Cash Bursary Alternatives/PRO/PIN/2021

We are requesting information from suppliers about their online electronic solutions or portals to support students who are unable to accept a bursary paid via direct payment into their bank accounts. The OU would like to receive information from suppliers on solutions which deliver support in the same way many Clinical Commissioning Groups and Local Authorities deliver Personal Health Budgets.

The OU is open to various solutions such as virtual wallets, limited marketplaces and restricted trading platforms, or other solutions which might support overcoming this problem. Suppliers are requested to respond to this PIN via The Open University's e-tendering website, In-Tend (https://in-tendhost.co.uk/openuniversity).

Suppliers should complete and return a Request for Information Response Document by no later that noon on 23rd April 2020. Submissions must be made via the In-Tend correspondence function.

The OU is offering a limited number of briefing sessions to suppliers on a first come, first served basis. The purpose of the briefing session is to provide further context to our requirement and for suppliers to ask questions and share some of their solution ideas with us prior to submitting their formal RFI response.

The briefing sessions will be on a one-to-one basis. They will be held on the 25th March 2021 and the timeslots available are indicated in the RFI response pack with questions on how to request a session.

The sessions will be held via Microsoft Teams. The OU requires a mechanism to provide support to students which doesn't involve directly providing payments to students.

We envisage providing an electronic solution which holds cash credits that can be spent on providing products/services to students through the main software/marketplace/portal supplier without the need for The OU to contract with individual suppliers. When a student chooses a product and/or service, this will be provided directly to the student, either by the solution provider or their partners.

The solution will also facilitate payment for these items/services from the authorised funds the OU provides. The OU anticipates that this solution will be delivered as an off the shelf, software as a service package, managed by a single vendor.