---
title: "NEPRO Innovation"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-04eb42"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04eb42"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04eb42.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04eb42.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "THE ASSOCIATION OF NORTH EAST COUNCILS LIMITED"
published: "2026-03-23"
---

# NEPRO Innovation

Buyer: THE ASSOCIATION OF NORTH EAST COUNCILS LIMITED  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-04eb42

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## Summary

The Association of North East Councils Limited is executing a procurement process titled "NEPRO Innovation" under the NEPRO brand framework. This is designed as a Neutral Vendor Managed Service that aims to assist Contracting Authorities by providing access to a single supplier—CONSTELLIA PUBLIC LTD—who will deliver a managed service encompassing a wide array of projects such as goods, services, works, technology, and research and development. Located in Gateshead, United Kingdom, the procurement falls under the category of sub-central government public authority. This procurement has concluded with the award decision completed on 23 March 2026, following a competitive flexible procedure which allows contracting with a selective procurement method. The contract period begins on 25 February 2026 and runs until 24 February 2030, with potential extensions up to 2034.

The "NEPRO Innovation" tender offers significant opportunities for business growth among large-scale enterprises capable of providing diverse services as outlined within the managed service. The framework, accessible throughout the United Kingdom and regions such as Guernsey, Isle of Man, and Jersey, not only reduces the barriers to innovation but also promotes challenge-based procurement and the drive to increase spending with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and VCSEs. This framework facilitates flexible delivery of multiple types of contracts, presenting lucrative prospects for suppliers who can adapt to bespoke requirements of Contracting Authorities and effectively manage a perpetual supply chain. Businesses with expertise in technology, construction, services, and goods that align with the framework’s broad categories are especially well-positioned to benefit.

## Notice

NEPO is establishing a Closed Framework which will operate as a Neutral Vendor Managed Service; NEPRO Innovation. The objective of this procurement is to provide Contracting Authorities with access to a single Supplier (the Delivery Partner) who will provide a managed service for the delivery of services, goods, works, technology and research and development. NEPRO Innovation is a new Framework for NEPO. As a strategic procurement solution, the Framework will fall under NEPO's 'NEPRO' brand. NEPRO provides outcomes-based frameworks for the public sector. The Delivery Partner will adopt a Managed Service for the delivery of projects in the following areas: * Goods * Works * Services * Technology * Research and Development A single project may include more than one of the above. The Delivery Partner will be able to flexibly deliver projects incorporating all areas, to suit Contracting Authorities' bespoke requirements. The Delivery Partner shall act as an innovation enabler, meeting the following innovation deliverables: * Reduce barriers to innovation * Create guidance and signpost existing guidance to support Contracting Authorities * Promote and facilitate innovative procurement practices * Encourage challenge-based procurement * Drive increased spend with SMEs and VCSEs * Raise innovation awareness through the Innovation Community NEPO expects the typical value of projects being delivered under the Framework, will be at PS25k and above. There will be no maximum project value. For the avoidance of doubt, the Delivery Partner will not provide services, goods, works and technology in its own right, but rather will deliver a Managed Service that allows Contracting Authorities to procure these elements. The Delivery Partner will bring together the bespoke requirements of Contracting Authorities and a perpetual Supply Chain capable of meeting those requirements. Equal importance will be placed on the service provided to Contracting Authorities and the management of the Supply Chain delivering the requirements. Through market-led, Outcome-based pricing, the Delivery Partner will provide a 'one stop shop' for all in-scope goods, services, technology, works and research and development and will have a positive impact at every stage of the delivery. The Delivery Partner will act as a single point interface between the Contracting Authority and the Supply Chain. The Delivery Partner will be required to accommodate the bespoke needs of each Contracting Authority in each project. This will require the ability to flexibly deliver goods, works, services, technology and research and development contracts and offer innovative and/or bespoke procurement processes. The successful bidder has been chosen through a two-stage competitive flexible procedure.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: The Framework is for a period of 48 months with the options to extend for up to a further 2 x 24-month periods. Justification for the longer framework term is provided under section 6 of this Notice.

