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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

VCSE Structure & Strategy to NHS BRISTOL, NORTH SOMERSET AND SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE (BNSSG) INTEGRATED CARE BOARD (ICB)

NHS BRISTOL, NORTH SOMERSET AND SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD · Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 30 Sept 2026, 11:37.

Opportunity overview

1) This notice is placed as a Preliminary Market Engagement Notice (PMEN) to inform the market of Bristol, North Somerset & South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) Integrated Care Board's (ICB) (the Commissioner) intention to commission Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Structure & Strategy services. The Commissioner would like to understand the level of provider and partner interest in delivering these services. 2) The Commissioner is seeking to secure a Provider that has the capability and capacity to deliver VCSE Structure & Strategy services. The purpose of the VCSE Structure & Strategy services is to provide structure within the VCSE sector so that it can be an equal partner in the BNSSG Integrated Care System (ICS). The objectives of the service are: a. Provide VCSE structure / interface with VCSE sector and ICS - through culture, planning, decision-making, new models and innovation / improvement. b. Support co-design and implementation of strategic commissioning and strategic developments, including the BNSSG VCSE Vision, Healthier Together 2040 and neighbourhood health. 3) The Commissioner's intention is to source a single contract with a single contracting entity, for a service that will cover the entire BNSSG area. 4) The service will be for three years and will start in the early part of the 26/27 FY. 5) The following should be noted: a. The VCSE sector in BNSSG is estimated to number 8,000 independent, diverse VCSE organisations, 80% of which are micro and small (with annual turnover up to £100,000, employing up to 5 people). b. The BNSSG VCSE Vision and its goals (culture, planning, decision-making, new models and innovation / improvement) provide the framework for the VCSE Structure & Strategy service. c. Activities similar to those to be commissioned are currently provided through a grant-funding arrangement between BNSSG ICB and the BNSSG VCSE Alliance. The VCSE Alliance is a collaboration between the ICB and the VCSE sector, which aims to i. Encourage and enable the VCSE sector to work in a coordinated way to inform policy, strategy and decision-making. ii. Provide the NHS and health and social care colleagues with a simple route of contact, engagement, and links to community. iii. Better position the VCSE sector to contribute to the design and delivery of integrated care. 6) Work is progressing to create the new ICB from the NHS BNSSG ICB and the NHS Gloucestershire ICB. The detail of the new ICB will become clear over time and it is possible that the VCSE Structure & Strategy service will need to include Gloucestershire as well as BNSSG. 7) It is not possible to state that TUPE will or will not apply at this stage, as the requirements of the VCSE Structure & Strategy service will develop after this notice and market engagement. 8) Following this exercise, the BNSSG ICB intends to hold pre-market engagement for another service: the "VCSE Support & Deliver service". In summary, the purpose (provisional) of the VCSE Support & Deliver service is to have a mature VCSE provider market in the form of a framework, that can deliver wellbeing / health outcomes through health and care services / activities in BNSSG. The objectives (provisional) of the service are: a. Enable and support VCSE collaborations / partnerships to deliver in neighbourhoods and communities. b. Test and provide approaches to targeted capacity building / market development support for priority VCSE organisations / communities. c. Provide services that support wellbeing / health programmes to reach diverse and mature VCSE market and VCSE organisations to make innovative proposals for delivery. 9) Early estimate envelope of c. £120k per annum, for a term of 3-years, totalling £360k. These figures are provided as a means for providers to ascertain scale and are highly liable to change before any formal procurement process is undertaken. 10) The Commissioner is seeking for all interested parties to register their interest and provide responses to a supplementary market engagement questionnaire. Access detail have been included in the "Engagement" section of this notice. The Commissioner encourages all interested parties to engage with this process, be it potential prime providers, interested subcontractors or even parties who do not wish to bid but believe they may be impacted by this service. This exercise is being carried out by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioner.

Classification

  • CPV85000000 — Health and social work services

Lots

  • Lot 1Value not stated

Documents and notices

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
C397214
Status
planning
Above Threshold
Yes
Main Procurement Category
services

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Communication

Future Notice Date
31 Mar 2026, 23:59

Special regime

lightTouch

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
planning

Suitability

Sme
Yes
Vcse
Yes

Contract period

Ends
31 Mar 2029, 23:59
Starts
1 Apr 2026, 00:00

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKK1
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
85000000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Health and social work services

Planning and budget

Documents

Entry 1
Id
068390-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK2
Description
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
marketEngagementNotice
Published
27 Oct 2025, 08:25

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
engagement
Type
engagement
Status
scheduled
Due
24 Nov 2025, 23:59
Description
Interested providers will be able to view this opportunity via the live opportunities list on the 'Health Family' e-procurement system, Atamis. Click on 'View our Live Opportunities' from the home page, available on the following link: https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome. Once you have found the opportunity (via the search function, using the title or reference number), to gain full access to the relevant information and market engagement questionnaire, you will need to click on 'Register interest' - this will take you to the log-in page. If you are not already registered on the system, you will need to do so before gaining full access to the documentation and to be able to submit your expression of interest / market engagement questionnaire using the placeholder provider within Atamis. This notice is an information gathering exercise rather than a call for competition in its own right, and therefore publication or response does not commit the Authority or respondents to a future procurement, nor provide any process exemptions or preferential treatment to any parties expressing an interest. The Contracting Authority is looking to establish what interest there might be in providing such a service from suitably qualified, capable and competent organisations. The Contracting Authority will not be liable for costs incurred by any interested party in participating in this exercise. Interested parties should note that a response to this notice does not guarantee an automatic invitation to any subsequent formal procurement, which the commissioners will consider in due course.

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-NHS-QUY
Name
NHS BRISTOL, NORTH SOMERSET AND SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKK11
Country
GB
Locality
Bristol
Postal Code
BS1 6AG
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Floor 2, North Wing, 100 Temple Street

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
publicAuthorityCentralGovernment
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Description
Public authority - central government

Identifier

Id
QUY
Scheme
GB-NHS

Contact

Additional Identifiers

Entry 1
Id
PPCD-6597-HCDW
Scheme
GB-PPON
Organisation 2
Id
GB-NHS-0DF
Name
NHS South Central and West CSU
Role Details
Procurement Support

Roles

procuringEntity

Address

Region
UKJ35
Country
GB
Locality
Eastleigh
Postal Code
SO50 5PB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Omega House, 112 Southampton Road

Details

Identifier

Id
0DF
Scheme
GB-NHS

Contact

Additional Identifiers

Entry 1
Id
PXTZ-5316-XWPW
Scheme
GB-PPON

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Bristol · UKK11 · BS1 6AG · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKK1 · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-05d3d3-2025-10-27T08:25:19ZPreliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ·