Tender information

We aim to operate a transparent and equitable procurement process and hope the following general information will be helpful to any potential supplier.

We aim to obtain best value for money in each procurement, in other words the optimum combination of whole life cost and quality (or fitness for purpose) to meet our requirements.

• All tender opportunities will be advertised on this website and all tender documentation will be available through the E-Tenders NI website (https://etendersni.gov.uk). Tender opportunities are for procurements where the estimated value is more than £30,000.
• We encourage all suppliers to monitor both websites on a regular basis.
• We do not keep lists of suppliers interested in being considered for tenders. Potential suppliers must request information for each tender opportunity as and when it arises.
• Co-Ownership has a zero tolerance approach to bribery and the prevention of bribery is inherent in its approach to procurement.

In this section you will find some information about how the process works:

1. Value of the contract
2. Select lists
3. Supplier registration
4. Tender contents
5. Tender deadlines
6. Help desk

1. Value of the contract

We procure goods/services in accordance with the value of the contract as follows:

Above £30,000

• For costs above £30,000 (excluding VAT) and below current EU thresholds, tenders will be advertised on our website, and all tender documentation will be available through the E-Tenders NI website (https://etendersni.gov.uk).
• For costs at or above current EU thresholds, tenders will be invited in line with EU current rules and legislation, will be advertised on our website and all tender documentation will be available through the E-Tenders NI website (https://etendersni.gov.uk).

The successful supplier will be the one with the highest score against the evaluation criteria for the tender.

£5,000 to £30,000

• For costs between £5,000 and £30,000 (excluding VAT) we will seek written quotations from at least three suppliers to meet our stated requirements.

The successful supplier will be the one with the highest score against the evaluation criteria for the tender.

Up to £5,000

• For costs below £5,000 (excluding VAT) – we will seek a written quotation from at least two suppliers to meet our stated requirements and ensure value for money.

1. Select lists

On some occasions, instead of immediately advertising a tender to all companies, we might decide to add a first step where we ask companies to initially apply to join a select list for the specific tender.

There will be a public invitation to join this list and we will then carry out a selection process (in the same way as we do for a tender). Once the list is agreed we then ask only these short-listed companies to quote for the tender.

These lists are only used for the specific tender and they don’t become an official list of suppliers. We don’t keep general select lists of companies.

2. Supplier registration

You must apply for tender information against each tender advertised. In order to ensure that you have access to all tendered requirements for Co-Ownership we recommend that you register on E-TendersNI. If you are not already registered use the following link https://etendersni.gov.uk, for any technical queries with the E-Tenders NI website please contact them on 0800 240 4545 or via email ni-eproc-helpdesk@eurodyn.com

3. Tender contents

The contents of a tender will usually include:

• Details of the good or services required
• The evaluation criteria that will be used to select the winning submission
• The deadline for submission
• Details of how the tender process will be administered and communications with suppliers
• Details of help and support available from Co-Ownership in respect of that tender.

On some occasions, particularly when the tender is likely to be quite complex, we might seek advice from a number of suppliers about the content of the specification.

4. Tender deadlines

It is important to remember that we are very strict about the deadline and late tenders WILL NOT be accepted.

5. Contact Information

For help with any general queries about our tendering process, contact twatson@co-ownership.org.

For technical help with the ETenders website, please contact them directly on 0800 240 4545 or via email ni-eproc-helpdesk@eurodyn.com