Tenders

The Procurement Office of the Velocity Interoperability Network publishes every invitation to tender issued on behalf of a department or office of the Velocity Interoperability Network. Under the procurement rules, a contract estimated at 25,000 credits or more is let by open tender with at least twenty-one days' notice; at 150,000 credits or more the notice period is thirty-five days and a panel of three evaluates the responses. Any registered supplier may respond, and a business that has not yet registered may respond provided that its application for registration is submitted before the closing date.

Open tenders. Estimated values are the buying department's estimate of the total value of the contract over its full term, in credits, and are published to indicate the scale of the requirement. They are not a ceiling on the price that may be offered.

Timetable. Each tender in the round follows one of two timetables, according to its notice period.

Closed tenders. Six tenders were conducted during the transition period from 10 August to 5 September 2026 under the interim procedures agreed between the member organisations. Their outcomes are recorded below and the resulting contracts are entered on the contract register. The catering tender received a single response that did not meet the specification and will be re-tendered in the second round, expected in October 2026.

Responding to a tender. The steps below apply to every tender published by the Office.

1. 1

   Step 1: Request the tender documents

   Write to the Office quoting the tender reference. The documents, comprising the specification, the conditions of contract, the evaluation criteria with their weightings and the form of response, are sent by email within two working days of the request. There is no charge.

2. 2

   Step 2: Ask questions before the clarification date

   Questions about the specification or the conditions must be received by the last date for clarification shown in the timetable. Every question and its answer is circulated, without naming the questioner, to everyone who has requested the documents.

3. 3

   Step 3: Complete the form of response

   Answer every question on the form, give a price for every item in the schedule and sign the declaration. A response that omits a required item, qualifies the conditions of contract or arrives after the closing time is not evaluated.

4. 4

   Step 4: Submit the response by email before the closing time

   Send the completed response to the Office's email address with the tender reference in the subject line. Responses are held unopened until the opening time. The Office acknowledges receipt on the working day after the closing date.

5. 5

   Step 5: Opening and evaluation

   Responses are opened at the time shown in the timetable in the presence of two officers of the Office and a representative of the buying department. Compliant responses are scored by an evaluation panel against the published criteria; the panel has three members for contracts at 150,000 credits and above.

6. 6

   Step 6: Award, standstill and contract

   Every respondent is told the outcome in writing, with the name of the successful supplier and the scores of their own response. A standstill period of ten days follows before the contract is signed, during which an unsuccessful respondent may ask for the decision to be reviewed. The award is entered on the contract register within five working days of signature.

Requests for tender documents, questions of clarification and responses are all sent to contact@procurement.gov.vin with the tender reference in the subject line. For the procedures and thresholds in full, see Procurement Rules; for the number of tenders and responses by period, see Statistics; for answers to common questions, see the frequently asked questions.