Official UK procurement notice
Areas of Research Interest Database
Authority: Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Government Office for Science (GOS) is awarding a service contract for the development and maintenance of the Areas of Research Interest (ARI) database, Ari.org.uk. The database supports government departments in publishing and accessing ARI questions, primarily for external experts but also to be used by Civil Servants to improve coordination across departments.
The following conditions are met in relation to the public contract:
Section 41, Schedule 5, Paragraph 5 - Single Supplier: (a) due to a particular supplier having intellectual property rights or other exclusive rights, only that supplier can supply the goods, services or works required, and (b) there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works.
VAT is recoverable on this contract.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Awarded
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Below threshold - without competition
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 22 Dec 2025, 10:08 GMT
- Last source update
- 14 Jan 2026, 13:41 GMT
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-003109- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05fb36Find a Tender
Notice history
3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 22 Dec 2025- Contract award notice published22 Dec 2025, 10:08 GMTUK6
- Contract signature expected8 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
- Contract details notice published14 Jan 2026, 13:41 GMTUK7
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Policy Limited (Overton) +1 morejoint award9 Jan 2026 – 8 Jan 2029 · up to 8 Jan 2031Extensions: Contract flexibility through an extension option will enable developments to be undertaken if business critical. | £45,000 | 16 Dec 2025 | Awarded |
Contracts
ARI Database · Open Policy Limited (Overton) +1 more
- Signed
- 6 Jan 2026
- Value
- £45,000
- Period
- 7 Jan 2026 – 8 Jan 2029 · up to 8 Jan 2031 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- The Buyer may extend the Contract for a period of 24 months in total (in two 12-month increments) if no suitable migration solution is found for the ari.org.uk site to be built on HMG AWS.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
2 commercial parties on the notice- Open Policy Limited (Overton)Awarded supplier
- Open Policy Limited (Overton)Awarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender