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Made Smarter East Midlands Digital Internship Coordinator

Lincolnshire County Council

This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

ContractAmendment

02 Sep 2026 at 13:16

UK10 - Contract Change Notice
Award

28 May 2026 at 09:41

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

07 May 2026 at 13:43

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

18 Mar 2026 at 16:09

UK4 - Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Lincolnshire County Council commissioned a digital internship coordination service for the Made Smarter East Midlands Programme. The provider works with small and medium-sized manufacturers, universities and students to deliver 37 digital internships. Beneficiary manufacturers must make a product, employ between 1 and 249 people, and be based in Greater Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire or Nottinghamshire. The requirement combines training programme services with general management consultancy, including coordination across employers, higher education institutions and internship participants. Delivery is associated with Lincolnshire and the wider East Midlands area. This is a public-sector service opportunity for organisations able to manage employer engagement, education partnerships and structured digital skills placements for manufacturing businesses.

The procurement is complete and a contract has been awarded following an open procedure. Three bids were received, all from SMEs, and Step Recruitment Limited, also recorded as Step Recruitment Ltd, was selected on 7 May 2026. Evaluation weighted quality at 80% and cost at 20%. The tender and lot value was £193,000 excluding VAT (£231,000 including VAT). The award value was £61,000 excluding VAT (£73,038 including VAT). A contract was signed on 22 May 2026 and is active from 1 October 2026 to 31 May 2027, with a maximum extension date of 31 May 2029. The contract value is £200,725 excluding VAT (£240,870 including VAT), with two one-year extensions available. The contract was amended on 28 August 2026 as a non-substantial change under section 74(b)(1) of the Procurement Act 2023.

This procurement shows demand for a specialist coordinator able to turn a regional manufacturing and digital-skills programme into delivered internships. A credible future competitor would need to recruit and support 37 placements, engage manufacturers with differing sizes and needs, and manage working relationships between businesses, universities and students. Experience in employer engagement, internship or training-programme delivery, higher-education partnership working and manufacturing-sector digital transformation would be directly relevant. The successful route also indicates that the buyer values delivery quality substantially more than cost, so evidence of robust coordination, participant support, measurable completion and dependable stakeholder management would matter. SMEs and voluntary, community or social enterprises were considered suitable, making this a service that can be delivered by a focused specialist provider as well as a larger consultancy.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Made Smarter East Midlands Digital Internship Coordinator

Notice Description

The overall purpose of the Digital Internships Co-ordinator role is to work with SME Manufacturers, (to be known as "the Beneficiaries") Universities and Students to deliver 37 Digital Internships as part of the Made Smarter East Midlands Programme. The Beneficiaries will be the manufacturer of a product, have headcounts between 1 and 249, and be located in Greater Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: There is an option to extend the contract by a period of two (2) years, in yearly increments

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-066e0f
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083049-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK10 - Contract Change Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

80 - Education and training services

CPV Codes

79411000 - General management consultancy services

80521000 - Training programme services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£193,000 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
£193,000 £100K-£500K
Awards Value
£61,000 Under £100K
Contracts Value
£200,725 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
2 Sep 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
13 Apr 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
7 May 20264 months ago
Contract Period
1 Oct 2026 - 31 May 2027 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Lincolnshire County Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LINCOLN
Postcode
LN1 1YL
Postcode Area
Lincoln
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLF East Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLF3 Lincolnshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLF30 Lincolnshire CC
Delivery Location
TLF3 Lincolnshire
Local Authority
Lincoln
Electoral Ward
Carholme
Westminster Constituency
Lincoln

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Step Recruitment Limited

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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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