Tender

RFQ - CMS Provider for Museums

ROYAL BOROUGH OF KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Tender

30 Apr 2026 at 10:14

Summary of the contracting process

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is seeking a new Content Management System (CMS) provider for their Museums, namely Leighton House and Sambourne House. This tender falls under the services category and involves finding a system that can handle museum collection details and provide an enhanced public search portal. Located in London, the procurement process is at the tender stage, with the closing date for submissions set for 31st May 2026. The project, titled "RFQ - CMS Provider for Museums," is budgeted at £99,000 and follows an open competition procurement method, suitable for SMEs. The contract period is slated to begin on 1st August 2026 and will extend over three years, with a possibility of renewal post-evaluation.

This tender presents significant business growth opportunities for companies specialising in CMS solutions, particularly those tailored to museums and cultural services. Businesses with expertise in providing Spectrum compliant systems would benefit the most, catering to both the museums’ need for detailed object-based record-keeping and a public-facing component to enhance visitor engagement. Given the nature of the project, SMEs specialising in IT systems for cultural heritage organisations stand a good chance of securing the contract, as the procurement is open and under the threshold, encouraging diverse participation.

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How relevant is this notice?

Notice Title

RFQ - CMS Provider for Museums

Notice Description

Leighton House and Sambourne House, the Museums, together with the Local Studies and Archive department at Kensington Central Library have jointly been using a CMS system called Calm provided by the supplier Axiell for the last 20 years (specific time frame unknown?). This system will be terminated by the supplier 31/12/27 and we are therefore looking for a new system. It is unclear at this stage whether Museums will again be joined with the Local Studies department for a new system. Ideally Museums would prefer a stand alone system that was best suited to their needs which are more object based than archival and would enable a better public portal to search for and display objects in the Museums collections. The current system is hosted by RBKC in house however all new systems would be hosted externally with the supplier. This would result in any IT issues being resolved quickly. A CMS system is vital to the running of the Museums as all objects are recorded here with images, in-depth information, notes on conservation issues, loans, location, donors, etc. Leighton House is an Arts Council accredited museum and Sambourne House is working towards accreditation. Part of being accredited means careful record keeping and implementing Spectrum compliant information (all CMS providers we are considering are Spectrum compliant). It is important to chose the provider that is best suited to the Museums needs.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-068f04
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/039746-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK4 - Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Below threshold - open competition
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

22 - Printed matter and related products

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

92 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services


CPV Codes

22841000 - Collection albums

30144400 - Automatic fare collection

92500000 - Library, archives, museums and other cultural services

92520000 - Museum services and preservation services of historical sites and buildings

92521000 - Museum services

92521100 - Museum-exhibition services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£99,000 Under £100K
Lots Value
£99,000 Under £100K
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
30 Apr 20262 days ago
Submission Deadline
31 May 20264 weeks to go
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
31 Jul 2026 - 31 Jul 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
ROYAL BOROUGH OF KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
W8 7NX
Post Town
West London
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI33 Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham
Delivery Location
Not specified

Local Authority
Kensington and Chelsea
Electoral Ward
Campden
Westminster Constituency
Kensington and Bayswater

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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