Soft Market Testing Exercise for Scholarship Management Software

The University of Southampton is conducting a soft market testing exercise to better understand the current Scholarship Management Software options. The International Scholarships team manages multiple scholarships for the University, from application to award. This includes the flagship scholarship of the University for international students, the Southampton Presidential International Scholarship. Currently, many of the processes are manual, which presents issues with sustainability and scalability for the team. The anticipated increase in applicants and ambitious targets for growing the University's scholarship portfolio year to year puts the team in a unique position regarding scholarship management software and its use in day-to-day operations. We anticipate the software being used for the full cycle of awards, from application for housing and maintenance, to scoring, and to awarding these in our University's Banner system (if applicable). We are also anticipating the software to store historical data for scholarship reporting to a wider University audience on an annual basis or ad hoc as requested from University executive leadership. Please Note: The University is conducting this soft market testing exercise to allow interested parties, with appropriate experience, to outline their views and provide impartial information to the University with no commitment to themselves or the University. This is not a call for competition at this stage. The deadline for clarifications is 17th February 2025 12.00 Noon. The deadline for questionnaire submissions is 24th February 2025 at 12.00 Noon. Additional information: The University is utilising an electronic tendering tool (In-Tend: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/universityofsouthampton) to manage this Soft Market Testing Exercise (SMTE) and to communicate with participating organisations. All documentation in relation to this SMTE can be downloaded from In-Tend. Participating organisations are advised that there will be no hard copy documents issued to organisations and all communications with the University will be conducted via In-Tend. Regular monitoring of In-Tend is the responsibility of the participating organisation. If you are not already registered as a supplier with the University of Southampton, you will need to register in In-Tend in order to access the SMTE documentation. Once you have logged in: click on 'Tenders'; locate the relevant project; and click 'View Details'. Once you are in the project screen, you will be able to register your company against the project and access all documentation by clicking 'Express Interest'. Further instructions for the submission of soft market event forms are below. To submit your return, please follow the instructions below: 1. Log In 2. Click 'Tenders' 3. Locate the relevant project 4. View Details 5. Click on the tab relating to the relevant project stage (e.g., 'Soft Market Testing') 6. Click on the 'Attach Documents' button and upload your return. 7. Check ALL your response documents are uploaded and displayed in the "My Tender Return" panel. The system will only permit your organisation to make one return. 8. Click the red "Submit Return" button. Please note that, to preserve the integrity of the soft market testing exercise, all queries must made be via the correspondence function within In-Tend. This Prior Information Notice is issued solely for the purpose of conducting pre-procurement market engagement and does not constitute any commitment to undertake any procurement in the future. Interested parties will not be prejudiced by any response or failure to respond to the PIN event and a response to this PIN does not guarantee any invitation to participate in this event or any future procurement. This PIN does not constitute a call for competition to procure any services, supplies or works mentioned in this PIN and the University will not accept any proposals offered in response to this PIN. The University of Southampton is not liable for any costs, fees, or expenses incurred by any party in replying to the PIN or attending any briefing day (if applicable). Any procurement of any services, supplies or works by the University of Southampton will be carried out strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.