Higher Education Procurement and Framework Agreement Training Course

Course overview

Universities and colleges procure across a demanding mix of research equipment, laboratory consumables, estates works, ICT, professional services and student-facing contracts. Procurement teams must achieve value for money while meeting institutional governance, funder conditions, transparency duties and operational deadlines. Framework agreements can shorten sourcing cycles, but poor route-to-market decisions, weak mini-competitions, unclear specifications or incomplete evaluation records can expose the institution to challenge, audit findings and supplier-performance problems.

This course develops the practical judgement needed to plan, run and document higher education procurements and framework call-offs. Participants examine procurement routes, spend analysis, market engagement, specification design, award criteria, total cost of ownership, social value and contract-risk allocation. They learn to distinguish direct award, further competition and open tender routes; build evaluation models; manage clarification processes; and create a defensible procurement record aligned to the UK Procurement Act 2023 and relevant institutional policies.

Participants work through a realistic university procurement case from demand definition to award recommendation. Instructor-led briefings are combined with bid evaluation, moderation, framework call-off and supplier-management workshops. Each participant leaves with a reusable Higher Education Procurement Pack: a procurement strategy, route-to-market decision record, specification template, evaluation matrix, call-off plan, governance checklist and 90-day application plan for a live or upcoming category.

The programme is designed for procurement professionals, category managers, contract managers and budget holders who already contribute to sourcing activity and now need stronger capability in regulated procurement and framework governance. It is equally valuable for teams supporting multi-disciplinary buying decisions involving academic, research, finance, digital and estates stakeholders.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Develop a category procurement strategy using spend, demand, risk and market analysis
• Select and justify an open tender, framework direct award or further-competition route
• Draft outcome-based specifications and lot structures for higher education requirements
• Build weighted evaluation matrices with pass/fail criteria, quality questions and scoring guidance
• Run a compliant framework call-off including supplier selection, mini-competition and award documentation
• Apply total cost of ownership, whole-life costing and social value methods to award decisions
• Produce an audit-ready procurement record covering approvals, conflicts, clarifications and moderation
• Create a contract mobilisation and supplier performance plan with measurable KPIs

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• Procurement Managers — who need to govern complex university sourcing and framework activity
• Senior Procurement Officers — who run tenders, call-offs and bid evaluations
• Category Managers — who develop sourcing strategies for recurring institutional spend
• Contract Managers — who need stronger links between award decisions, mobilisation and supplier performance
• Estates, ICT and Research Procurement Specialists — who buy technically complex goods, works and services
• Budget Holders and Project Managers — who sponsor procurements and need to make defensible route-to-market decisions

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical experience of purchasing, tendering, contract administration or budget management within a university, college, research institute or comparable public-sector organisation. The course assumes familiarity with basic procurement terms such as specification, quotation, tender, supplier evaluation, purchase order and contract. Participants should be able to read a scope of requirements and use spreadsheets for simple scoring or cost comparisons. Prior experience of framework agreements, the Procurement Act 2023, e-tendering systems or legal drafting is not required; these are taught in context. No specialist software skills or legal qualification is needed.

Training methodology

The five days combine instructor-led procurement briefings with structured application to a university sourcing scenario. Participants analyse category spend, select a framework route, draft a specification, score supplier responses in Jaggaer-style evaluation templates and conduct a moderation meeting. Case material covers research, ICT, estates and professional-services buying, with attention to governance and stakeholder tensions. Small-group workshops produce working documents rather than abstract answers. On the final day, participants adapt the templates to an upcoming procurement and agree a 90-day implementation plan with peer and instructor feedback.

Course outline

Day 1: Higher Education Procurement Strategy and Governance

• University procurement operating models and delegated authority limits
• Procurement Act 2023 principles and higher education applicability
• Spend analysis using category, supplier and demand data
• Stakeholder mapping across faculties, research, estates and professional services
• Make-buy-renew analysis and demand management options
• Procurement risk registers for financial, operational and compliance exposure
• Business case and procurement strategy approval gates

Workshop: Participants build a procurement strategy and stakeholder map for a university laboratory equipment requirement.

Day 2: Framework Agreements and Route-to-Market Decisions

• Framework agreement structures, lots, terms and supplier appointment models
• Direct award conditions and documented supplier-selection rationale
• Further competition design and call-off timetable planning
• Framework scope testing against the requirement and contract value
• Framework due diligence including expiry, extension and aggregation risks
• Open procedure and competitive flexible procedure selection
• Publication, transparency and record-keeping obligations

Workshop: Participants assess three purchasing scenarios and produce a route-to-market decision record for each.

Day 3: Specifications, Commercial Models and Evaluation

• Outcome-based specifications and measurable acceptance criteria
• Lotting strategies for specialist, SME and regional supplier access
• Whole-life costing and total cost of ownership calculations
• Pricing schedules, indexation, volume assumptions and cost-control mechanisms
• Award criteria, weighting models and minimum quality thresholds
• Social value, sustainability and responsible procurement questions
• Conflict-of-interest declarations and evaluator guidance

Workshop: Participants draft a lot structure, specification and weighted evaluation matrix for a campus technology services call-off.

Day 4: Tender Evaluation, Moderation and Award Control

• E-tendering workflow configuration in Jaggaer
• Bid compliance checks and clarification boundaries
• Individual evaluator scoring and evidence-based comments
• Consensus moderation methods and score reconciliation
• Abnormally low tender assessment and affordability checks
• Award recommendation reports and approval-paper drafting
• Unsuccessful supplier feedback and standstill risk management

Workshop: Participants score supplier submissions, conduct a chaired moderation meeting and write an award recommendation.

Day 5: Contract Mobilisation and Supplier Performance

• Call-off contract schedules, service levels and deliverable ownership
• Mobilisation plans for research, ICT and estates contracts
• KPI design using service, cost, sustainability and user measures
• Supplier relationship management governance and review cadence
• Change control, variation assessment and contract-value monitoring
• Performance remedies, improvement notices and escalation routes
• Procurement file assurance and lessons-learned reviews

Workshop: Participants create a 90-day mobilisation plan, KPI dashboard and application plan for an upcoming procurement.

Tools & standards covered

UK Procurement Act 2023, Find a Tender service, Jaggaer, Atamis

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions