GB-Newcastle: T21/0079 SME collaboration hub

Northumbria University has the vision of undertaking a digitally transformative social project which would see the creation of a suite of technology services used to create an "Alumni Hub" (AH), by drawing upon the conceptual underpinnings of communities of practice, learning communities and network governance.

The vision of the project is to create a social collaborative platform where Alumni and SME's can interact digitally, compiled through the use of open-source components to allow the publishing, sharing and editing of a variety of documents and content, such as but not limited to academic papers and reports. Alumni and SME's would also have the ability to communicate and build relationships between themselves, e.g. Alumni to Alumni, SME's to SME's or Alumni to SME's, via a variety of channels, for example either via a private chat function or by posting updates in the form of a community forum which can be archived for future reference. Service providers would then be able to use data and information collected within the platform, which can then be reported upon.

The platform will need to include features around security, such as secure profiling and the acceptance of a code of conduct, research and ethic terms, general terms and conditions, data and intellectual property and data management and a privacy policy document prior to registration and use of the platform.

This AH would initially consist of registered Northumbria Alumni and recognised SME's who are based in the North East of England, with the opportunity of expanding operations geographically in the future. Whilst also having the ability to develop the project into a commercial vehicle, including the capacity to accept payment for a service in a secure and compliant manner e.g. in line with PCI compliance. As we are a Newcastle based university, the project would look to further develop and invest in one or multiple North-East SME's so that the platform will be built and designed from a business users perspective, e.g. by SME's for SME's. The AH platform will need be technically intuitive and dynamic, with the method of design and development conducted through the employment of the Newcastle Living Lab to facilitate a co-produced, hands-on, projection-oriented approach to specifying a socio-technical system. The AH platform would be created, managed and owned by the potential supplier, including but not limited to areas of intellectual property, storage of user/sensitive data and PCI compliant payment mechanisms if the platform were to become commercialised.

Additional information: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.