BBC seeks new Digital Services roster

According to BBC Future Media executive creative director Colin Burns, ‘A small percentage of the work will be for design and there will also be the chance to pick up smaller one-off projects.’

This follows a separate tender last year for the Digital Design roster, which is also worth £3 – 4.5, and covers the entire online portfolio of the BBC and offers consultancies the chance to work on visual design, interaction design, user experience and other projects across touchpoints including standalone applications and websites.

The Digital Design roster has been finalised says Burns who said the BBC received 207 applicants and has appointed seven consultancies.

It replaces an outgoing digital design roster, set up in 2001, which consisted of 15 consultancies, meaning that the new one is smaller.

The newly advertised Digital Services roster will offer successful consultancies a nine-month contract which may be extended twice, at increments of nine months at a time, for up to 27 months in total.

Required services include digital design; application development; mobile application development; TV development (interactive and IPTV); database development; general development practices; and/or digital testing.

Suppliers need to be able to provide services in at least one of the above categories and may be required to work across the broadcaster’s online portfolio, which includes the products News, Sport, Weather, Children’s, Learning and Knowledge, Radio, Music, iPlayer, and TV.

The Digital Services roster can be accessed here. Interested parties need to apply or express interest by 16 May.