Why ICSs Are Changing NHS Procurement
Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) are reshaping how NHS procurement works across England. For suppliers, this shift brings both challenges and opportunities. Instead of individual Trusts or regional teams making decisions in isolation, ICSs create joined-up commissioning processes designed to improve efficiency, collaboration, and deliver better outcomes for patients. For businesses supplying goods and services, understanding how ICS-led contracting works is now essential to winning new NHS opportunities. NHS England is responsible for establishing the structure and oversight of ICSs across England.
Want help navigating ICS opportunities? Speak to our NHS procurement experts today.
What Is an Integrated Care System? ICSs Explained
Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) are regional partnerships between NHS organisations, local authorities, and voluntary sector stakeholders. The Health and Care Act established the legal framework for ICSs in England, formalising their role in the health and care system. Their purpose is to integrate health and care services across defined geographic areas, ensuring that different parts of the health and social care system work together more effectively through collaboration between health and care organisations.
At the core of each ICS sits an Integrated Care Board (ICB). Each ICS also includes an Integrated Care Partnership (ICP), a broader alliance of health, care, and community partners that sets the long-term strategy for improving health outcomes across the population.
The structure of ICSs is designed to break down traditional silos between hospitals, GPs, community health providers, and social care teams. By working together, ICSs aim to:
- Plan services around population health needs rather than organisational boundaries.
- Reduce duplication in commissioning and service delivery.
- Improve access to care and reduce health inequalities.
- Deliver greater value for money across the system.
Place based partnerships within ICSs coordinate health and care services for specific areas, such as towns or boroughs, and play a key role in addressing local health needs and tackling health inequalities at the community level.
For suppliers, ICSs represent a fundamental shift in the way contracts are awarded. Instead of competing for individual Trust-level tenders, businesses must now demonstrate how their products or services contribute to system-wide objectives such as prevention, integration, and long-term sustainability. This means aligning proposals not only with the requirements of ICB procurement teams but also with broader regional health priorities.
In procurement terms, suppliers should be prepared for:
- Larger, aggregated contracts spanning multiple Trusts or local authorities.
- Greater scrutiny of ESG and social value commitments, reflecting ICS priorities around sustainability and community benefit.
- Collaborative bids or consortia opportunities, as ICSs often encourage joint solutions that bring multiple providers together.
Why Integrated Care Systems Are Needed in the NHS
The NHS established ICSs to address long-standing challenges such as fragmented care, duplicated services, and rising costs. By coordinating commissioning and delivery, ICSs aim to:
- Improve population health outcomes.
- Ensure more consistent access to services across regions.
- Deliver efficiency through economies of scale.
- Focus on preventative care and long-term sustainability.
- Improve health for the local population.
- Improve outcomes for children, young people, and adults.
ICSs also focus on addressing poor health and public health challenges, particularly in collaboration with local partners, local communities, and for the local population.
For suppliers, ICSs represent a new landscape where tenders increasingly focus on solutions that align with system-wide goals such as prevention, digital integration, and sustainability.
Align your strategy with ICS goals—let HCI help you build a winning bid.
How Integrated Care System Procurement Works
Procurement in ICSs differs from traditional Trust-led approaches. Procurement in ICSs covers a wide range of NHS services, integrating health and social care delivery. Here’s how it works:
- Decision-making: ICBs hold budgets and make commissioning decisions in collaboration with local providers, playing a central role in planning health services and overseeing service provision.
- Frameworks: Many opportunities are managed through national and regional frameworks, which suppliers must qualify for before bidding.
- Compliance: ICS buyers apply strict NHS procurement regulations, with ESG and social value criteria playing a growing role in award decisions.
Suppliers must track whether an opportunity is commissioned directly by an ICB, delivered via a Trust, or routed through a national framework.
ICS Contract Opportunities: What Suppliers Should Look For
Suppliers can expect a wide range of opportunities within ICS-led procurement, including:
- Health technology – digital tools, electronic patient records, and data integration solutions.
- Social care services – community health programmes, domiciliary care, and integrated service delivery.
- Community health contracts – primary care support, urgent community response teams, and preventative health initiatives.
- Community services – integration of health, social care, mental health, and local services to improve patient care and reduce hospital admissions.
- Mental health services – coordination and provision of mental health support within community and acute settings.
- Emergency care – urgent and emergency care improvements, including patient flow and capacity enhancements.
- Emergency care services – system-wide strategies to support emergency departments and streamline hospital discharge.
