Supply, Installation and Support of a Learning Management System

AI-generated analysis of the documents. Check the official notice and any amendments for current submission details.

1. At a glance

2. Scope of Work

Clare Tourism Development DAC, an entity managing seven visitor attractions across County Clare and an administration headquarters in Ennis, requires a cloud-based Learning Management System (LMS). The system will support approximately 300 users, facilitating the administration, documentation, delivery, tracking, and reporting of learning programmes. The objective is to provide employees with an online learning format that is as accessible and beneficial as traditional classroom settings, enabling the development, design, and delivery of various training programmes throughout the year.

The required LMS must offer a customisable, interactive, and intuitive user interface to enhance learner engagement and navigation. Core functionalities include:

• Course and Content Management: Ability for Clare Tourism Development DAC to create, edit, manage, and publish learning content without requiring software development expertise. This includes supporting structured learning pathways, uploading various content types (video, SCORM, documents, presentations, assessments), managing course versions, and scheduling/assigning training to individuals and groups.
• Compliance Learning Content: Provision of access to a library of ready-made compliance training content covering Health & Safety, GDPR, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Dignity at Work, Code of Conduct, and workplace behaviour.
• External Learning Library: Access to an external content library offering professional development courses in areas such as Management and Leadership, Finance, Microsoft Applications, Marketing, Social Media, Human Resources, Events Management, and Information Technology.
• Technical Requirements: Data storage and processing within the EU/EEA or equivalent GDPR safeguards. Documented backup, restore, and disaster recovery procedures. Minimum service availability of 99.5%, excluding agreed maintenance periods.
• Data Protection: Full compliance with GDPR and Irish data protection legislation. A Data Processing Agreement (DPA) will be required prior to contract execution. Support for Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) requirements, clear identification of hosting locations and sub-processors, and secure retention, deletion, and export of personal data.
• Information Security: Use of industry-standard encryption protocols for data in transit and at rest. Support for Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and maintenance of audit logs.
• Accessibility and Device Compatibility: Accessibility on desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile devices. Support for modern browsers, Android and Apple iOS, and compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA standards.
• User Management and Access Control: Support for role-based access controls, learners, supervisors, managers, and administrators. Assignment by team, department, and location. Support for bulk user imports and self-service password reset.
• User Experience: Modern and intuitive learner experience with dashboards, progress indicators, a multilingual interface, and the ability to resume courses from the last point of access.
• SLA/End User Support: A comprehensive Service Level Agreement (SLA) covering service availability, support response and resolution times, security and data protection, backup and disaster recovery, performance monitoring, and incident management. Ongoing account management is also required.
• Learning Tracking: Recording of enrolment, participation, progress, and completion data. Tracking of certification and recertification. Issuing reminders for incomplete or expiring training. Maintenance of learner history.
• Reporting and Analytics: Viewing learner activity and completion rates, monitoring compliance status, generating reports by learner, department, team, and location, exporting reports to Excel, CSV, and PDF, and producing monthly, quarterly, and annual reports.
• Integration Requirements: Support for integration with Human Resource (HR) systems and user data synchronisation. Support for Data Bulk import.
• Implementation and Training: Provision of an implementation plan for approximately 300 users, administrator training for up to 15 users, a user guide, and deployment support.
• Scalability and Future Proofing: Ability to upgrade to host up to 500 active users. Support for future organisational growth and integrations, and demonstration of an ongoing product roadmap.
• Branding: Support for organisational branding, logos, certificates, and learner communications.

Desirable requirements include support for xAPI, gamification features, branded digital certificates, advanced learning pathways, personalised learning recommendations, scheduled reporting, trend analysis, induction access for external users, policy acknowledgement workflows, learner signature capture, mobile applications, AI-assisted learning support, and Single Sign-On (SSO) or Microsoft Entra ID integration.

3. Background & buyer context

Clare Tourism Development DAC, operating under Clare County Council, is responsible for the management, development, and promotion of seven visitor attractions across County Clare. The organisation aims to ensure high standards of visitor experience, operational excellence, commercial sustainability, and continuous improvement across these sites. This procurement is driven by the need to enhance leadership capability and drive consistency in service and performance across multiple locations through a modern, cloud-based Learning Management System. The system will support a workforce of approximately 300 users, enabling the delivery of diverse training programmes.

4. Eligibility & selection criteria

Tenderers must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered eligible:

• Turnover requirement: Average annual turnover must have exceeded €80,000 during each of the last three years, or pro-rata for more recently established firms. The firm must have been in existence for at least 6 months.
• Insurance:
• Employer's Liability: €13 million
• Public Liability: €6.5 million
• Product Liability: €6.5 million
• Cyber Liability: €1 million
• Certifications: Not specified for this tender.
• Past experience: Tenderers must demonstrate successful delivery of three comparable projects within the last five years. At least one project must be for the Provision of a Learning Management System with at least 250+ users. Referees for each project must be provided, and feedback may result in inadmissibility.
• Personnel: Access to a minimum number of skilled personnel:
• Contract/Account Manager: 2
• Trainer: 2
• Support/Service Staff: 3
• Geographic / facility constraints: Data must be stored and processed within the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) or a country with an EU adequacy decision. Tenderers must demonstrate capability to access two data centres located within the EEA. Compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA is mandatory.

5. Award criteria & scoring

The contract will be awarded on the basis of the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT), considering both qualitative and cost factors. The total maximum marks available are 10,000.

Qualitative award criteria are assessed first. The cost score is calculated based on the lowest cost tender receiving maximum marks, with others scaled proportionally. A tie-break will favour the tender with the highest overall qualitative score, then the highest score on the most heavily weighted qualitative criterion.

6. Submission requirements

Tenderers must submit their response using the provided Tender Response Document (TRD). Personalisation of the TRD with branding is not allowed. The submission must include:

• Tender Response Document (TRD): Completed in full, adhering to the specified format.
• Declarations:
• Declaration of Bona Fides.
• Declaration regarding compliance with statutory obligations.
• European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) (electronic or uploaded).
• Declaration regarding the International Procurement Instrument and restrictive measures.
• Tax Compliance: Confirmation of full tax compliance in Ireland and country of establishment.
• Financial Standing: Confirmation of turnover and financial capacity. Evidence required prior to award.
• Insurance Confirmation: Confirmation of required insurance levels.
• Previous Contracts/Experience: Details of three comparable projects within the last five years, including one LMS project with 250+ users. Contact details for referees are mandatory.
• Personnel and Skills: Information demonstrating access to the minimum required personnel.
• Technical Functionality: Confirmation of compatibility with specified devices.
• Health & Safety: Health & Safety Statement appended/attached.
• Data Protection and Data Hosting: Confirmation of compliance with data hosting requirements.
• Cyber Security: Confirmation of compliance with minimum acceptable standards.
• Pricing Schedule: As per Appendix 2.
• CVs: Not explicitly mentioned, but implied for nominated personnel.
• Case Studies: Not explicitly mentioned, but implied within the experience section.
• Mandatory Site Visit: Not applicable.
• Submission Portal: Via eTenders. Tenderers must associate their company with the competition. Uploading as a Zip file is recommended.

7. Key dates & process

Note: Dates are estimates and cannot be guaranteed.

8. Contract terms that matter

The contract will be for an initial period of two years. The Contracting Authority reserves the right to extend the contract for two additional periods of 12 months each, subject to satisfactory performance, budget availability, and business needs. Tenderers must agree to the appended Contract Terms and Conditions. A dedicated contract manager must be nominated, responsible for overall contract delivery and maintaining a good working relationship. Contract management activities are non-billable. The Contracting Authority may terminate the contract if increased costs render the arrangement uncompetitive due to matters outside its control. If the primary awardee fails to deliver, the contract may be awarded to the next highest scoring tenderer.

9. Risks, red flags & unusuals

• Indicative Budget vs. Contract Value: The indicative budget of €160,000 is stated as being "over the potential four year contract". However, the contract duration is stated as two years with two one-year extension options. This suggests the €160,000 may represent the total potential value across the maximum four-year term, not necessarily the budget for the initial two-year term. Tenderers should clarify this to ensure accurate pricing.
• Pass/Fail Criteria Emphasis: Many technical and capacity requirements are explicitly stated as pass/fail. Failure to meet any of these will result in inadmissibility, requiring meticulous attention to detail in the submission.
• Referee Verification: The Contracting Authority reserves the right to contact referees and may deem a tender inadmissible based on feedback, highlighting the importance of selecting appropriate and well-briefed referees.
• No Site Visit: The absence of a mandatory site visit may require tenderers to conduct their own due diligence on the operational context of Clare Tourism Development DAC's visitor attractions.
• TRD Personalisation Restriction: The strict prohibition against personalising the Tender Response Document (TRD) with branding means all submissions will look uniform, placing emphasis solely on content quality.

10. SME fit assessment

This tender is structured to be accessible to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), with a clear emphasis on demonstrating capability rather than sheer size.

• Who can credibly bid: A small to medium-sized IT solutions provider specialising in Learning Management Systems, with a proven track record in delivering similar systems to organisations of comparable size (approx. 300 users). They must possess the required insurance levels, demonstrate compliance with data protection and security standards, and have access to the specified personnel. Experience in the public sector is desirable but not mandatory.
• Consortium/Sub-contracting: SMEs are explicitly encouraged to explore forming relationships with other SMEs or larger enterprises to meet capacity requirements. Tenderers may rely on the resources of other entities, provided they can prove these resources will be at their disposal. If a consortium is successful, it must establish legal personality to enter the contract.
• Indicative bid-prep effort: Preparing a compliant bid will require significant effort. This includes detailed responses to the TRD, gathering evidence for past experience, ensuring all declarations are accurate, and compiling the pricing schedule. A realistic estimate for a dedicated team would be 5-10 working days, depending on the availability of pre-prepared documentation.
• Pwin signal: The tender is open to competition. There is no explicit mention of an incumbent supplier. The award criteria, particularly the weighting of qualitative aspects (Functionality, Reporting, Project Delivery) alongside cost, suggests that a technically strong and well-presented solution will be favoured. The SME focus and encouragement of consortia indicate a desire for a competitive market.

11. Where to dig deeper

• Source RFT filename: [RFT for an LMS System for CT DAC.pdf]
• eTenders CFT ID: Not specified in the provided text.
• Contact email or clarification portal: Queries must be submitted via eTenders.
• Most important attachments:
• Tender Response Document (TRD)
• Appendix 1 – Contract Terms and Conditions
• Appendix 2 – Pricing Document