The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is seeking a supplier for a potential £200,000 project to revamp and replace an “outdated and inefficient” intranet that it claims is obstructing staff communication.
The combined authority has issued a contract notice announcing its intent to appoint supplier to build a new internal communications network, and then support it for six years – plus two optional one-year extensions. WMCA indicated that its existing network is a cause of exasperation for staff.
“The WMCA currently has an intranet system which is difficult for us to use, outdated, and inefficient,” it said. “An internal communications and employee engagement review was conducted, and by far the biggest blocker for internal communications and engagement is not having a central key communications tool.”
Before issuing the contract notice, WMCA engaged with various suppliers “to find out more about their products [and] solutions”.
“This exercise enabled the project team to test the market and find out what solutions were available in the open market, what functionalities were feasible, approximate timescales, and approximate costs,” the contract notice added.
Bids for the project are open until 1 October, with a contract currently scheduled to commence on 1 April 2019. The potential eight-year deal will be worth an estimated £200,000 to the winning bidder.
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