The British Educational Research Association (BERA) is a membership association and learned society committed to advancing research quality, building research capacity and fostering research engagement. We are the authority on educational research in the UK, supporting and representing the community of scholars, practitioners and everyone engaged in and with educational research both nationally and internationally. Further information can be found at www.bera.ac.uk.

BERA currently uses Microsoft Dynamics 365 to manage our membership subscriptions and wider network, as well as facilitate registration for our annual conference, along with up to 60 other paid events held throughout the year. 

We require a managed service partner for our CRM.

Evaluation Criteria
The criteria will be scored using the following definitions, unless stated otherwise:

For the evaluation, BERA will weigh the criteria scoring as outlined below.

Timetable
BERA is not bound to accept any quote. The indicative timetable for decision on the appointment is below. Please note this is for information only and may be subject to change.

Pricing
The pricing must include all expected costs, overheads and expenses for all obligations under this contract. Please include as detailed a breakdown of costing as possible to allow comparisons between providers to be easily made as part of the evaluation process.

All prices should exclude VAT.

Submission of Responses
Submissions should be sent electronically to membership@bera.ac.uk. Should you have any queries, or wish to book a meeting to discuss this tender further, please contact membership@bera.ac.uk.

The submission deadline is  February 10, 2023.

Please ensure that the declaration is signed and dated by an authorised person of suitable seniority within the company. Once a quote has been awarded, no allowance can be made for any errors, omissions or misjudgements in quoting.

BERA is not liable for any costs incurred by the bidder as a result of the bidding procedure. Any work undertaken by the bidder prior to the award of contract is a matter solely for the bidder’s own commercial judgement.
Subcontracting is not permitted.

Declaration of Conflicts of Interest
By submitting a bid for this tender, you must confirm that you do not have any conflict of interest in connection to the contract. Should you have a conflict of interest, we would need to consider this in relation to the contract, please provide details that this relates to.
BERA reserves the right to verify this information and any false declaration in respect of the information required may result in the withdrawal of the application.

Current Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM – Summary

•  Contacts-50,000+ contacts.
• Membership management– Annual membership packages, membership subscriptions linked to contacts.
• Events registration and recording – 60 events a year, event delegates, speakers linked to contacts
• Payments – linked to event registrations, membership subscriptions. Direct debit semi-automated
• Groups – Internal BERA communities creating relationships between contacts.
• Awards – Submission through website, award application process tracked and recorded in CRM
• Marketing – powermailchimp

Desired additions

• Member portal
• Improved marketing function
• Creation of a new publications entity linking published works on our website to contact profiles in the CRM
• Shopping basket functionality on website with the ability to create new items for sale
• Additional event details stored in CRM
• Fully Automated direct debit system
• Email tracking
• Sharepoint integration
• Login details stored in CRM rather than CMS
• Any other additions which are recommended

Extra Information

We have a WordPress website (www.bera.ac.uk) which is externally managed by our provider Soapbox. Website pushes data to the CRM via API. Website retrieves data from CRM.

User login details currently stored on website.

Key Services required

Managed Microsoft Dynamics Support Services:

• Dynamics 365 technical support
• Helpdesk

Ongoing CRM consultancy including:

• system changes and updates
• solutions management, including third-party and Microsoft integrations
• data management
• customisations
• tailored workflows
• reporting
• automations
• power apps
• We require a partner who can be proactive with advice and suggestions based upon system changes and good practice in the sector

Training and eLearning

• in-person/online user training sessions
• Training documentation

Liaison with

• Our website provider (Soapbox)
• Payments provider (Opayo)
• Direct debit provider (smartdebit)

 Tender Specification and Requirements

 Please provide the following information as a minimum:

• About your firm and relevant experience
• • Size and structure
  • Experience of providing a CRM to organisations similar to BERA
  • Microsoft Gold Partner
• Provision of services
  • Details of how the required services will be provided
  • What do you consider to be the likely main areas of difficulty, and how will these be addressed
  • Names and experience of team to provide the service
  • Demonstrate how you ensure that you deliver a high-quality service, including how you monitor client satisfaction and measure performance
  • How would you deal with the transfer from the existing CRM provider (if applicable) and potential timeline
  • Provide any details of available training
  • Provide details of help desk support methods
  • Additional services available that may be of interest to BERA
  • References (to be contacted prior to meeting)
  • Any examples to demonstrate what differentiates you from other bidders, highlighting any value added services which may be provided
• Price
  • Please provide details of how you would charge for the service (ex. VAT), including estimated initial set-up costs and then ongoing charges
  • Billing arrangements
  • Fees for additional services