Official UK procurement notice
Activity Plan Consultant for Leading Lights Project (National Historic Ships UK)
Authority: National Historic Ships UK (Central government)
National Historic Ships UK (NHS-UK) wishes to appoint an experienced consultant (which may be an individual consultant or consultancy organisation) to develop an Activity Plan for the Leading Lights Project, a new capacity building scheme supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. NHS-UK has secured initial support of £155,600 from the Heritage Fund (£140,040) and the Pilgrim Trust (£15,560) to progress plans for the Leading Lights project, a five-year project which aims to invest in historic vessels at a UK-wide level, making the sector more resilient, connected and informed. Responsibilities and expected outcomes will include an executive summary, consultation and audience analysis, risk assessment, project management structure development, job descriptions and a recruitment strategy for Delivery Phase roles, a working timetable, a full activity programme including briefs for related work and a full action plan, a detailed budget and cash flow.
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNational Historic Ships UK (NHS-UK) wishes to appoint an experienced consultant (which may be an individual consultant or consultancy organisation) to develop an Activity Plan for the Leading Lights Project, a new capacity building scheme supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
About the Project
NHS-UK has secured initial support of £155,600 from the Heritage Fund (£140,040) and the Pilgrim Trust (£15,560) to progress plans for the Leading Lights project, a five-year project which aims to invest in historic vessels at a UK-wide level, making the sector more resilient, connected and informed. It has been designed to impact a wide range of people, from vessel custodians to sector professionals, training organisations and funding bodies, as well as NHS-UK itself.
Responsibilities
The Activity Plan consultant will develop a full activity plan to Heritage Fund guidelines, as well as supporting documentation, to be delivered for the Delivery Phase application to the Heritage Fund. Responsibilities and expected outcomes will include an executive summary, consultation and audience analysis, risk assessment, project management structure development, job descriptions and a recruitment strategy for Delivery Phase roles, a working timetable, a full activity programme including briefs for related work and a full action plan, a detailed budget and cash flow.
Renumeration
The fee is up to £25,000 (excluding VAT), including expenses.
Submissions should indicate how the Activity Plan will be delivered within this budget, who will work on the project, their day rates and predicted time expenditure.
The appointed consultant will be required to develop the Plan by the end of June 2027 ahead of a Delivery Phase application to the Heritage Fund on 11 November 2027.
Requirements
Submissions should demonstrate an interest in the work of NHS-UK and the Leading Lights Project, proven track record of preparing and delivering successful Activity Plans for Heritage Fund projects, experience of developing detailed budgets, ability to work collaboratively with both the client team and a range of consultants, and strong report writing and presentation skills.
How to apply
Interested parties should submit a copy of their CV and a written proposal (6 pages maximum) outlining methodology, timeline and approach. They must be able to demonstrate the above requirements. The proposal should include a proposed methodology for undertaking the work including a schedule, approach to consultation with key stakeholders, a simple Gantt chart showing the sequence of key tasks, a breakdown of fees, and details of two referees for whom similar work has been completed.
All submissions and queries should be submitted to the Delta e-procurement platform or sent via email to: Eva Griffin, Leading Lights Project Manager, at [email protected]
Submissions should be sent no later than 23rd November 2026.
Interviews are expected to take place on the week of 7th or 14th December 2026 at the NHS-UK offices in Greenwich or online via Zoom.
Contract start date: January 2027
This project is made possible thanks to support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
For more information about this opportunity, please visit the eSourcing portal at:
www.delta-esourcing.com/tenders/UK-UK-Greenw… ↗
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CPV: Museum services and preservation services of historical sites and buildings
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedWhat it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (3)
- Appropriateness of the proposed methodology and methods: 50%
- The degree of experience to complete the work demonstrated by the bidder: 25%
- How well the bidder has structured their time to successfully manage the contract and provide value for money: 25%
Published award criteria (3)
- Appropriateness of the proposed methodology and methods: Methodology
- The degree of experience to complete the work demonstrated by the bidder: Experience
- How well the bidder has structured their time to successfully manage the contract and provide value for money: Value for money
No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.
- Price carries 25 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2.5 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £50,000 (twice the annual value).
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula. Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How National Historic Ships UK buys Museum services and preservation services of historical sites and buildings (CPV 9252), and who usually turns up
National Historic Ships UK’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Museum services and preservation services of historical sites and buildings (CPV 9252) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in Greater London (authority’s region).
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 35 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid10%
2–320%
4–660%
7+10%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate44%
Within ±2%25%
Above estimate31%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 9252Published estimate£25k
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid5%
2–342%
4–645%
7+7%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
Based on 22 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£21k–£25k
Estimate£25k
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
Sport WorksSME | £813k6 awards in 36m · last 5 months ago | 1 live · £169k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=1 |
| £542k2 awards in 36m · last 6 months ago | 1 live · £402k iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 37% above n=1 | |
| £84k1 award in 36m · last 8 months ago | None on file | no comparable pairs | |
| £19k1 award in 36m · last 8 months ago | None on file | no comparable pairs | |
RMMR LimitedSME | £10k1 award in 36m · last 10 months ago | None on file | at estimate n=1 |
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Below threshold - open competition
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Below threshold
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 2 Nov 2026, 15:54 GMT
- Last source update
- 2 Nov 2026, 15:54 GMT
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-103870- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0795e6Find a Tender
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via Delta eSourcing- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 23 Nov 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 23 Nov 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
Timeline
2 Nov 2026 → 4 Jan 2027 · 4 dates- Tender notice published10h ago2 Nov 2026, 15:54 GMT
- Today3 Nov 2026
- Clarification questions byin 20 days23 Nov 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Submission deadlinein 20 days23 Nov 2026, 17:00 GMT
- Contract startsin 61 days4 Jan 2027
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Tender notice published2 Nov 2026, 15:54 GMTUK4
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Full Activity Plan Consultant brief
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender