Government Procurement Service as the Contracting Authority is putting in place a Pan Government Collaborative Framework Agreement for use by UK public sector bodies identified at VI.3 (and any future successors to these organisations), which include Central Government Departments and their Arm's Length Bodies and Agencies, Non Departmental Public Bodies, NHS bodies and Local Authorities.

The above Public Sector Bodies have a need for a framework agreement for the delivery of managed eMail services (the Services) which will delivered at a minimum of IL2 (Official).

Each implementation of the Services will comprise core components and common components; and may include supplementary components. Further information on the services can be found at II.2.1 of this notice.

Sustainability:

The sustainability of Services offered under the framework agreement will be a component part in reducing Contracting Authorities' carbon footprints, not only in energy consumption but also in enabling further wider reduction in sustainability impacts. In addition, the sustainability of framework agreement suppliers' sources of supply should be a key consideration.

Potential Providers will be expected to assist customers in delivering the Greening Government commitments (see links below):

http://sd.defra.gov.uk/gov/green-government/commitments/

http://c15024310.r10.cf2.rackcdn.com/greening_government_ict.pdf

We welcome proposals on how industry could help customers meet these commitments, or any other suggestions on how sustainability can be met in this space.

Equalities and Social Values Acts:

The provisions of the Equalities and Social Values Acts will apply to this framework agreement and any call off orders placed by Contracting Bodies, Potential Providers will be expected to support Contracting Bodies with meeting their obligation under this act.

Reducing Costs:

We are particularly interested in understanding how we can reduce costs, and invite innovative proposals to lower both demand and price whilst supporting Contracting Bodies diverse business needs. Maintaining currency of pricing is also a key deliverable.

We are seeking to attract the widest possible industry representation on this framework agreement, and aim to design the procurement to have a broad appeal. We welcome interest from the whole Potential Provider base including small, medium and large local, regional and national players, all of whom are encouraged to bid for this opportunity either independently or through consortia groupings.