Official UK procurement notice
C0138 - UK Fund Monitoring Evaluation & Learning
Authority: Big Lottery Fund, operating as The National Lottery Community Fund
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe UK Portfolio is seeking a single supplier or consortium of suppliers to conduct an impact evaluation of the UK Fund and provide a range of learning services to UK Fund grantholders. The UK Fund is a funding programme that cover two distinct thematic areas: - Connected Communities - CYP and Youth Voice The first awards were granted in February 2024, focusing on Connected Communities, and in 2025 the funding expanded to Children and Young People (CYP) and Youth Voice. The key themes that run across the different thematic areas include voice, relationship building, agency, community systems and lived experience. UK Fund has adopted a funding approach that spans across and between countries, rather than being geographically restricted, and focuses on supporting well-established programmes that demonstrate proven impact, enabling them to scale and expand further. The funding also prioritises equity - targeting only communities facing poverty, disadvantage, and discrimination. Another distinguishing factor about the UK Fund is its emphasis on long-term systems change, requiring projects to include a mix of service delivery and systemic transformation in their plans. The evaluation and learning contract will adopt a collaborative, co-design approach that engages all grantholders, ensuring that all activities align with their learning needs. The supplier is also encouraged to involve the communities with whom the projects work, enabling them to shape and contribute to the learning and evaluation processes. This is particularly important given the programme’s emphasis on voice, agency, and power.
CPV: Evaluation consultancy services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£3,333,333
What 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 (2)
- Technical: 90%
- Commercial: 10%
Published award criteria (2)
- Technical
- Commercial
- Price carries 10 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 1 point. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- 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
- 7 Nov 2025, 11:30 GMT
- Last source update
- 17 Sept 2026, 14:15 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 26 May 2026
- Authority reference
C0138- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-026350- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05dc97Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 1 May 2026, 17:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 13 Apr 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
7 Nov 2025 → 28 Sept 2026 · 11 dates- Planning notice published352 days ago7 Nov 2025, 11:30 GMT
- Market engagement327 days ago1 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Next notice expected264 days ago2 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Tender notice published216 days ago23 Mar 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Clarification questions by195 days ago13 Apr 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission deadline177 days ago1 May 2026, 17:00 BST
- Award decision expected by151 days ago26 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts111 days ago6 Jul 2026
- Assessment summaries sent38 days ago17 Sept 2026
- Latest notice published38 days ago17 Sept 2026, 14:15 BST
- Standstill ends26 days ago28 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
Notice history
12 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 7 Nov 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published7 Nov 2025, 11:30 GMTUK2
- Tender notice published23 Mar 2026, 15:00 GMTUK4
- Status changed to active23 Mar 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Procurement method changed23 Mar 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Deadline published: 24 Apr 2026, 17:00 BST23 Mar 2026, 15:00 GMT
- Tender notice published24 Mar 2026, 09:45 GMTUK4
- Published value updated to £3,333,33324 Mar 2026, 09:45 GMTwas £4,000,000
- Tender notice published7 Apr 2026, 11:06 BSTUK4
- Deadline moved to 1 May 2026, 17:00 BST7 Apr 2026, 11:06 BST+7 days · was 24 Apr 2026, 17:00 BST
- Contract award notice published17 Sept 2026, 14:15 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete17 Sept 2026, 14:15 BST
- Contract signature expected5 Oct 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Routine re-releases (5)
- 2026-03: 1 release · 23 Mar 2026
- 2025-11: 1 release · 7 Nov 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| IPSOS (MARKET RESEARCH) LTD2 Nov 2026 – 1 Nov 2030 · up to 1 Nov 2031Extensions: The extension is up to 1 year with a total value of £600,000 including . Extensions are at the discretion of the Contracting Authority and pricing is based on the submitted rates. | £2,804,100 | 17 Sept 2026standstill to 28 Sept 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1final-stage tenders · 6 at stage one | 0 | 0 | — |
Who bid
- wonIPSOS (MARKET RESEARCH) LTD · Greater London
Bidders as named on the Procurement Act 2023 award notice. “Won” means the bidder holds an award on this notice.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- IPSOS (MARKET RESEARCH) LTDAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (5)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender