Provision of Service Design and Strategic Design support for the development of a Common Application System (CAS) for school admissions for the Department of Education and Youth

The Minister for Education and Youth invites tenders to this request for tenders from economic operators

Provision of Service Design and Strategic Design support for the development of a Common Application System (CAS) for school admissions for the Department of Education and Youth

Department of Education and Youth

## Summary The Department of Education and Youth is procuring specialist service and strategic design support to develop a Common Application System (CAS) for school admissions. The contract involves embedding two Service Designers within cross-functional teams to lead research, prototyping, and future-state design over a 12-month period.

## Scope & Deliverables - Provision of specialist service and strategic design support for the Common Application System (CAS). - Support for the Department’s 90% digital target under Better Public Services 2030. - Two Service Designers embedded in cross-functional project teams. - Leadership of research, journey mapping, prototyping, and future-state service design. - Capability uplift to embed design methods and artefacts within the ongoing transformation programme.

## Key Requirements - Specialist expertise in service and strategic design. - Experience in leading research, journey mapping, and prototyping. - Ability to operate within a public sector PMO structure. - Compliance with exclusion grounds via the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD). - Specific qualifications or certifications are not explicitly listed in the summary data; refer to Appendix 1 of the RFT for detailed professional requirements.

## Commercials & Timeline - Estimated value: €1,200,000 (excluding VAT). - Submission deadline: Wednesday, June 3, 2026, at 17:00 IST. - Contract duration: 36 months (Note: Description text mentions a 12-month support period, but the contract metadata specifies 36 months). - Framework/DPS: No framework agreement or Dynamic Purchasing System.

## How to Bid - Submission method: Via the Irish eTenders portal (https://www.etenders.gov.ie/epps/cft/viewTenders.do?resourceId=8044599). - Language: English. - Key documents: Complete the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) and prepare the tender response as detailed in Appendix 1 of the Request for Tenders (RFT).

## Bid Considerations - Strategic Fit: Ideal for consultancies with strong public sector digital transformation experience and established service design practices. - Opportunity: High-value contract supporting a major national digital initiative (CAS) and government-wide digital targets. - Risk: Potential ambiguity between the 12-month service period described in the text and the 36-month contract duration stated in metadata; clarify during the process. - Complexity: Requires deep integration with government PMO structures and capability uplift activities, demanding both hands-on delivery and strategic advisory skills.

Open procedure. Any interested supplier may submit a tender. There is no shortlisting stage — all compliant bids received by the deadline are evaluated against the published award criteria. It is the most common route for Irish public contracts and is open to SMEs and new entrants.

Department of Education and Youth has 7 tender(s) tracked on TenderScout, of which 2 are currently open. On the EU TED record this buyer has awarded 12 contract(s) worth around €31,337,089.

Recent awarded suppliers include EDU-Relate, Glasgiven Contracts Ltd, University of Limerick_83670, Gravity Architects, Colman Reynolds and Associates.