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003843 - Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) for Virtual Reality (VR) Headsets

Durham County Council

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

17 Sep 2026 at 11:58

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Durham County Council is exploring the supply of standalone virtual reality headsets for use in care settings across County Durham. The requirement is for complete equipment, including accessories and chargers, together with immersive 360-degree experiences that can be delivered safely in seated, supervised one-to-one or small-group sessions. Content is intended to support reminiscence, relaxation, wellbeing, social interaction and meaningful activities, particularly for older people, people living with dementia and other adult service users. The solution should support personalised individual use and planned group sessions. It may include locally relevant content about County Durham and the North East, including places, history and culture. This is primarily a goods requirement combining computer equipment, multimedia equipment and software.

This is a preliminary market engagement exercise at the planning stage, intended to help shape a possible future procurement; it is not an invitation to tender. The Council expects to use supplier responses to make any later exercise feasible, focused and attractive to the market. Written response questionnaires are expected by Friday 9 October 2026 at 12 noon, with access through the Open Tendering Portal after registration. The indicative contract period is 1 February 2027 to 31 January 2028. The estimated value is £15,000 excluding VAT, or £18,000 including VAT. The planned procurement is below the relevant threshold and is presented as one lot, with the Council identifying it as suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community or social enterprises.

This engagement will suit suppliers able to provide and support standalone VR hardware, charging equipment, operating software and immersive content for care environments. Strong candidates will be able to demonstrate safe, accessible delivery for seated users, including older people and people living with dementia, and support both individual and small-group activities. Relevant capability includes content for reminiscence, relaxation, wellbeing, social connection and meaningful activity, with a process for regular content refreshes to sustain repeat use. Suppliers able to provide County Durham or North East content, or develop and commission experiences reflecting local places, history and culture, will be well placed. The Council is also looking for intuitive operation by social care staff after training, with clear guidance on suitability and safe use.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

003843 - Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) for Virtual Reality (VR) Headsets

Notice Description

The Council is inviting suppliers to participate in preliminary engagement to gain insight from the market with the purpose of making any potential future exercise, well framed, feasible, focused and of likely interest to the market. Durham County Council (DCC) is looking to explore the market options for Virtual Reality (VR) headsets suitable for use in a range of care settings. Scope * Provision of standalone virtual reality headsets suitable for use in a range of care settings, including all required accessories and chargers * The solution must provide immersive 360-degree experiences that can be delivered safely in seated, supervised one-to-one or small group sessions. * Content should support reminiscence, relaxation, wellbeing, social interaction and meaningful activity primarily for older people, including people living with dementia and other adult service user groups as appropriate. * The supplier should provide local content relevant to County Durham and the North East where available, with the option to develop or commission new experiences linked to local places, history, culture and service-user interests. * Content should be refreshed regularly so the service has access to new experiences over time and can maintain interest for repeat users. * The specification should support both individual personalised use and planned group activity sessions within a range of care settings. * The solution must be suitable for social staff to operate following training, with clear guidance on when VR may or may not be appropriate for an individual. Written response questionnaires ca

Planning Information

Written response questionnaires can be accessed free of charge by registering on the Open Tendering Portal at www.open-uk.org The deadline for written submissions, via the Open Portal is Friday 9th October at 12 noon.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-07743a
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/088139-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

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

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

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

48 - Software package and information systems

CPV Codes

30200000 - Computer equipment and supplies

32322000 - Multimedia equipment

48000000 - Software package and information systems

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£15,000 Under £100K
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
17 Sep 20264 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Feb 2027 - 31 Jan 2028 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Durham 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
DURHAM
Postcode
DH1 5WB
Postcode Area
Durham
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLC North East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLC41 Durham
Delivery Location
TLC14 Durham
Local Authority
County Durham
Electoral Ward
Framwellgate & Newton Hall
Westminster Constituency
City of Durham

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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