall Council has prepared a Request for Information (RFI) document and a draft Statement of Requirements (SoR) document. The RFI provides further background around this engagement exercise and includes a series of questions that suitable suppliers are invited to respond to. The SoR lists all of the Council's mandatory and optional GIS contract requirements. Suitable suppliers are invited to complete a check-box exercise to confirm which GIS contract requirements in the SoR they are capable of delivering for the Council. If you wish to participate in this market engagement exercise, please contact Alex Kirk (Alex.Kirk@cornwall.gov.uk) and Elaine Bennett (Elaine.Bennett@cornwall.gov.uk) via email to request copies of the RFI and SoR documents for completion and submission.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-056a3c
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/044769-2025
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

48 - Software package and information systems

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


CPV Codes

38221000 - Geographic information systems (GIS or equivalent)

48000000 - Software package and information systems

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

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£1,600,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
31 Jul 20256 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
1 Sep 2025Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
16 Feb 2026 - 15 Feb 2031 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
CORNWALL COUNCIL
Contact Name
Mr Alex Kirk
Contact Email
alex.kirk@cornwall.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
TRURO
Postcode
TR1 3AY
Post Town
Truro
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK3 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK30 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly
Delivery Location
TLK South West (England)

Local Authority
Cornwall
Electoral Ward
Truro Boscawen & Redannick
Westminster Constituency
Truro and Falmouth

Further Information

Notice Documents

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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