UK Public Sector Contracts & Tenders

The Northumbria University team have developed a new technology to move drugs into the body from a layer in a patch stuck to the skin. This is an alternative to using needles. Current drug delivery patches don’t work for a large proportion of drugs because of their chemistry characteristics mean they don’t absorb through skin well. This technology can move ‘difficult’ molecules through the skin. The initial brief of the executive will be to: (1) Produce a viable 5 year business plan; (2) Obtain university approval for the venture; a. Act for the company in the spin-out legal process and address all company formation matters; b. Provide to the appropriate university all matters necessary for Research England reporting requirements; (3) Secure a Medical Device Manufacturer partnership (4) Engage with investors in securing funding

The USA is a top priority region for engagement for Newcastle University. International student recruitment is a high priority and we wish to enhance our capacity to engage with students interested in studying in the UK and to build the profile and the brand of the University across the US. In addition, the University wishes to broaden the range of its activities in the USA, including the development of academic partnerships with high quality HEIs, development of relations with government, NGO and corporate organisations, exchange and placement of students and staff for studies, work, and other forms of experiential learning.

We are seeking to appoint an agency to develop a new website for our accommodation offer. The current site is over 300 pages and we are looking to reduce it by at least a third to under 100 pages. The Accommodation site at https://www.ncl.ac.uk/accommodation/ is primarily for undergraduate and postgraduate applicants who want to choose and book student accommodation at the University. The site is a key part of recruitment and conversion activity and accommodation is an important part of the student experience. Secondary audiences include: • Current students (UG and PG) • Staff • Visitors to the University The objectives of the site development include: • Developing two distinct user journeys through the site: o prospective students o current students living in University accommodation • Creation of the site in the new design system and the latest version of our CMS, T4 v8. • Reduce the size of the site, improve user journeys and incorporate improved accommodation content regarding cost and value for money. • To develop the site in time to support the launch of the accommodation booking system in Jan 2023

The University wishes to appoint a Contractor to provide an Invoice-Receipting Hub Service to handle the receipt of supplier invoices and provide the University with a daily electronic feed.

The Biomedical Engineering research hub in the School of Engineering, as well as other research groups in the Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering and Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle University, require X-ray microtomography capabilities to support a wide range of research activities related to Medical Technologies. Therefore, we are looking to purchase an X-ray micro CT scanner that will enable us to develop new biomaterials and technologies for tissue engineering, analyse medical devices and explore new healthcare research frontiers on the microscale. This purchase is being funded by the Wolfson Foundation. The scope of this contract is for the supply, delivery and installation of the equipment as detailed in the ITT to the University, with after-sales support and 12 months warranty and maintenance. Expressions of interest in this project can be made by registering via the University's etendering portal at: https://procontract.duenorth.com/Advert/Index?advertId=66b0c1bc-2951-ed11-811a-005056b64545 The contract reference is NU/1811. The deadline for expressing an interest in this tender is Thursday 17th November 2022 at 16:00 hours GMT

Newcastle University intends to establish a framework agreement with Twist Biosciences for the supply of Twist Targeted Methylation Sequencing Workflow, Equinox Library Amp mix and Human Methylome Panel. These specific products are required to allow the University to establish a unique way of sequencing methylated sites within the genome. It will allow the use of sequence capture technology and a new enzymatic methodology to replace bisulphite modification.

The scope is for the supply, delivery, installation and commissioning of a rack washer and the removal and disposal of the current rack washer. The rack wash system is expected to accommodate IVCs mouse. The IVCs have a horizontal plenum and rat ICs are double decker. Additionally, the washer needs to accommodate various species cages including marmoset and bird cages. A minimum industry expected life length of 15 years for the rack washer is required and customer support to aid in house resolutions of issues. Two years’ comprehensive warranty followed by 3 years maintenance and service cover is to be provided.

Within Newcastle University, The School of Dental Sciences is home to almost 500 undergraduates studying dentistry and dental therapy. As part of the undergraduate teaching the School currently use “phantom head” which are traditional units with a mannequin which allows demonstration, procedure rehearsal and safety confirmation using a range of plastic and/or natural teeth. To further help students bridge the gap between pre-clinical and clinical training the University is looking to invest in five haptic simulators. Haptic simulators are used in a range of sectors, most notably flight simulation for training and revalidation, in dentistry they are used to provide a realistic virtual simulation offering continuous and objective feedback, validated assessment of competence and revalidation all in a high-fidelity virtual environment. One major limitation of traditional dental simulation is the ability to do things once - a single cavity preparation or single patient episode - haptic simulators allow procedure rehearsal multiple times before being carried out on a ‘live’ patient.

As a professional philologist whose research rests at the intersection of linguistics, anthropology, and the cognitive sciences, Dr William Short (PhD, University of California, Berkeley) has pioneered the development of an approach to the description of the conceptual systems of historical societies through the close analysis of language and text. As part of this research, Dr Short developed an innovative search engine technology that enables the identification of relations between concepts within large text corpora, independent of how those concepts happen to be expressed lexically. Seeing this tool’s potential to make searching textual data of all kinds more efficient, more productive, and more rewarding, Dr Short has launched Senseful AI to commercialise the technology for data providers hoping to offer advanced, sophisticated search functionalities to their users. We are looking for an Executive with the initial brief of the executive will be to: Phase 1 Opportunity validation and business plan creation Review existing business ambitions and options for optimal route to market and generate a viable business plan with realistic funding requirements built on sound market research Phase 2 Spinout approval Work with University of Exeter’s technology transfer office and founder academics to develop business case to obtain approval and sign-off for the spin-out company creation Phase 3 Complete necessary stages for being “ready to spin” including company formation relevant legal agreements. Phase 4 Securing seed investment into the company Achieve investor engagement, commitment and completing a Term Sheet and investment completion, to cover funding required by the business to deliver against the business plan.

Newcastle University will be entering into a contract with NTT DATA Business Solutions Ltd to supply implementation services for part of its IT Education Template for the University's business critical Student LifeCycle Management student record system to support the University in being able to maintain its fee setting capabilities.

Intention to award a Public Supplies contract under Regulation 32 (2) (b) (ii) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 for the supply and installation of a nanoscale liquid handling system. Newcastle University has a well-established Cancer Drug Discovery Unit that has contributed to the discovery of two registered cancer medicines and a further two investigational treatments that are currently in Phase 1 clinical trials. The unit is looking to replace a nanoscale liquid handling system which forms part of the crystallographic workflows. The key requirements of this system are accuracy, speed and an ability to handle low nanolitre volumes in 384- and 1536-well formats. For these technical reasons there is only one suitable system on the market. The University will issue a VEAT notice and use the negotiated procedure without a call for competition. The requirement is for accuracy and precision for volumes down to 2.5 nanolitres (nl). This enables a wide variety of low‐volume, high‐throughput liquid handling applications, that are at the core of the drug discovery cascades used in the Unit and by key external collaborators.

An art materials supplier is required to provide materials and services to students studying Fine Art and Architecture living in and around the North East, providing them with the necessary tools, materials and resources they need for their project at hand.

Newcastle University will enter into a contract with Histoindex pte Ltd for provision of second harmonic generation/two photon excitation microscopy to support a natural history cohort study in subjects with liver disease. The contracting party will conduct specialist artificial intelligence-based analysis of liver tissue sections following second harmonic generation/two photon excitation microscopy data capture, including the use of their own proprietary techniques, to support clinical research.

Newcastle University will enter into a research agreement with SomaLogic Operating Co Inc. for the provision of blood-based biomarker analysis to support a natural history cohort study in subjects with liver disease. The contracting party will provide biological sample analysis including but not limited to a comprehensive panel of circulating proteins measured using their own proprietary techniques, to assess liver fibrosis and support clinical research.

Newcastle University will enter into a research contract with Olink Proteomics for the provision of blood-based biomarker analysis to support a natural history cohort study in subjects with liver disease. The contracting party will provide biological sample analysis including but not limited to a comprehensive panel of circulating proteins measured using their own proprietary techniques, to assess liver fibrosis and support clinical research. The intention is to Intention to award a research contract under UK Statutory Instrument 2015 No. 102 Part 2 Chapter 2 Section 3 Regulation 32(1)(b)(ii).

