Foundation Programme (FP) Assessment - Health Education England- NHS/SoEPS/17.389

**Please note deadline date extended to 01 March 2019**

NHS South of England Procurement Services (SoEPS), acting on behalf of Health Education England (HEE - the Commissioner) are commencing a tender for the provision of Foundation Programme (FP) Assessment.

HEE are seeking to procure a provider organisation(s) [Provider or Providers], to provide a robust and relevant assessment method for applicants to the UK Foundation Programme (UKFP). This is with the aim of incorporating technological advancements and competitive selection methodology to provide a valid and reliable tool, which will allow for the ranking of applicants for the purposes of allocation. The method must also provide a means of withdrawing applicants who do not meet the national person specification. The tool must be flexible to allow applicants to access the tool in the UK and if possible, outside of the UK.

This will be a content and delivery service(s) commissioned by HEE on behalf of the UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO). Multiple providers will be considered to achieve the outcomes for both content and delivery of the assessment. The Authority would be willing to consider a variety of approaches, including online, offline and paper-based options.

The procurement comprises of two Lots:

• Lot 1 is for content, which should include analysis,

• Lot 2 is for delivery.

Providers can bid for either or both component parts. Contracts will be awarded separately, including in the event that both contracts are awarded to the same provider.

The maximum envelope for this programme is £800,000 per annum for years 2, 3 and 4 of the contract (inclusive of VAT) with the intention to reduce costs wherever possible. Therefore, the maximum programme value for a 4 year period will be: £2,400,000 (inclusive of VAT). The Commissioner retains the option to extend the contracts by a further 2 year period.

The process must be efficient, effective and provide value for money.

The first year of the contract will be the test phase. The successful Providers(s) will be funded 10% of contract value in the first year to support the testing phase. This will be 10% per Lot. The 10% is included within the maximum four year contract value of each Lot, not in addition to.

Years 2, 3 and 4 will be the whole scale delivery.

The Maximum value of the contract per annum per Lot is:

Lot 1 - £300,000 per annum (inclusive of VAT) for years 2, 3 and 4 Lot 2 - £500,000 per annum (inclusive of VAT) for years 2, 3 and 4

The Maximum value of the contract over four years (inclusive of the 10% within the first year) per Lot is:

Lot 1 - £900,000 (inclusive of VAT) Lot 2 - £1,500,000 (inclusive of VAT)

Bidders are invited to access the procurement documentation at https://in-tendhost.co.uk/soepscommissioning Please access the ITT procurement documents for further information.

Additional information: The deadline for submission of completed ITT submissions is Friday 01 March 2019 at 12:00pm (midday). Late submissions will not be accepted. The e-portal system will shutdown at 12:00pm and any un-submitted bids not registered to the system at this time will not be accepted. Therefore, please submit in good time prior to the deadline date and time.

Project title: Foundation Programme (FP) Assessment - Health Education England, please access the ITT for all documents. Should Bidders have any queries, or are having problems using the portal, they should contact the In-tend dedicated Supplier Helpdesk by calling 0845 557 8079 Monday to Friday (9am to 5pm) or email support@in-tend.co.uk

All communications should be made via the messaging function on the In-tend E-Tendering portal. During the tender exercise the Contracting Authority requests that all communications are channelled through the e-portal system via the appointed procurement specialist on behalf of NHS South of England Procurement Services and not with the Contracting Authority itself. No Bidder, Bidder Member, or any of such Bidder's advisors, consultants or subcontractors may have ex parte communications with the Contracting Authority or any of their employees, advisors, contractors or consultants regarding the ITT, the Procurement, other than as expressly permitted in this ITT.