Find a TenderAwarded without competitionContract details notice
Published 12 Jan 2026, 13:44 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

Autonomous vehicle PHD research

Official notice

Authority: Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (Central government)

Below threshold - without competition
Sectors: Education & Training (80) Delivery: Delivery location not published
Awarded value£47,000published contract · exc. VAT
Awarded 23 Dec 2025no call for competition
Awarded to University of Surrey

What is being bought

Published requirement description

As autonomous vehicle (AV) technologies progress toward real-world deployment, regulatory agencies face the pressing challenge of ensuring that these systems operate safely and in compliance with the driving standards.

There is currently a lack of robust, interpretable methodologies for evaluating AV behaviour in both real and simulated environments—particularly in edge-case scenarios that pose the greatest risk to public safety. To address this gap, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is requesting to co-funding a PhD studentship titled Digital Commentary Driving for Regulatory Compliance and Risk Assessment in Autonomous Vehicles, which aims to develop novel, evidence-based methods for AV validation.

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published

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
12 Jan 2026, 13:44 GMT
Last source update
12 Jan 2026, 13:44 GMT
Authority reference
T280022987
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-002281
Latest notice
Contract details notice (UK7)
Delivery area
Not published
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0603b8 Find a Tender

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Contract details notice published
    12 Jan 2026, 13:44 GMT
    UK7

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value £47,0001 contract exc. VAT
Contracts signed 1latest 23 Dec 2025
Awarded toValueDateStatus
University of Surrey£47,000 †—Awarded

Contracts

  • Contract 1 · University of Surrey

    Signed
    23 Dec 2025
    Value
    £47,000
    Period
    1 Apr 2026 – 31 Mar 2029
    Status
    active

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PTMM-2614-YJDV Berkeley House, Croydon Street, Bristol, South West, BS5 0DAContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice
  • University of SurreyAwarded supplier Stag Hill Court University Campus, Guildford, South East, GU2 7JGContact email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Contract details notice contractContract details noticeUK7Contract details notice on Find a Tender