The VOICE community is facilitated by an online digital platform where members register and are informed of opportunities where they are asked to express their interest in taking part in projects to provide feedback and insights. These opportunities could be working with our corporate clients looking for input into co-design of specific services or products, or with university research teams looking for insights for their research. We have identified the following work packages for this tender:Brand Identity: - A new VOICE logo potentially – sensitive to the profile, recognition and reputation of the existing logo - Consideration of sub brands e.g. VOICE X – potential requirement for sub brand logos - Refreshed brand colour palette and aesthetics - The creation of VOICE brand guidelines - Slide deck template design - Style elements, intro & outro to VOICE video content - 4 x VOICE banners of varying design to suit a range of audiences - Graphic design elements where required A Comprehensive Brand Strategy: A review and development of messaging to help us maximise impact in the following areas: - The development of a VOICE strapline - Creation of a VOICE mission statement and values - A review of how we communicate VOICE to our 3 core audiences/groups o Public – messaging to include the valuing of experience and insights and how VOICE can empower the public to influence the future by shaping research and innovation o Researchers – messaging to be primarily health and social care research focused; how VOICE can benefit and support researchers’ citizen engagement and involvement programmes o Businesses – messaging to be NICA offer / national and international healthy longevity focused - How best to incorporate brand messaging into the front-end platform design for maximum impact Social Media Brand Strategy: - Design content, style and approaches including headers for each social media platform - Designed social media cards across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn for a range of purposes - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram market and competitor analysis: o What the benefits of each are to us - taking into consideration our different audiences o What the differences in approach are o Advise practical ways for how we can best utilise each – for example frequency, content and style of posts etcOutputs: - A well designed and comprehensive brand identity and strategy - VOICE brand guidelines - Branded templates for VOICE slide decks and other presentation requirements - Designed social media cards across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn for a range of purposes - Strapline for VOICE - A mission statement and values for VOICE - All design assets

We are seeking a supplier to provide Google Analytics 360 License and analytics support. There are three individual elements of this requirement, which are detailed below: • GA360 Licence Renewal • GA4/GTM Audit and Recommendations • GA4/GTM Annual Retainer GA360 Licence Renewal We are seeking to appoint a Google Analytics 360 suite sales partner to support Newcastle University in the renewal of our existing Google Analytics and Google Tag manager 360 license and to provide ongoing support. Specifically: • Analytics 360 license • Tag manager 360 license • Implementation and ongoing support GA4/GTM Audit and Recommendations We also require a Google Analytics (GA4) and ad platform tracking audit and configuration of the findings of the audit in line with GA 360 implementation: • Audit existing GA4/UA account for opportunities to enhance tracking of website/user behaviour. • Audit existing GTM set up to optimise performance. • Providing recommendations e.g. event setup, custom dimensions, audiences etc. • Data layer build specifications based on meeting requirements to further enhance reporting and analytical accuracy. • Optimal Tag and pixels implementation via GTM Ad platforms including (not exhaustive): • Facebook/Instagram • Tiktok • Snapchat • LinkedIn GA4/GTM Annual Retainer Provide services as an annual retainer to facilitate the outcome of the audit (mutually agreed tasks) and to support the ad-hoc delivery for analytics support using the following use cases as a guide (not-exhaustive): 1. Support and setup GTM tags and triggers for capturing GA4 Events based on website interactions 2. Support and setup GA4 Customer Dimensions and associated GTM tasks required to populate values e.g. Custom Audiences. 3. Support the creation of GA4 custom reports as requested. 4. Provide training and documentation/guidelines as required.

Newcastle University and Genr8 Kajima Regeneration Ltd are working in a joint venture partnership to develop the 29-acre site of the former Newcastle General Hospital, on Westgate Road in Newcastle’s West End supported by Newcastle City Council, NHS trusts and local community stakeholders. The University acquired 27 acres of the 29-acre site in March 2019 and since then have arrived at a clear Vision with accompanying objectives as to what they want to achieve on a Campus for Ageing & Vitality (CAV). The appointed Business Development Consultant will work in collaboration with the Director of Estates and Facilities and the CAV Development Manager to ensure the joint venture is able to provide aspirational, stimulating and sustainable environments where people spend time and communities grow and flourish.

We are seeking to appoint a supplier to build us a new website that will accommodate content from both of our existing websites, and support the development and delivery of the programme going forwards. We would also like the supplier to create new functionality for the website and the user experience, so that we can build greater engagement with our users and have clear goals across the site. The supplier will also be required to support our staff with training on the functionality of the site and CMS.