Electronic Ballot Counting System and Associated Services for Elections

Concepts

• scanning services
• information systems
• london assembly elections
• key london services
• election results
• ballot boxes
• borough e-count staff
• ballot papers
• unclear ballots
• ballots

Location

London:

Geochart for 1 buyers and 0 suppliers

Transport for London

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Leaflet | Map tiles by Stamen Design, under CC BY 3.0. Data by OpenStreetMap, under ODbL.

Description

The purpose of this Prior Information Notice is to notify the market of TfL's intention to carry out early market engagement to assess the current market capabilities and appetite for the requirement. Transport for London, on behalf of the Greater London Authority, are seeking to procure an electronic ballot counting system and associated services for the 2028 elections in London. London has one Mayor and 25 Assembly Members. This unique form of government - the Greater London Authority - was set up in 2000 and, working with London's 32 boroughs, the City of London, central government and many others, it is responsible for key London services, including transport, the police and the fire service. In 2028, elections are to take place for the Mayor of London, the 14 Constituency London Assembly Members, and the 11 London-wide Assembly Members. The scale and complexity of the Mayor of London and London Assembly elections represent a major challenge, with an electorate of over 6 million people. Prior to 2024, the electoral systems required four votes across three ballot papers using three different electoral systems. From the 2024 election, the electoral system for mayor is no longer supplementary vote, and is now first-past-the-post. Accordingly, now, three votes need to be counted across three ballots.

Total Quantity or Scope

This Market Sounding Questionnaire (MSQ) is issued by Transport for London (TfL), acting on behalf of the Greater London Authority (the "GLA"), and seeks to obtain market feedback in relation to the possible procurement for the GLA Electronic Ballot Counting Services and Associated Service for the accurate counting of voter marks on ballot papers and declaration of results for three elections for: the Mayor of London; 14 Constituency Assembly Members; and 11 London-wide Assembly Members. The 2028 Mayor of London and London Assembly elections, with the option at the Authority's discretion to include the 2032 elections, may involve an electronic count (e-count) to count ballots and determine election results. This was the modality for all elections prior to, and including 2021. The main components are: 1) software to analyse scanned ballots and count the results, as well manage the workflow for recording the receipt of ballot boxes, scanning of ballots in the box, the adjudication of unclear ballots, and the approval process for results. 2) The hardware which includes hi-speed scanners and computers, as well as servers and networking equipment for up to 33 sites 3) the setup and support staff for the e-count locations. The service would likely be phased by: 1) review and testing of software 2) ensuring integration of the software and hardware 3) scale testing 4) training of borough e-count staff 5) setup of locations and count. As part of this market sounding exercise, TfL wishes to seek suppliers views on the extent of their capabilities and appetite for Electronic Ballot Counting System and Associated Services.

CPV Codes

• 79999100 - Scanning services
• 44316400 - Hardware
• 48000000 - Software package and information systems

Other Information

** PREVIEW NOTICE, please check Find a Tender for full details. ** The purpose of this Prior Information Notice (PIN) is to: i. provide advance notice that TfL is considering to undertake a tendering exercise to set up a new contract; ii. understand the market interest in this procurement; iii. identify suppliers who would like to participate in the Market Sounding Questionnaire (MSQ) as part of our Early Market Engagement (EME) process to provide the services outlined in this procurement. Interested suppliers should register their interest in this procurement by sending an email message by no later than 22 November 2024 to ShantiniDoraisingam@tfl.gov.uk. Your Expressions of Interest email message should clearly state: • Subject Title: ICT14878 - GLA Electronic Ballot Counting System and Associated Service for Elections • Supplier name • Contact details The interested suppliers will then be sent a Market Sounding Questionnaire (MSQ) along with guidance notes. Responses should be submitted by 11 December 2024. Following an assessment of responses received from the MSQ, we may hold further follow- up sessions with individual suppliers to gather their feedback. This will help us to finalise our procurement strategy. This PIN and the subsequent MSQ do not form part of a formal procurement process. TfL is not liable for any costs, fees or expenses incurred by any party participating in any aspect of this EME exercise. TfL cannot guarantee it will incorporate all or any feedback received into any subsequent procurement documentation. TfL intends to publish any tender exercise in relation to this proposed sourcing activity using SAP ARIBA. Interested parties will need to be registered on this system if they wish to participate at the below link: https://s1-eu.ariba.com/Sourcing/Main/ad/selfRegistration?realm=TfL In the event of issues or difficulty with the registration please contact the SAP Ariba Supplier Registration Help Page: https://help.sap.com/docs/sap-business-network-for-trading-partners/registration... logging-in/how-to-register-as-supplier-on-sap-business-network If you have any queries regarding your registration, please contact: Ariba_Supplier_Enablement@tfl.gov.uk