---
title: "Supply of STRATUM software"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-044cf0"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-044cf0"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-044cf0.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-044cf0.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "OPEN UNIVERSITY(THE)"
published: "2024-03-26"
---

# Supply of STRATUM software

Buyer: OPEN UNIVERSITY(THE)  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-044cf0

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## Summary

The Open University has awarded a contract for the supply of STRATUM software to ClearCourse Membership Services Limited. The contract, with a value of £550,000, was signed on 26th March 2024. The University identified ClearCourse as the sole provider capable of meeting its compliance requirements and income generation targets. The procurement was undertaken through a limited tender procedure without prior publication of a call for competition. The contract covers the maintenance of the University's alumni, donor, and business engagement system for a period of 2 years, with potential extensions up to a total of five years.

This procurement opportunity for the supply of STRATUM software by the Open University presents a lucrative chance for software companies specializing in membership and external relationship management systems. Businesses with expertise in bespoke software development, integration services, and complex technical solutions may find this opportunity particularly suitable for competing. The potential value of the contract is set at £500,000, offering a significant business growth prospect for technology firms looking to expand their portfolio in the education sector.

## Notice

Supply of STRATUM software This is a voluntary ex ante transparency notice for the Open University's intention to award a contract. The Open University (OU) intends to award a contract for 2 years with an option of further annual extensions up a maximum of five years in total for the maintenance of its current alumni, donor, and business engagement customer relationship management system (Current application STRATUM). The STRATUM application is owned, supplied and supported exclusively by ClearCourse, a company which specialises in software membership and external relationship management.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

This is a voluntary ex ante transparency notice for the Open University's intention to award a contract. The Open University (OU) intends to award a contract for 2 years with an option of further annual extensions up a maximum of five years in total for the maintenance of its current alumni, donor, and business engagement customer relationship management system (Current application STRATUM). The STRATUM application is owned, supplied and supported exclusively by ClearCourse, a company which specialises in software membership and external relationship management. The OU has identified that this is currently the only viable option to deliver major external compliance requirements and meet income generation targets in the areas of industry research and philanthropy, whilst maintaining the current core business that is achievable within the OU's capital and revenue budget and staff capacity. Since the system was installed some years ago, the OU has made substantial investment in STRATUM terms of process, infrastructure, staff skills and capabilities. The suite of software provides a range of capabilities developed specifically for the OU, including a research management system, legacy management system and preference centre. Upgrades have provided a staff and alumni portal which is driven from the data held in the STRATUM database and in, further development of online giving pages and payment system for alumni has also recently taken place. The STRATUM application has also required the OU to make additional substantial investment in terms of integrations into the rest of the OU's technical estate (which is complex and contains a number of bespoke legacy systems), the finance system and a separate data warehouse. The OU has identified that for reasons of technical complexity, compatibility, continuity, the need to minimise disruption to core business and the need to introduce greater resilience for existing systems, that only the products, services and support provided by ClearCourse are capable of meeting the OU's requirement. It is envisaged that the maximum value of the contract will be 500,000 GBP.

Options: Initial 2 year term with an option of further annual extensions up a maximum of five years in total.

### Procurement Information

This is a voluntary ex ante transparency notice for the Open University's intention to award a contract. The Open University (OU) intends to award a contract for 2 years with an option of further annual extensions up a maximum of five years in total for the maintenance of its current alumni, donor, and business engagement customer relationship management system (Current application STRATUM). The STRATUM application is owned, supplied and supported exclusively by ClearCourse, a company which specialises in software membership and external relationship management. The OU has identified that this is currently the only viable option to deliver major external compliance requirements and meet income generation targets in the areas of industry research and philanthropy, whilst maintaining the current core business that is achievable within the OU's capital and revenue budget and staff capacity. Since the system was installed some years ago, the OU has made substantial investment in STRATUM terms of process, infrastructure, staff skills and capabilities. The suite of software provides a range of capabilities developed specifically for the OU, including a research management system, legacy management system and preference centre. Upgrades have provided a staff and alumni portal which is driven from the data held in the STRATUM database and in, further development of online giving pages and payment system for alumni has also recently taken place. The STRATUM application has also required the OU to make additional substantial investment in terms of integrations into the rest of the OU's technical estate (which is complex and contains a number of bespoke legacy systems), the finance system and a separate data warehouse. The OU has identified that for reasons of technical complexity, compatibility, continuity, the need to minimise disruption to core business and the need to introduce greater resilience for existing systems, that only the products, services and support provided by ClearCourse are capable of meeting the OU's requirement. It is envisaged that the maximum value of the contract will be 500,000 GBP.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009806-2024 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 26 Mar 2024 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 26 Mar 2024 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £550,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | OPEN UNIVERSITY(THE) |
| Locality | MILTON KEYNES |
| Post town | Milton Keynes |
| Postcode | MK7 6AA |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLJ12 Milton Keynes |
| Local authority | Milton Keynes |
| Electoral ward | Monkston |
| Westminster constituency | Milton Keynes Central |
| Delivery location | TLJ12 Milton Keynes |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | CLEARCOURSE MEMBERSHIP SERVICES |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 48 - Software package and information systems

### Codes

- 48000000 - Software package and information systems

## Release History

- 26 Mar 2024 at 13:28 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009806-2024

## Notice URLs

- https://about.open.ac.uk/governance-ou/procurement-services/procurement-open-university
- https://www.open.ac.uk/

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-044cf0. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-044cf0.json.