- Specialist services – targeted interventions for children with complex needs and multi-agency collaboration.
- Primary and secondary care – contracts supporting integrated, coordinated care across different healthcare levels.
- Staffing and workforce – recruitment, training, agency staffing solutions, addressing workforce shortages, and supporting workforce planning.
- Logistics and estates – transport services, medical equipment supply, and sustainability projects.
The key is knowing where to find opportunities—many are published across multiple portals, making tracking a challenge without specialist tools.
Transformation plans are often part of service improvement contracts, and local organisations, care organisations, and NHS partners may collaborate or bid together.
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NHS Supplier Requirements in ICS Bids
Winning an ICS contract requires more than competitive pricing. Suppliers must demonstrate:
- Regulatory compliance with NHS procurement frameworks.
- Quality assurance through ISO certifications and proven track records.
- ESG and social value delivery, showing contributions to sustainability, local employment, reducing health inequalities, ensuring equitable access, and equitable access to services. Addressing financial stress and supporting economic development are also valued as key social value criteria.
- Innovation that improves patient care, system efficiency, and helps improve services across urgent and emergency care systems.
Collaboration with other partners, such as social care providers, education, housing, and community groups, is often expected in ICS contracts.
Failure to meet these criteria often leads to disqualification, regardless of cost.
How to Win Public Sector Contracts in Integrated Care Systems
To succeed in ICS procurement, suppliers should adopt a structured and strategic approach. Success depends on more than simply submitting a competitive bid—it requires alignment with NHS priorities, strong evidence of capability, and proactive engagement with ICS decision-makers. Here are the key strategies:
Assess organisational readiness
Before bidding, confirm that your business has the right financial standing, regulatory compliance, and quality certifications. Many ICS tenders require evidence of previous delivery at scale, so gather case studies, testimonials, and performance data to demonstrate credibility.
Understand ICS priorities
Each ICS publishes strategies focused on population health, prevention, digital transformation, and reducing inequalities. Tailor your bids to show how your solutions align with these priorities, using specific examples to connect your offering to local challenges.
Engage early with stakeholders
Building relationships with procurement teams, ICB members, and local NHS providers helps position your company before tenders go live. Early engagement ensures you understand local needs and can shape your proposals accordingly.
Leverage frameworks and consortia
Frameworks are often the entry point to ICS opportunities. Positioning your business on relevant frameworks gives you visibility and easier access to recurring contracts. Where appropriate, consider joining consortia or partnerships to combine capabilities and strengthen your value proposition.
Demonstrate social value and ESG impact
ICSs are under pressure to deliver on sustainability and community benefits. Show clear, measurable outcomes in areas like carbon reduction, local employment, workforce development, and contributions to health equity. Avoid generic statements—quantifiable commitments carry more weight.
Highlight innovation and added value
NHS buyers want suppliers who can help transform services, not just maintain the status quo. Emphasise innovation—whether through digital tools, process improvements, or cost efficiencies—that can help ICSs achieve long-term improvements in care delivery.
Refine bid presentation
Present your bid clearly, professionally, and in line with the tender instructions. Structure responses to directly match evaluation criteria, ensuring assessors can easily find and score your answers.
By adopting these approaches, suppliers position themselves not only to win contracts but also to build lasting partnerships with ICSs.
Maximise your win rate in ICS bids – speak to the HCI team today.
Recent Integrated Care System Awards: Lessons Learned
Recent ICS contract awards show clear trends in what evaluators value most:
- Suppliers with strong ESG strategies score highly.
- Partnerships and consortia often outperform individual bidders.
- Demonstrating measurable patient outcomes strengthens bids considerably.
Analysing award data helps suppliers refine their approach and avoid common pitfalls.
Why ICSs Should Be a Focus for Health Suppliers
ICSs are transforming NHS procurement by centralising commissioning, emphasising social value, and creating larger, system-wide opportunities. For suppliers, this is both a challenge and an opening to grow. By understanding how ICS procurement works, meeting NHS supplier requirements, and aligning bids with ICS priorities, your business can gain a competitive edge.
Watch our HCI webinar ‘The NHS and Integrated Care Systems – New Opportunities for Suppliers’. With exclusive insights from Alison Kerfoot, Head of ICS Procurement Solutions, NHS Shared Business Services on the roll-out of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), which represents one of the most significant structural reforms to the NHS in the past decade.
Want to win contracts in Integrated Care Systems? Contact HCI Contracts today.