UK Opens Tender for University Software Procurement
The UK's higher education sector has opened the tender process for its Software License Resellers Agreement (SLRA), a key framework for procuring technology. The notice emphasizes transparency and measurable outcomes, aligning with the post-Brexit Procurement Act's stricter compliance and reporting requirements.
- The previous iteration of the Software License Resellers Agreement (SLRA) was projected to handle over £130 million in university and public sector spending throughout its three-year duration. - This procurement framework provides a compliant route for universities to purchase from a wide range of vetted suppliers for software including Microsoft, Adobe, and VMware. - The Procurement Act 2023, which took effect in February 2025, consolidates several EU-based regulations into a single, more flexible system. - A central digital platform is being introduced under the new act to simplify the bidding process, allowing suppliers to store their core information for multiple bids. - For public contracts valued over £5 million, the new rules mandate that purchasing authorities must define and publish at least three key performance indicators (KPIs) and report on supplier performance annually. - The act introduces stricter, centrally managed rules for excluding underperforming suppliers from public procurement opportunities for up to five years. - This collective approach to procurement is a response to sector-wide challenges, including unsustainable price increases from software providers and an increasing reliance on a few critical suppliers. - The SLRA is managed by the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC) on behalf of several regional consortia, including those for London (LUPC), the North East (NEUPC), and the North West (NWUPC).
