We’re looking for a web development partner, or partners, to help us rebuild the John Innes Centre (JIC) and the Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership (NRPDTP) websites.

Over the next six months we must rebuild our corporate websites (www.jic.ac.uk and https://biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/), to ensure compatibility with our servers.

To do this, we need a web development team to help us.

Background

Both sites were redesigned in 2018/19 and are hosted on our servers by our in-house computing team. Broadly they have a similar look and feel, and the structure, functionality and accessibility standard that works for us, however we need to rebuild the site using a more modern content management system that is compatible with upgraded server infrastructure.

With regards to site look-and-feel and branding we require a like-for-like replacement, with some upgrades and tweaks to functionality and usability, and the ability to develop, upgrade and evolve these sites over the next five years.

How to tender

This tender is split into two parts: one for the JIC website and one for the NRPDTP website, with both included in the downloadable tender pack (see below).

We are happy to work with one company for both projects, as our requirements and timelines are similar. However, we require the successful company to manage the redevelopment of these two websites independently – in particular, the costs and invoicing for the sites should remain distinct.

Given the above we will also consider working with two companies, if the right people come forward to meet the needs of the John Innes Centre (JIC) and the Norwich Research Park Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership (NRPDTP) separately.

Below, within the tender pack, is all the information you need to bid for this project. To be in with a chance of becoming the team that rebuilds our sites, all you need to do is to tell us how you’d be able to help us achieve that by 1 October 2026.

When submitting your tender, please make it clear if you are proposing to partner with us on one (either JIC or NRPDTP) or both website rebuild projects. The deadline for your proposals to be sent to us is 14 May 2026.

Timeline

• 15 April – Deadline for questions about the opportunity, the process or the websites to be submitted to above email addresses – Download the collated Q&As – JIC – NRPDTP WEB 2026 Questions and Answers v1
• 14 May 2026 17:00 BST– tenders received by email to felicity.perry@jic.ac.uk and mark.meehan@nbi.ac.uk
• w/c 18 May – shortlisted candidates are contacted
• w/c 25 May – in person or virtual presentations and interviews for shortlisted candidates
• w/c 8 June – tender awarded
• 15 June – rebuild project begins
• 17 Sept – soft launch – site signed off and available internally for checking and updates
• 1 Oct – site fully live

If you intend to participate in this process, please send a confirmation email to felicity.perry@jic.ac.uk and mark.meehan@nbi.ac.uk.

Download: JIC – NRPDTP Website Rebuild Pack – see also clarifications and Q&A doc (issued 17 April) below

Good luck and we look forward to hearing from you.

Questions? Contact felicity.perry@jic.ac.uk and mark.meehan@nbi.ac.uk.

Tender Clarifications

1. All questions submitted by the 15th April have been collated and are shared to ensure that all interested parties have access to the same information – JIC – NRPDTP WEB 2026 Questions and Answers v1.
2. Access to current site(s): To support development of proposals we can provide a downloadable OVF instance of our websites and underlying servers for you to use. Please contact Richard Horler (richard.horler@nbi.ac.uk) to request a copy of this resource which will be available in the week commencing Monday 27^th April.
3. Page number error: Since issuing the tender we have reviewed the page/posts on the JIC site, it seems that there are fewer than the originally estimated 5,500 (which is, quite frankly, a relief). We now think that the total pages and posts which are active and within scope of migration is around 2,220.
4. CMS choice: We are only looking to rebuild the site using WordPress, or potentially another widely available and supported CMS. There are several reasons why we are unlikely to consider bespoke systems, the key one is because we are a charitable organisation primarily funded by the UK taxpayer. We have a need to retain the ability to maintain and upgrade our site long-term, and to be able to hold open calls for future web develop projects. Because of this, and some other reason, we are unlikely to opt for a CMS that ties us to working with a small, or restricted number of suppliers.