UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement

Descriptions

The UK Armed Forces are more frequently operating in cold environments to contribute to NATO’s deterrence in the High North and on the Eastern flank; but data suggest that the number of cases of peripheral cold injuries is increasing in deployed Service Personnel (SP), even during short deployments. Given our growing presence in the Nordic-Baltic regions, Defence urgently needs to identify and protect SP susceptible to cold injuries and improve the clinical assessment of injured SP for their safe and timely return to cold environments. This work will aim to reduce the risk of peripheral cold injuries by developing a prediction tool to identify susceptible SP; and improve deployability by developing a clinical assessment tool to enable clinicians to assess injured SP safely and efficiently, year-round. This laboratory-based research will largely take place at the climate chamber in North Yorkshire.

Engagement

Prevention of Peripheral Cold Injuries -UK2 Preliminary Market Engagement. The purpose of this Preliminary Market Engagement Notice (PMEN) is to notify the market of an upcoming tender for a service to research into the Prevention of Peripheral Cold Injuries Please note the following general conditions: • This PMEN will help us to refine the requirement and conduct market research. • We reserve the right not to proceed with this procurement. Nothing shall constitute a commitment to instigating a formal procurement process. • Any and all costs associated with the production of such a response either to the PMEN or any resultant competition must be borne by the Supplier. The Authority will not contribute in any way to meeting production costs of any response. • Information contained within this document is confidential and must not be revealed to any third party without prior written consent from us. • No down-selection of Potential Providers will take place as a consequence of any responses or interactions relating to this PMEN. • We expect that all responses to this PMEN will be provided by Potential Providers in good faith to the best of their ability in the light of information available at the time of their response. • No information provided by a Potential Provider in response to this PMEN will be carried forward, used or acknowledged in any way for the purpose of evaluating the Potential Provider, in any subsequent formal procurement process that may take place. • Should a Potential Provider fail to respond to this Supplier Questionnaire, it will not affect any further participation in any possible future procurement for this capability. OUR AIMS - WHAT WE WANT TO ACHIEVE • Provide Industry with a greater understanding of the requirement allowing reduced timescales for tender returns. Potentially reducing the number of clarification questions meaning reduced timescales for procurements. • Have a higher chance of creating a competitive tendering environment and ensuring a higher level of response to your resultant procurement. • Understand Industry's viewpoints on significant risks and reducing the need for future amendments and associated costs. • Determine the most appropriate tender evaluation criteria and terms and conditions. REQUIREMENT INFORMATION Once all documentation is finalised, the Authority expect this requirement to be acquired through a competitive procurement run under the Procurement Act 2023. The contract is (estimate) valued at £240,000.00 over a term of 3 years. Anticipated Contract Start Date - 01st July 2026 The supplier will be expected as part of this contract to undertake the following: Study design and development - Developing the research design (to include but not limited to laboratory research studies) in collaboration with the authority's project staff, including power calculations, study design / protocol, appropriate statistical analysis, and outcome measures. - Suppliers are encouraged to evaluate and demonstrate the validity, accuracy, and inclusivity of prediction tools across sex and ethnicity. - Subcontracting services (such as biochemical analysis of samples, undertaking of specialist data collection techniques) / other academic departments/ procuring consumables and equipment / industry, as required. - Preparing all paperwork for MODREC (MOD Research Ethics Committee ) approvals. Data collection - Access to the military population / facilities will be facilitated by the authority, however recruiting and consenting potential participants will be the responsibility of the Supplier. - The work will largely take place in the environmental chamber in North Yorkshire. The temperature range and other specifications will be provided upon request. The maintenance of the chamber will be the responsibility of the authority. In collaboration with the authority, the Supplier will be expected to assess the performance of the chamber as part of the pilot work. - Access to research equipment (Government Furnished Resources) already in situ will be facilitated by the authority where appropriate and available (e.g. environmental chamber located in North Yorkshire). The authority will manage the environmental facility and will nominate appropriate clinicians to provide advice and support for data collection. - The Supplier will be responsible for purchasing the equipment and consumables to conduct this work at the MOD site. The ownership of the equipment will remain with MOD / AHPR and will be retained at the site. Supplier-owned equipment can also be used so long as it meets the requirements of this contract. - Briefing and obtaining consent from potential participants and liaising with participants on all study matters. - All participants who consent to take part in this study are eligible to an experimental test allowance covered by the Crown, but payment for civilian participation, if relevant, must be included in the project costs. Communication and project management - Acquiring an understanding of the implications of potential interventions (e.g. through discussions with the wider project team) to ensure practical integrated solutions are developed and have buy-in for future implementation. - Delivery of routine and ad hoc briefings to the project team. - Delivering recommendations on prevention and management strategies (i.e., prediction tools and cold sensitivity protocols) relative to peripheral cold injuries in Defence personnel. - Delivery of technical reports and complete raw datasets within agreed timelines. - Obtaining approvals from the MOD for publication of the project. What we are looking for Where possible, are you able to provide a submission of a rough order of magnitude in regard to how much it would cost to fulfil this requirement in full, for 3 years. Do any potential providers have the current capacity to deliver the capabilities? If a potential provider has a solution or is willing to develop a solution that fulfils the requirement, please provide a summary of the solution. Are there any major pit falls, issues or risks with the requirement? What are the most applicable social value missions and outcomes that be achieved in fulfilment of the requirement? (Please see https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67ae1529e270ceae39f9e1a0/2025-02-11_PPN_002_The_social_value_model.docx.pdf) Are there any outcomes that provide tenderers the best opportunity to deliver greater benefit to social, economic and the environment missions and outcomes through the performance of the potential contract than other outcomes listed in the above link? POTENTIAL PROVIDER QUESTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS To ensure that all Potential Providers have equal access to information regarding this Procurement, responses to questions raised by Potential Providers will be published in a questions and answers document, which will be available through the Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP) . Responses to questions will not identify the originator of the question. If a Potential Provider wishes to ask a question or seek clarification without the question and answer being published in this way, then the Potential Provider must notify us and provide its justification for withholding the question and any response. If the Authority does not consider that there is sufficient justification for withholding the question and the corresponding response, the Potential Provider will be invited to decide whether: - the question/clarification and the response should in fact be published; or - It wishes to withdraw the question/clarification. Contracting authority Ministry of Defence Public Procurement Organisation Number: PHVX-4316-ZVGZ Blenheim Building, Monxton Road Andover SP11 8HT United Kingdom Contact name: Benjamin Hibbs Email: Benajmin.Hibbs101@mod.gov.uk Website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence Region: UKJ36 - Central Hampshire Organisation type: Public authority - central government