Northern Ireland Ambulance Service - Dynamic Resource Optimisation

Open to all organisations. There is no limit on the size or type of company. Open to companies not currently engaged in the sector. Research organisations may also apply. All organisations must demonstrate a route to market. European organisations are also welcome to apply.

This Phase I competition has a maximum budget of £300,000.00 (exclusive of vat). It is anticipated that a maximum of 3 tenderers will be selected following the Tender Evaluation; each will receive an amount in accordance with their bid but subject to a maximum amount per tenderer of £100,000.00 (exclusive of VAT). To be eligible for selection, tenderers must submit a bid NOT exceeding £100,000.00.

Applications must have at least 50% of the contract value attributed directly and exclusively for R&D Services. R&D can cover activities such as solution exploration and design, prototyping, up to the original development of a limited by volume of first products or services in the form of a test series.

This challenge will be awarded using the Contracts for Innovation funding mechanism. Innovate UK are custodians of the Contracts for Innovation and more information about the mechanism can be found here.

These competitions have a three phase structure:

• Phase I is intended to show the technical feasibility and commercial viability of the proposed concept;
• Phase II is intended to develop and evaluate prototypes or demonstrators from the more promising technologies identified in Phase I through feasibility trialling; and
• Phase III allows for a period of extended testing for the most promising potential solutions, where this is desirable.

At Phase I a number of tenderers are selected by an open competition process to develop their solutions to the specific needs identified by the Contracting Authority. Development work within Phase I is funded up to 100% of justified cost or to a stated maximum value. All, or a subset only, of these contractors may be selected to proceed to later phases at the Authority’s discretion based on agreed objective selection criteria and budget availability.
Contractors retain the Intellectual Property generated from the project, with certain rights of use retained by the Contracting Authority.

At the conclusion of the contract, or at any other time, the Contracting Authority may decide to procure the solution(s) developed or similar solution(s) from other providers – but there is no obligation to do so. If a solution is to be procured, this will constitute a separate competition under normal public procurement rules and other potential suppliers on the open market will be free to compete for the business.

This tender process is being carried out electronically via the eTendersNI portal. In order to participate in this competition, please ensure you are registered as a company, or an individual, on the eTendersNI system.

Please note, an important element of the registration process is to supply your Dun & Bradstreet D- U-N-S® number which can be obtained here.

The application must be completed as directed and returned via the eTendersNI etendering system.

The supporting documents for this competition have been supplied to Innovate UK Business Connect by HSCNI in order for prospective applicants to view them without needing to register beforehand; if you are making an application, please check the documents on the eTendersNI site after registering to ensure you are viewing the most up-to-date version.

Download the Invitation to Tender

Download the Competition Brief