Defence Forces officer-education academic partner

Verified opportunity overview

The Irish Defence Forces are procuring one academic partner to provide accredited officer-education pathway programmes. The official procurement workspace remains the controlling source for supplier decisions and current documents.

Current status and key dates

The opportunity lifecycle is open. The controlling submission deadline is 23 September 2026, 12:30 Europe/Dublin; status must be reopened before any later publication or supplier action.

Scope and deliverables

The Irish Defence Forces (DF) seek an academic partner to provide accredited programmes that addresses specific requirements for the training and education of the Defence Forces Senior Commissioned Leadership and Cadets in accordance with Defence Forces Regulations: a. Joint Command and Staff Course (JCSC) - Level 9 Masters in Leadership, Management and Defence Studies. b. Land Command and Staff Course (LCSC) - Level 9 Postgraduate Diploma in Leadership, Management and Defence Studies. c. Joint Cadet Course - Level 7 Diploma in Leadership, Management and Defence Studies. Tenderers should have a demonstrable and substantial expertise in Leadership, Management, Defence, Security and International Relations including the support of Research in these areas up to and including PhD (Level 10) standard. A proven track record of delivering similar/comparable collaborative educational programmes within international military colleges, defence academies or equivalent institutions is desirable. The academic partner shall provide dedicated staff at the DFTC, Curragh Camp, to support the delivery and administration of all programmes. The allocation of dedicated and onsite academic staff to the Military College to deliver residential components of the course, participate in practical formative and summative assessment events and to provide to overall support to both military instructors and students of the JCSC, LCSC and Joint Cadet Course. This description is deliberately bounded to what the official public workspace states and does not extend unstated deliverables.

Lots and contract structure

Refer to the current official procurement documents. Complete lot schedules, quantities, specifications and allocation mechanics remain within the live procurement documents.

Supplier requirements

Refer to the current official procurement documents. Suppliers must use the official documents rather than this research brief to determine eligibility and compliance.

Submission and award method

The official procedure is Open. The submission deadline is 23 September 2026, 12:30 Europe/Dublin. The evaluation mechanism is Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT). The workspace identifies directive 2014/24/EU (Classic). The workspace marks the procurement as above threshold. The clarification deadline is 7 September 2026, 12:00 Europe/Dublin. Tender opening is stated as 23 September 2026, 13:00 Europe/Dublin. An online expression of interest is required. Multiple tenders are not accepted. Tender validity is 180 days. These are current official submission mechanics; the procurement documents remain authoritative for response forms and eligibility.

Value explanation

The displayed value is EUR 3,556,920. An estimate is not guaranteed expenditure, supplier revenue, call-off volume or realised award value.

Amendments and status history

The public workspace should be checked for later clarifications, deadline changes, document replacements, cancellations, awards and other status notices before acting.

Supplier relevance

Relevant to suppliers qualified for the Defence Forces officer-education academic partner procurement under official eTenders resource 8907458. Relevance does not establish eligibility, capacity, selection or likely award for any specific supplier.

Procurement data limitations and missing details

EUR 3,556,920 is the official estimated value, not guaranteed expenditure, award value or supplier revenue. This procurement does not prove supplier appointment, contract award, delivery, implementation, operational use or realised outcomes. Missing facts are preserved as unknowns and are not inferred from comparable procurements, market prices or supplier assumptions.

Official sources and verification history

Primary evidence is the official procurement source at https://www.etenders.gov.ie/epps/cft/prepareViewCfTWS.do?resourceId=8907458, checked on 9 September 2026. The current official documents remain authoritative.