Official UK procurement notice
The Provision of Brand Communications and Creative Design Services for Northern Regional College
Authority: Northern Regional College (Central government)·On behalf of: CPD - Supplies and Services Division
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNorthern Regional College, hereby referred to as ‘the buyer’, wishes to appoint a Supplier to provide brand communications/creative design and print management to drive forward and assist the College in the execution of its marketing activity.
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 15 Aug 2031, 23:59 BST.
CPV: Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security · Graphic design services · Printing and delivery services · Printing and related services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£400,000
- Technical & professional ability
As per tender documentation.
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (6)
- AC1 - Design & Creativity: 18%
- AC2 - Proposed Delivery Team, Relevant Experience and Assignment: 15%
- AC3 - Contract Management: 15%
- Business Continuity: 6%
- Print Management: 6%
- Total Contract Price: 40%
Published award criteria (6)
- AC1 - Design & Creativity: As per tender documentation.
- AC2 - Proposed Delivery Team, Relevant Experience and Assignment: As per tender documentation.
- AC3 - Contract Management: As per tender documentation.
- Business Continuity: As per tender documentation.
- Print Management: As per tender documentation.
- Total Contract Price: As per the tender documentation.
- Technical & professional ability
As per tender documentation.
- Price carries 40 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 4 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £266,423 (twice the annual value).
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula. Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Northern Regional College buys Services related to printing (CPV 7982), and who usually turns up
Northern Regional College’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Services related to printing (CPV 7982) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in Northern Ireland.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 56 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Awards are recorded, but published direct routes and bid counts do not establish this buyer’s share.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid22%
2–311%
4–622%
7+44%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate25%
Within ±2%63%
Above estimate13%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 79Published estimate£400k
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 79. The comparison uses that group.
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How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid9%
2–316%
4–636%
7+38%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
Based on 17 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£400k
Estimate£400k
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DESIGN ETHOS LTDEarlier contract | DfE - NRC - Provision of Brand Communications and Creative Design Services for Northern Regional Collegenotice published Dec 2021 | — | £550k | Matched as the earlier contract |
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | None on file | at estimate n=1 | |
| £3.0m4 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | 1 live · £2.0m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=5 | |
| £1.9m3 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | 1 live · £700k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=5 | |
| £15m11 awards in 36m · last 1 month ago | 7 live · £35m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=3 | |
| £45k3 awards in 36m · last 11 months ago | 1 live · £1.3m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | no comparable pairs |
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
What this replaces i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
90% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
90% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (90% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid
DfE - NRC - Provision of Brand Communications and Creative Design Services for Northern Regional College — held by DESIGN ETHOS LTD; no contract end date published.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 15 Aug 2031
- First published
- 13 Oct 2026, 14:26 BST
- Last source update
- 13 Oct 2026, 14:26 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 25 Nov 2026
- Authority reference
6445575- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-096591- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0786a5Find a Tender- Contract terms summary
For further details on invoicing procedures please see : www.finance-ni.gov.uk/ar ↗ ticles/account-ni-good-invoicing-practice Contract Value
The estimated value figure indicated in the Scope Section represents an overall estimated contract value. This value reflects the potential scale of the contract and takes into account potential optional extension periods and the uptake of potential optional services as detailed in the tender documents. This figure 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. Suppliers remain responsible for all costs and expenses incurred by them or by any third party acting under instructions from the Supplier 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 a Supplier 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.
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via eTendersNI- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 16 Nov 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 9 Nov 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Tenders must be submitted electronically via the relevant Call for Tender (CfT) opportunity on eTendersNI, website details immediately below.
Paper submissions will not be accepted or considered and will be rejected by the Contracting Authority / Buyer.
The tender documents are available with unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at: URL etendersni.gov.uk/epps ↗
Timeline
13 Oct 2026 → 15 Dec 2026 · 5 dates- Tender notice published15 days ago13 Oct 2026, 14:26 BST
- Today29 Oct 2026
- Clarification questions byin 11 days9 Nov 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 18 days16 Nov 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 27 days25 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 46 days15 Dec 2026
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published13 Oct 2026, 14:26 BSTUK4
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
3 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- CPD - Supplies and Services DivisionBeneficiary authority
- CPD - Supplies & Services DivisionProcess contact pointProcuring entityConstruction and Procurement Delivery - Supplies and Services Division, is a Centre of Procurement Expertise and provides a central procurement function for central government in Northern Ireland.
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender