W202845 - RFI for benchmarking

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is an Arm’s Length Body (ALB) of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). We deliver a wide range of national services for the NHS, contractors, patients and the public.

NHSBSA currently undertakes benchmarking in selected areas of its business, both internally and with external support, alongside informal peer networks. This RFI is intended to explore how additional external benchmarking services could complement and broaden that activity across all NHSBSA services.

NHSBSA is interested exploring alternative options for benchmarking across its diverse services. As a business services provider, our activities are potentially often comparable to private sector organisations (e.g. insurance companies, shared services providers) as well as other NHS Arm’s Length Bodies.

This RFI will help us understand how external suppliers can support benchmarking that is credible, repeatable, and insightful, with clear value for money.

Scope of services

We are particularly interested in benchmarking services that can support:

• Operational efficiency - cost per transaction, turnaround times, digital adoption

• Contact centre operations

• Customer experience - across digital and offline channels

• Digital and technology delivery

• Back-office services cost/size including Finance, Commercial and HR

• Maturity assessments and performance dashboards - providing structured frameworks and visibility of progress

NHSBSA is open to comparators from both public and private sectors where relevant.

NHSBSA are carrying out this pre-tender market engagement exercise to understand more about the market capabilities for benchmarking our services and at this stage we are seeking high-level input to enable us to assess our options which may potentially inform any future procurement strategy ensuring compliance with The Procurement Act 2023 in respect of benchmarking services.

Interested parties must register an interest in this RFI via https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome (search opportunities using system reference C387227).

Suppliers can register from 25th September 2025 and the RFI documents will be made available on 25th September 2025. Registration for the event will close on 30th October 2025 12:00 BST. As part of our pre-tender market engagement process for the provision of External Benchmarking Services, Registered suppliers are invited to attend a Supplier Briefing Session which will consist of a presentation via Microsoft Teams which will be held on 20th October 2025 09:30-10:30. Suppliers may also request an optional 1-2-1 session on 20th & 22nd October 2025. Written RFI responses are requested by no later than Friday 31st October 2025 12:00 BST. The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) invites all interested economic operators to participate in an RFI and a Supplier Webinar, followed by a number of 121 sessions in addition to a number of questions. Suppliers can answer and submit following the presentation.

Following this pre-tender market engagement should a procurement follow, then depending upon the chosen route to market and value (existing framework or covered procurement) it will be governed by either the Public Contract Regulations 2015 or the Procurement Act 2023. Any subsequent invitation to tender and notices will be aligned to the relevant regulation/act.

As this RFI is exploring the market capability and associated costs which are unknown at present this is reflected in the Total Contract Value set out in this notice. Once the RFI process has concluded we hope to have a greater understanding of any potential contract value.