DoF - Civil Service Pensions (CSP) Systems Project

Concepts

• information technology
• insurance and pensions
• pension services
• consultancy services
• technical systems
• software services
• data services
• database services
• internet services
• computer services

Location

Derry/Londonderry

Description

The Department of Finance’s Civil Service Pensions (CSP) has a requirement for the provision of a replacement solution for Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) Pension Schemes member administration, pensioner payroll, accounting, financial reporting, on-line web services, electronic document management and workflow case management. It is anticipated that the Contract will be for a maximum contract period of 11½ years (which includes a development and implementation period of up to 18 months). This is likely to be on the basis of an implementation period from the effective date (i.e. contract award/ signature) to the operational service commencement date (i.e. “go-live”) followed by an initial contract period of seven years (7) years with the option to extend, at the Contracting Authority’s discretion, for up to three (3) further periods of one (1) year each. All optional extensions will be subject to review and satisfactory performance assessment conducted by CSP. Please see the procurement documents which provide further information.

Renewal Options

This contract will have the option to extend, at the Contracting Authority's discretion, for up to three (3) further periods of one (1) year each. All optional extensions will be subject to review and satisfactory performance assessment conducted by Civil Service Pensions.

CPV Codes

• 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
• 66500000 - Insurance and pension services
• 66520000 - Pension services
• 72100000 - Hardware consultancy services
• 72220000 - Systems and technical consultancy services
• 72227000 - Software integration consultancy services
• 72230000 - Custom software development services
• 72260000 - Software-related services
• 72300000 - Data services
• 72320000 - Database services
• 72400000 - Internet services
• 72500000 - Computer-related services
• 72600000 - Computer support and consultancy services
• 75320000 - Government employee pension schemes

Indicators

• Bids should cover the whole contract.
• Options are available.
• Renewals are not available.
• Financial restrictions apply.
• Performance considerations apply.
• Professional qualifications are sought.
• Award on basis of price and quality.

Other Information

The estimated contract value indicated in Section II.1.5 and II.2.6 represents the potential value of the contract over the maximum contract period which ranges from £8,000,000 GBP to £20,000,000 GBP exclusive of VAT. This is an estimated range only and the Department reserves the right to award for a lower or higher amount. This range reflects the potential scale of the contract and takes into account changes and potential modifications to the contract that may be required that could not be identified or foreseen at the time of this procurement exercise but which are complementary to the services to be provided to ensure that the CSP operational service is maintained, upgraded and enhanced over its lifetime. It is envisaged that such modifications would be made without requiring a new procurement procedure in accordance with Regulation 72 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. This range does not however take into account the application of indexation or increases to charges due to increases in the Real Living Wage. Neither CPD nor the Contracting Authority can provide any guarantee as to the level of business under this contract. The Contracting Authority does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any tender. Economic Operators remain responsible for all costs and expenses incurred by them or by any third party acting under instructions from the Economic Operator in connection with taking part in this procurement process regardless of whether such costs arise as a consequence, directly or indirectly of any amendments made to the procurement documents by the Contracting Authority at any time. No legally binding contract shall arise (and an Economic Operator shall have no legitimate expectation that a contract will be entered into) until such time as entry into the Contract has been confirmed by the Contracting Authority. Economic Operators should note that all dates, time periods and figures in relation to values and volumes specified in this notice and the procurement documents are approximate only and the Contracting Authority reserves the right to change any or all of them. This competition is being conducted in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (“the Regulations”) and the Department for Finance (DoF) will use the Competitive Dialogue procedure which is governed by Regulation 30 of the Regulations. Further information on the competition and how the dialogue phase will be structured will be set out in the Information Memorandum and the Instructions for Competitive Dialogue (ICD) which will be issued to those economic operators who advance in the procurement following the evaluation of the responses to the Selection Questionnaire. The Authority expressly reserves the rights:(I). not to award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by publication of this notice; (II). to make whatever changes it may see fit to the content and structure of the tendering Competition; (III). to award a contract in respect of any part(s) of the services covered by this notice; and (IV). to award contract in stages and in no circumstances will the Authority be liable for any costs incurred by candidates. The successful contractor’s performance on the contract will be regularly monitored in line with the tender documentation. Contractors not delivering on contract requirements is a serious matter. It means the public purse is not getting what it is paying for. If a contractor fails to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance they will be given a specified time to improve. If, after the specified time, they still fail to reach satisfactory levels of contract performance, the matter will be escalated to senior management in CPD for further action. If this occurs and their performance still does not improve to satisfactory levels within the specified period, it may be regarded as an act of grave professional misconduct and they may be issued with a Notice of Unsatisfactory Performance and the contract may be terminated. The issue of a Notice of Unsatisfactory Performance can result in the Contractor being excluded from all procurement competitions being undertaken by Centres of Procurement Expertise on behalf of bodies covered by the Northern Ireland Procurement Policy for a period of three years from the date of issue.