Turing Scheme Administration Services

The Department for Education previously issued two Prior Information Notices (PINs) informing the market that it is considering its strategy for the longer-term delivery of the Turing Scheme administration services and inviting the market to participate in engagement.

Both notices were published on the Find a Tender Service (Publication reference: 2021/S 000-006906 and 2021/S 000-008687) and Contracts Finder (Publication reference: tender _269847/950297 and tender_269847/955273).

The purpose of this Notice is to inform the market of the Department for Education's intention to commence a competition to award a Call Off contract utilising the CCS Grant Administration Dynamic Purchasing System (RM 6172).

A capability assessment and has been carried out to identify suppliers capable of delivering the services. The ITT will only be issued to those suppliers passing the Capability Assessment. The intention is to award a single contract for delivery of the services across four nations of the UK.

The Turing Scheme is a grant funding scheme which eligible organisations bid into on a competitive basis. From February 2022, the Contractor will deliver the remainder of the AY2021/22 programme and commence delivery of Cohort 2. The Contractor must be able to accept bids for funding no later than February 2022 to ensure that providers across the education sector will be funded to deliver mobilities from 1st September 2022 onwards.

The funding and scheme design for AY 22/23 is subject to the Spending Review (SR) which is scheduled to be settled in the Autumn.

The Authority will require a single legal entity to enter into the contract with it. Sub-contractors are permissible, but the Authority will not accept bids from consortia proposing joint and several liability for delivery.

More information Links

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education

https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/

Additional information: The Contract will be for delivery of Services relating to Turing 1 from April 2022 until 31 December 2022, which will be Cohort 1, and delivery of the Services, to a Cohort which will be Cohort 2. The estimated value of the Contract is £6.9 million. This Contract will be between the successful Supplier(s) and the Buyer (not the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), the Agent). The Contract is being offered under the Crown Commercial Service RM 6172 Grant Administration Services Dynamic Purchasing System (DOS). The Agent is managing this Procurement in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. This is a call off contract and as such the Buyer cannot guarantee volumes of work. The Turing Scheme is a grant funding scheme which eligible organisations bid into on a competitive basis. From April 2022, the Supplier will deliver the remainder of the Academic Year (AY) 2021/22 programme until December 2023 and, if funding is granted at SR 2021, commence delivery the programme for AY 2022/2023. The Supplier must be able to accept bids for funding no later than February 2022, to ensure that providers across the education sector will be funded to deliver mobilities from 1 September 2022.

About the buyer

The Department for Education (DfE) is responsible for the delivery of the Turing Scheme. Following the initial announcement in December, on the 6 February 2021 the Turing Scheme website launched, and on the 12 March 2021, the application window for funding for universities, school and colleges was opened.

On the 24 December 2020, the UK Government announced the introduction of the Turing Scheme, a new programme to support students to study and undertake work placements across the world.

The Turing Scheme has funding of £110 million inclusive of delivery costs, to enable around 35,000 students in UK universities, colleges and schools to travel on placements and exchanges overseas, starting from September 2021. The Turing Scheme is particularly focused on students from disadvantaged backgrounds, making life-changing opportunities accessible to students across the United Kingdom. The Supplier will be required to ensure systems and processes delivering the services are sufficiently responsive to manage a higher or lower budget for the future Turing Scheme. The Programme Fund for the AY 2022/2023 will be determined and confirmed in the Department's financial settlement following the Spending Review (SR) in the Autumn 2021.

Further information about the Turing Scheme can be found here: turing-scheme.org.uk