### Planning Information

This notice has been created in retrospect as the original preliminary market engagement activities were scheduled prior to the Procurement Act 2023 commencement date and the ability to produce this notice was not yet available. The original notice can be found here: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/002475-2025?origin=SearchResults&p=1
NEPO sent out a Prior Information Notice on 24th January 2025 with the following information:
"NEPO seeks to establish a Framework for provision of goods, works, services and technology ("NEPRO x Innovation"). It is envisaged NEPRO x Innovation will operate as a Neutral Vendor Managed Service vehicle.
The purpose of the prior information notice (PIN) is to provide advance notice to the marketplace for the future opportunity and the intentions of NEPO to hold market engagement meetings with suppliers to help shape the future Framework. NEPO are not advertising this PIN as a mechanism to reduce future procurement timescales. The market engagement meetings are advertised openly via this PIN but are limited to a particular number. Market engagement meetings will take place between Tuesday 18th February and Friday 21st February.
The "Market Consultation Questionnaire" (market engagement invite) will be made accessible via the Open e-tendering system on Friday 24th January 2025 with a submission deadline of 5 p.m. Friday 7th February 2025.
Suppliers wishing to access and complete the "Market Consultation Questionnaire" (Market engagement invite) must first register on the e-tendering system using the following link https://www.open-uk.org.(https://www.open-uk.org).
Within the Questionnaire, Suppliers will be given the opportunity to register for a market engagement meeting by directly emailing NEPRO to select two meeting dates highlighting their preferred choice.
Market engagement meetings are limited in number and will take place the week commencing Monday 17th February 2025. Appointments will be no longer than 150 mins. NEPO intends to conduct these sessions in person in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. In-person meetings will be determined via correspondence but are expected to take place at NEPO's offices. The time and location of each appointment will be confirmed following the registration deadline. NEPO may, by exception, use its discretion to facilitate online meetings in the event that in-person meetings are not feasible for suppliers. Places will be secured on a first-come, first-serve basis via directly emailing NEPRO to select two meeting dates highlighting their preferred choice.
Suppliers wishing to attend the market engagement meetings should be capable of meeting the requirements outlined above.
NEPO reserves the right to seek assurances from interested suppliers prior to allocating a place. Attendance at the market engagement is optional and does not provide suppliers with an advantage in any future related procurement. Attendance also does not constitute as an intention to tender for any future related procurement, nor does the meeting location.
Please note the above dates may be subject to change depending on availability and supplier uptake. In addition to the market engagement meetings, NEPO may also publish a soft market testing questionnaire via our Open E-Procurement system. Should this be issued, the questionnaire will allow a further opportunity for those suppliers unable to attend the market consultation meetings to contribute towards shaping the future NEPO535 Framework design. Should the questionnaire be issued, this will be published through Open for access and completion."
All those who attended preliminary market engagement sessions were either in attendance in-person at NEPO offices or via an arranged Microsoft Teams call online. All clarifications were made available on our Open E-procurement system ('Open').
Preliminary market engagement was restricted to six face-to-face sessions allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Due to the high interest in the preliminary market engagement sessions, NEPO allocated an additional six online sessions. To facilitate the additional sessions, NEPO needed to shorten the online sessions to 75 minutes. The same information was disseminated in both the face-to-face and online sessions.
As a result, NEPO engaged in four 150-minute face-to-face preliminary market engagement sessions and two 75-minute online sessions. These took place between 18th February and 24th February 2025.
To ensure the preliminary market engagement was sufficiently robust, NEPO also issued a Preliminary Market Engagement Questionnaire on 28th February 2025 via Open. This allowed NEPO to obtain wider feedback and assess the appetite and capability of the market. NEPO issued the presentation slides from the preliminary market engagement sessions with this questionnaire, to ensure transparency and to ensure that no distortion of competition and no unfair advantage was gained by those able to attend market engagement. Within the questionnaire, NEPO sought feedback on: pricing, rebate, contract value and term, contract governance and terms and conditions, financial appraisal and insurances.
The deadline for submitting the preliminary market engagement exercise was 10th March 2025 concluding the preliminary market engagement period.
A copy of the preliminary market engagement presentation slides, clarifications and a summary of NEPO's findings from preliminary market engagement can be provided by NEPO. Please contact us to request these documents via the following email address: nepro@nepo.org

