EdTech Marketplace

For educational innovation, it is important that educational institutions can collaborate with innovative EdTech providers in a low-threshold way. But those two parties often still find it difficult to find each other under the current complex procurement rules.

The education sector also sees that the direction of digital innovation is still too often determined by large technology companies. If the education sector wants to keep more of a grip on the digital landscape and better safeguard public values, it is time for a different approach.

That is why the Npuls EdTech pilothub, in collaboration with SURF, has started developing the EdTech Marketplace. That is a place where educational institutions can easily put out assignments for EdTech companies. In this way, we can explore new forms of cooperation in small, instructive steps, experiment flexibly with innovative solutions and take more control over how technology contributes to better and fairer education.

DAS (Dynamic Purchasing System) is a secure and proven system for flexible European procurement. It is specifically designed to enable low-threshold and lawful procurement. In the case of the EdTech Marketplace, that cooperation takes place in areas such as digital education tools and innovative EdTech solutions.

Unlike traditional tenders, the DAS the EdTech Marketplace does not focus specifically on one contract or topic, but on the overarching domain 'EdTech'. Providers with a suitable offer can register in a low-threshold manner. The marketplace continuously fills up with a wide range of providers and offers, making it relatively simple for institutions to place a request for proposal. All authorised providers can then respond. Both providers and institutions can join the marketplace on an ongoing basis. This creates a marketplace that moves with developments, offers room for experimentation, innovation and cooperation - without the lengthy, complex procedures of regular tenders.

Within this DAS, we are also experimenting with additional room for innovation. For instance, it is not only possible to buy standard products (the so-called Commercial Off The Shelf solutions), but also custom-made products or other forms of cooperation.

On the requesting side, these are secondary schools, colleges and universities. And in terms of providers, they are any organisation that develops educational technology and meets the eligibility criteria of the EdTech Marketplace.

In fact, the possibilities are endless, but these are some examples of EdTech solutions that are much sought after:

• Extensions of core/shell functionalities for existing learning systems.
• Intelligent technologies for personalised learning pathways.
• Platforms for efficient and fair evaluation of student work.
• Digital support for skill development such as academic writing.
• Systems that link students to current societal challenges.
• Applications for testing and embedding knowledge.
• Tools that seamlessly integrate online and physical education.
• Systems that analyse learning data for educational improvement.
• Interactive game elements that enrich learning processes.

The EdTech market is growing at lightning speed - mainly thanks to large, often American tech companies. They not only provide learning platforms, but also collect huge amounts of (meta)data through these systems. This data is subject to US legislation, putting pressure on the privacy of students and teachers. In addition, algorithms can influence the learning process unnoticed. Students and lecturers often have no insight into this. 

This increasing dependence on foreign parties and non-transparent systems is risky. Educational institutions thus lose control over the technology they use, the data they and their students generate and how public funds are spent. This puts the public values for education - autonomy, justice and humanity - as expressed by SURF and Kennisnet in the values guide, under pressure. 

The EdTech Marketplace was set up as an alternative. Within this Dynamic Acquisition System (DAS), clear ground rules apply, such as:

• Storage of data within the European Economic Area.
• Open standards to avoid dependence on one provider.
• Transparency about algorithms, ownership and price agreements.
• Accessibility and ethics as basic conditions.

Through the EdTech Marketplace, vocational, higher vocational, and university institutions can procure EdTech solutions flexibly and in compliance with regulations. At every step, you can count on the knowledge and expertise of Npuls and SURF. Here’s how it works:

1. Choose a category
2. Select one of the three procurement categories: existing EdTech products, co-creation of new solutions, or hiring development expertise. Npuls and SURF will help you determine which category best suits your request.
3. Draft your request
4. You describe your needs and requirements in a concise request. Npuls and SURF will assist you in drafting your request, for example regarding public values, selection criteria, and market readiness.
5. Mini-competition among suitable providers
6. All providers admitted to the DAS who meet your requirements will automatically receive the request for proposals and can submit a proposal within a short timeframe.
7. Evaluate and award
8. You compare the proposals and select the provider that best fits your needs.
9. Start the collaboration
10. You enter into an agreement with the selected provider—draft agreements are available for this purpose—and can get started right away. The entire process is fast, flexible, and compliant with European procurement rules.

