---
title: "Bursary services"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06ea8e"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06ea8e"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06ea8e.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06ea8e.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "Southern Universities Management Services (SUMS)"
published: "2026-08-24"
---

# Bursary services

Buyer: Southern Universities Management Services (SUMS)  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06ea8e

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## Summary

Southern Universities Management Services (SUMS) is exploring a framework for bursary services across the United Kingdom. The intended scope covers three potential service areas: making bursary and hardship payments to qualifying individuals on behalf of member organisations; providing credit-based support for education-related purchases such as books, equipment and technology; and assessing applicants against member organisations’ bursary policies. The framework could be used by members of UKUPC’s regional consortia, including higher education institutions, schools, colleges, government departments, local authorities, charities, housing associations and NHS trusts. The work is classed as services and may include payment handling, education support, administration and bursary eligibility assessment. Suppliers would operate across the UK.

This process is at the preliminary market engagement and planning stage; it is not an invitation to tender. SUMS is assessing whether a framework agreement is viable, with three potential service lots currently under consideration. The indicative framework period is 1 August 2027 to 31 July 2029, with the potential to extend to 31 July 2031. The estimated total value is £100,000,000 gross, and the procurement is above the relevant threshold. The buyer expects the next notice to be published on 1 April 2027. The planned market engagement includes a briefing, supplier survey and draft specification, with supplier comments and clarification queries expected by 30 November 2026. The procurement is intended to cover all UKUPC consortium members.

This will suit providers already delivering outsourced bursary, hardship-fund or student-support services, particularly those able to manage payments securely, operate credit or voucher-style purchasing schemes, or assess eligibility against varied organisational policies. Relevant capabilities include handling sensitive applicant information, applying consistent eligibility and compliance checks, supporting beneficiaries and administering payments or spending balances at scale. Suppliers offering education-related goods or technology through a controlled credit service may fit the potential credit bursary lot. The arrangement is being considered as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community and social enterprises. Businesses can prepare by reviewing the draft specification, considering which service area best matches their operation, and shaping requirements through the planned market engagement.

## Notice

The purpose of this Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) procedure is to assess the viability of a framework agreement for bursary services. Initial thinking includes three potential Lots as follows: Lot 1: Bursary payment services - Where the supplier handles payments to qualifying individuals on behalf of the member organisation. This Lot is likely to have applications to the wider public sector membership, where bursary and hardship payments are made. Lot 2: Credit bursary services - Where the supplier offers a wide range of products that support education (eg. books, equipment, tech) and qualifying individuals are credited with an amount to spend as they require. Lot 3: Bursary management services - Where the supplier offers a service to assess whether or not individuals qualify for bursary payments in line with the policies of member organisations. The expectation is that a resulting framework agreement would be available to all members of the regional consortia that comprise UKUPC (APUC, HEPCW, LUPC, NEUPC, NWUPC, SUPC, TEC, and TUCO). Members sit across the public sector and include Higher Education Institutions, Schools and Colleges, Government Departments, Local Authorities, Charities, Housing Associations, NHS Trusts, and others.

### Planning Information

Suppliers are invited to visit the PME via our tendering portal, Mercell: https://uk.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/rwlentrance_s.asp?PID=108491&TID=100113553&B= This includes the following: 1. PME briefing document (which includes a link to a supplier engagement survey) 2. PDF version of the supplier engagement survey (for reference only) 3. Draft specification, which suppliers are invited to review. Suppliers are welcome to annotate these and return them to SUPC via the Mercell messaging function. Suppliers may also raise clarification queries, which should also be submitted via the Mercell messaging function

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/080358-2026 |
| Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice |
| Procurement type | Framework |
| 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 | 24 Aug 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 1 Apr 2027 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Aug 2027 - 31 Jul 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £100,000,000 |
| 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 | Southern Universities Management Services (SUMS) |
| Locality | READING |
| Postcode area | Reading |
| Postcode | RG6 6BU |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLJ16 Berkshire West |
| Local authority | Wokingham |
| Electoral ward | Hillside |
| Westminster constituency | Earley and Woodley |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 22 - Printed matter and related products
- 75 - Administration, defence and social security services
- 80 - Education and training services
- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 22100000 - Printed books, brochures and leaflets
- 75100000 - Administration services
- 80000000 - Education and training services
- 80300000 - Higher education services
- 85000000 - Health and social work services

## Release History

- 24 Aug 2026 at 13:32 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/080358-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/080358-2026
  24th August 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://uk.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/rwlentrance_s.asp?PID=108491&TID=100113553&B=
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.supc.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-06ea8e. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06ea8e.json.