--- title: "DHSC: ASC RFI Foundation Specification" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-04f915" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04f915" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04f915.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04f915.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Planning" buyer: "DHSC, LONDON" published: "2025-03-26" --- # DHSC: ASC RFI Foundation Specification Buyer: DHSC, LONDON Current stage: Planning OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-04f915 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04f915) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04f915.json) ## Summary The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), located at 39 Victoria Street, London, is currently in the planning stage of procuring Case Management Systems (CMSs) for Adult Social Care (ASC) and Children Social Care (CSC) services across UK Local Authorities (LAs). This procurement initiative seeks feedback on the Foundational Specification guidance for CMSs, aiming to publish the final specification in summer 2025. The procurement falls under the services category, with relevant industry classifications including system management software development, health services, and administrative social services. A key milestone is scheduled for 2 May 2025, where the DHSC will be engaging in interviews with interested CMS suppliers to refine the guidance. This pre-market engagement presents a substantial opportunity for businesses involved in IT services, system management, and social care technologies to influence the development of national standards for CMSs. SMEs and VCSEs with expertise in software development, information technology services, or strategic planning for information systems are particularly well-suited to participate in this tender. By contributing to the guidance, businesses can showcase their capabilities to DHSC and LAs, potentially leading to future contract opportunities as preferred suppliers for CMS projects in the health and social care sector. ## Notice The purpose of this Pre Market Engagement (PME) is to invite current, previous and prospective suppliers of Case Management Systems (CMSs) for Adult Social Care (ASC) and Children Social Care (CSC) to Local Authorities (LAs) in the UK to provide feedback on the Department of Health and Social Care's (DHSC) procurement guidance - the Foundational Specification. DHSC at the request of LAs are developing procurement guidance which sets out 'what good looks like' for priority areas of CMSs. We are planning to publish this specification in the summer of 2025 and in advance of this publication we would like to engage with current, previous and prospective CMS suppliers as we develop this guidance to ensure it is fit for purpose. In speaking to stakeholders across the care sector we have consistently heard that there is a lack of clarity on what a 'good' CMS looks like. This in turn makes it difficult for suppliers to develop and implement CMSs and for LAs to procure cost-effective systems. In response to this, we are developing procurement guidance that will set out a clear, comprehensive and concise specification. Part 1 of this project was completed in March 2024 and we are aiming to publish the final specification guidance in the summer of 2025. We are not planning for this procurement guidance to be mandatory for LAs or suppliers but it will act as a best practice resource to rely on; allowing the market to focus its time and attention on developing more innovative and interoperable CMSs. As part of this work we are continuously engaging with LAs, regulatory bodies and other relevant department to ensure cross-government alignment. We are excited by this opportunity to better support and empower the CMS market and we want to develop this procurement guidance collaboratively with the sector. As such we would appreciate feedback from all current, previous and prospective ASC CMS suppliers. We will be organising a set of interviews with relevant suppliers over the coming weeks. If you believe you meet the criteria please contact us via Atamis. We will exercise our best judgement when deciding if a supplier effectively meets the criteria. ### Planning Information The purpose of this Pre Market Engagement (PME) is to invite current, previous and prospective suppliers of Case Management Systems (CMSs) for Adult Social Care (ASC) and Children Social Care (CSC) to Local Authorities (LAs) in the UK to provide feedback on the Department of Health and Social Care's (DHSC) procurement guidance - the Foundational Specification. DHSC at the request of LAs are developing procurement guidance which sets out 'what good looks like' for priority areas of CMSs. We are planning to publish this specification in the summer of 2025 and in advance of this publication we would like to engage with current, previous and prospective CMS suppliers as we develop this guidance to ensure it is fit for purpose. In speaking to stakeholders across the care sector we have consistently heard that there is a lack of clarity on what a 'good' CMS looks like. This in turn makes it difficult for suppliers to develop and implement CMSs and for LAs to procure cost-effective systems. In response to this, we are developing procurement guidance that will set out a clear, comprehensive and concise specification. Part 1 of this project was completed in March 2024 and we are aiming to publish the final specification guidance in the summer of 2025. We are not planning for this procurement guidance to be mandatory for LAs or suppliers but it will act as a best practice resource to rely on; allowing the market to focus its time and attention on developing more innovative and interoperable CMSs. As part of this work we are continuously engaging with LAs, regulatory bodies and other relevant department to ensure cross-government alignment. We are excited by this opportunity to better support and empower the CMS market and we want to develop this procurement guidance collaboratively with the sector. As such we would appreciate feedback from all current, previous and prospective ASC CMS suppliers. We will be organising a set of interviews with relevant suppliers over the coming weeks. If you believe you meet the criteria please contact us via Atamis. We will exercise our best judgement when deciding if a supplier effectively meets the criteria. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/011383-2025 | | Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Not Specified | | Procurement method details | Not specified | | Tender suitability | SME, VCSE | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 26 Mar 2025 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | 2 May 2025 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 31 Mar 2025 - 29 Aug 2025 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | Not specified | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Planning | | Lots status | Planning | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | DHSC, LONDON | | Locality | LONDON | | Post town | South West London | | Postcode | SW1H 0EU | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLI London | | ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West | | ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London | | Local authority | Westminster | | Electoral ward | St James's | | Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support - 85 - Health and social work services ### Codes - 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support - 72212781 - System management software development services - 72222000 - Information systems or technology strategic review and planning services - 72222300 - Information technology services - 85100000 - Health services - 85321000 - Administrative social services ## Release History - 26 Mar 2025 at 15:56 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/011383-2025 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/011383-2025 26th March 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents ## 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-04f915. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04f915.json.