In a traditional procurement process, you go through a single, fixed, and time-consuming procedure with strict deadlines and limited room for flexibility. On the EdTech Marketplace, the groundwork has already been laid. The marketplace’s operations have been thought through and defined as thoroughly as possible. Furthermore, the DAS has already been published and is now populated with a large number of providers, many of whom offer attractive solutions. As an institution, you can therefore focus solely on the specific request you wish to issue. The turnaround time from issuing a request to awarding and executing the contract can be as short as 1 to 3 months.

As an educational institution, you can therefore issue a request for digital educational tools at any time, without having to restart the entire preliminary process. A large number of providers have already been admitted to the DAS, but if there isn’t yet a suitable provider for your specific needs, Npuls and SURF will help invite the right providers to join the marketplace. This ensures the marketplace is continuously filled with interesting (new) solutions. Furthermore, you can experiment with co-creation, mid-project onboarding, or the procurement of custom solutions—options that often don’t fit into traditional processes.

In collaboration with Kennisnet, SURF has published a Values Guide that provides a detailed description of the importance of the public values of autonomy, justice, and humanity for digitization in education. Both the institutions issuing calls for proposals and the providers that are selected give these public values a prominent place in their procurement processes. For this reason, the DAS includes an appendix detailing the implementation of public values. These are categorized as must-have (MH), should-have (SH), and could-have (CH).

A “must-have” is a contractual obligation during the tendering process. For a “should-have,” it is strongly recommended that it be made a contractual obligation. For a “could-have,” the institution is free to make further arrangements with the provider regarding this matter. Examples:

• Must-have: principle of no surprises: unexpected surprises are prevented through transparency; publicity regarding the collaboration is done with the other party’s consent; both parties prevent bundling; agreements regarding Intellectual Property (IP).
• Should-have: the institution’s general terms and conditions do not apply to the contract; agreements are laid out in a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with consequences for non-performance.
• Could-have: recommendations or relevant standards from the education sector/government are applied; maximum hourly rate for service providers; agreements regarding contractual discounts for longer periods.

First, contact Harm Geels, project manager of the EdTech Marketplace, at harm.geels@surf.nl. You don’t need to have a fully developed plan yet; an idea or need is enough. Experts at SURF and Npuls will work with you to refine your request. They’ll also help you determine which of the three procurement categories is the best fit: purchasing an existing product, a co-creation project, or hiring specific development expertise.

In your request, briefly describe what you’re looking for, what’s important to you (for example, regarding public values), and what criteria you’ll use to evaluate providers. Once your request is posted on the EdTech Marketplace, selected providers who match your needs can respond. Within a short time, you’ll receive concrete proposals and can choose the provider that best fits your needs. After signing an agreement, your collaboration begins.

A Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is a flexible method of European procurement that you, as an EdTech provider, can easily sign up for. You register once and then don’t have to go through a lengthy tendering process every time.

As soon as an educational institution issues a request that matches your profile, you will automatically receive an invitation to register. This gives you access to specific requests from educational institutions – without unnecessary barriers, and with clear rules.

To participate in the EdTech Marketplace, you must register via the Mercell platform. You will need to submit several documents, including a UEA form, recent statements from the Tax and Customs Administration, and a Chamber of Commerce extract.

In addition, you must demonstrate that you have relevant experience in one or more of the three categories: existing EdTech solutions, co-creation, or development expertise. If you wish to participate in a category, upload a reference project in accordance with the terms and conditions in Mercell.

Do you meet the requirements? Then you can compete for requests that match your offering.

The EdTech Marketplace was established to give educational institutions greater control over digital innovation. This also means that we collaborate based on public values such as autonomy, fairness, and humanity. For providers, this translates to clear rules, transparent collaboration, and equal opportunities.

• Instead of a market dominated by a few large (often American) tech companies, the marketplace offers space for providers who want to innovate responsibly. For example, when responding to requests on the EdTech Marketplace, it is important that providers:
  • respect privacy (such as storing data within the EEA and complying with the GDPR)
  • support open standards and prevent vendor lock-in
  • make clear agreements regarding intellectual property and transparent pricing
  • prioritize accessibility and respectful collaboration

The possibilities are virtually endless, but here are a few examples of EdTech solutions that are in high demand:

• Extensions of core functionalities for existing learning systems.
• Intelligent technologies for personalized learning paths.
• Platforms for efficient and fair assessment of student work.
• Digital support for developing skills such as academic writing.
• Systems that connect students to current societal challenges.
• Applications for testing and reinforcing knowledge.
• Tools that seamlessly integrate online and in-person education.
• Systems that analyze learning data to improve education.
• Interactive game elements that enrich learning processes.