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/026045-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Framework |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Competitive flexible procedure |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Planning, Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 23 Mar 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 11 Apr 2025 |
| Future notice date | 26 Mar 2025 |
| Award date | 2 Dec 2025 |
| Contract period | 25 Feb 2026 - 24 Feb 2030 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £20,000,000,000 |
| Lots value | £20,000,000,000 |
| Awards value | £20,000,000,000 |
| Contracts value | £20,000,000,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | THE ASSOCIATION OF NORTH EAST COUNCILS LIMITED |
| Locality | GATESHEAD |
| Post town | Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Postcode | NE8 3DF |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLC North East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear |
| ITL 3 | TLC43 Tyneside |
| Local authority | Gateshead |
| Electoral ward | Bridges |
| Westminster constituency | Gateshead Central and Whickham |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | CONSTELLIA PUBLIC |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 03 - Agricultural, farming, fishing, forestry and related products
- 09 - Petroleum products, fuel, electricity and other sources of energy
- 14 - Mining, basic metals and related products
- 15 - Food, beverages, tobacco and related products
- 16 - Agricultural machinery
- 18 - Clothing, footwear, luggage articles and accessories
- 19 - Leather and textile fabrics, plastic and rubber materials
- 22 - Printed matter and related products
- 24 - Chemical products
- 30 - Office and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packages
- 31 - Electrical machinery, apparatus, equipment and consumables; lighting
- 32 - Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment
- 33 - Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products
- 34 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation
- 35 - Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment
- 37 - Musical instruments, sport goods, games, toys, handicraft, art materials and accessories
- 38 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)
- 39 - Furniture (incl. office furniture), furnishings, domestic appliances (excl. lighting) and cleaning products
- 41 - Collected and purified water
- 42 - Industrial machinery
- 43 - Machinery for mining, quarrying, construction equipment
- 44 - Construction structures and materials; auxiliary products to construction (except electric apparatus)
- 45 - Construction work
- 48 - Software package and information systems
- 50 - Repair and maintenance services
- 51 - Installation services (except software)
- 55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services
- 60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)
- 63 - Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services
- 64 - Postal and telecommunications services
- 65 - Public utilities
- 66 - Financial and insurance services
- 70 - Real estate services
- 71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services
- 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services
- 75 - Administration, defence and social security services
- 76 - Services related to the oil and gas industry
- 77 - Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services
- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security
- 80 - Education and training services
- 85 - Health and social work services
- 90 - Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services
- 92 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services
- 98 - Other community, social and personal services

### Codes

- 03000000 - Agricultural, farming, fishing, forestry and related products
- 09000000 - Petroleum products, fuel, electricity and other sources of energy
- 14000000 - Mining, basic metals and related products
- 15000000 - Food, beverages, tobacco and related products
- 16000000 - Agricultural machinery
- 18000000 - Clothing, footwear, luggage articles and accessories
- 19000000 - Leather and textile fabrics, plastic and rubber materials
- 22000000 - Printed matter and related products
- 24000000 - Chemical products
- 30000000 - Office and computing machinery, equipment and supplies except furniture and software packages
- 31000000 - Electrical machinery, apparatus, equipment and consumables; lighting
- 32000000 - Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment
- 33000000 - Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products
- 34000000 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation
- 35000000 - Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment
- 37000000 - Musical instruments, sport goods, games, toys, handicraft, art materials and accessories
- 38000000 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)
- 39000000 - Furniture (incl. office furniture), furnishings, domestic appliances (excl. lighting) and cleaning products
- 41000000 - Collected and purified water
- 42000000 - Industrial machinery
- 43000000 - Machinery for mining, quarrying, construction equipment
- 44000000 - Construction structures and materials; auxiliary products to construction (except electric apparatus)
- 45000000 - Construction work
- 48000000 - Software package and information systems
- 50000000 - Repair and maintenance services
- 51000000 - Installation services (except software)
- 55000000 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services
- 60000000 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)
- 63000000 - Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services
- 64000000 - Postal and telecommunications services
- 65000000 - Public utilities
- 66000000 - Financial and insurance services
- 70000000 - Real estate services
- 71000000 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services
- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services
- 75000000 - Administration, defence and social security services
- 76000000 - Services related to the oil and gas industry
- 77000000 - Agricultural, forestry, horticultural, aquacultural and apicultural services
- 79000000 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security
- 80000000 - Education and training services
- 85000000 - Health and social work services
- 90000000 - Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services
- 92000000 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services
- 98000000 - Other community, social and personal services

## Release History

- 23 Mar 2026 at 08:50 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/026045-2026
- 2 Dec 2025 at 14:20 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078964-2025
- 17 Apr 2025 at 08:39 - TenderUpdate - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/015755-2025
- 27 Mar 2025 at 15:38 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/011612-2025
- 24 Mar 2025 at 08:42 - PlanningUpdate - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/010802-2025
- 11 Mar 2025 at 07:31 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/008624-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/026045-2026
  23rd March 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078964-2025
  2nd December 2025 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/015755-2025
  17th April 2025 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/011612-2025
  27th March 2025 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/010802-2025
  24th March 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/008624-2025
  11th March 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.open-uk.org/
  All Procurement Documents can be accessed on NEPO's eTendering platform, Open. If not already registered, suppliers should register on the NEPO eTendering System at https://www.open-uk.org/

## Notice URLs

- http://www.constellia.com
- http://www.nepo.org
- https://bloom.services
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/002475-2025?origin=SearchResults&p=1
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.nepo.org/
- https://www.nepo.org/associate-membership
- https://www.nepo.org/associate-membership/permissible-users
- https://www.open-hub.org/training
- https://www.open-uk.org.(https://www.open-uk.org
- https://www.openhub.org/training

## Provenance

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