Strategic File Management (SFM)

Narrative: Further to the previously published early engagement notice, please be aware that the Buyer plans to publish the Invitation to Tender (ITT) for this (PA 2023) Competitive Flexible Procedure by early February 2026. It should be noted that this planned procurement is subject to internal governance and approvals. The EA reserves the right to alter any aspect of this planned procurement notice before a tender notice is published, or to not proceed with the procurement in any way. This notice summarises certain aspects of the procurement but does not purport to contain complete descriptions of it, nor to be all inclusive or contain all the information that a prospective tenderer may require when determining whether to take part in any subsequent tender notice to be published. Description The Strategic File Management (SFM) project has been established by the Environment Agency (EA) to deliver a “Secure by Design”, compliant, and streamlined file management solution for asset management, including a Common Data Environment (CDE) process to support whole lifecycle asset management information. A commercial-of-the-shelf (COTS) CDE solution is therefore required to serve as a single, consistent source of truth for all asset management files and data, past and present, across the full asset lifecycle. This will involve migration works from our existing third party CDE system. The objectives of SFM are: (a) Implement a compliant, centralised file management system for asset management. (b) Create a single source of truth supporting the entire asset lifecycle. (c) Enable accurate, trusted business intelligence. (d) Enhance user experience and raise user engagement and satisfaction (e) Improve file accessibility, storage, sharing, and user experience. (f) Enhance data governance and risk mitigation (e.g., reduced security and legal risks). (g) Reduce inefficiencies, such as duplication and process waste. (h) Support carbon reduction and improved sustainability through streamlined practices. Through its procurement process, the EA will be seeking suppliers that can provide: (a) A unified system with strong standardisation and governance. (b) Centralised information storage with consistent formats and locations. (c) Streamlined processes to reduce inefficiencies, duplication, and costs. (d) Enhanced data accessibility to support informed decision-making and effective risk management. (e) Compliance with ISO 55000, 19650, and 9000. (f) A simple, intuitive, and partially automated user experience. (g) A unified approach, with integrated solutions being acceptable. (h) Migration of existing records with metadata tagging. (i) File retrieval using metadata and spatial context. (j) AI/ML use to improve user experience including metadata creation, Retrieval Augmented Generation to provide answers to questions and AI powered document search. (k) Full export of files, metadata, and configurations.