Official UK procurement notice
DFC - Commercial Services Branch - DfC Strategic Partnership Framework – Pre-Market Engagement
Authority: Department for Communities (Central government)·On behalf of: CPD
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionConstruction and Procurement Delivery (CPD) is undertaking this Pre Market
Engagement (PME) exercise on behalf of DFC, and are inviting suppliers who may have an
interest in this competition. The Department for Communities (DfC), is seeking to establish a single supplier Strategic Partner Framework Agreement for the provision of Professional Services to DfC and participating Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs). The successful Supplier shall be responsible for managing and delivering Professional Services in accordance with the Framework Agreement, this Specification and the associated Contract Documents. In order to support delivery of its strategic objectives, DfC and participating ALBs (the Buyer) require access to specialist Professional Services where in house capability or capacity is not available or appropriate. This will be in the form of consultancy support or other professional services, including staff substitution. The Buyer therefore proposes to establish a single supplier Strategic Partner Framework Agreement to support delivery of strategic priorities through defined Work Packages.
CPV: Business analysis consultancy services · Business and management consultancy and related services · Business and management consultancy services · Business development consultancy services · Business intelligence software development services · Commercial property management services · Compulsory social security services · Computer audit and testing services · Computer support and consultancy services · Computer-related services · Financial and insurance services · Financial consultancy, financial transaction processing and clearing-house services · +19 more
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 2 yrs · up to 4 yrs from 24 Aug 2026
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1PlannedRenewal
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).
- “DFC - Commercial Services Branch - DfC Strategic Partnership Framework…” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Department for Communities buys Business and management consultancy services (CPV 7941), and who usually turns up
Department for Communities has little published record in this market. Compared with other frameworks and DPS only. Whole-market view: Business and management consultancy services (CPV 7941) →
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.
Across this market, small firms won 57% of awards with a known supplier size.
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.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Across this market, 58% of winners were registered in the delivery region.
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 63 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.
The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Across this market, at least 36% of awarded procurements had no recorded rival.
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 bid7%
2–324%
4–618%
7+51%
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.
On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Not comparable on a framework or DPS: the price is set later, on each call-off.
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 7221Published estimate£5.0m
This lot is listed as CPV 7221. The table above uses the notice category.
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. The bar shows 27 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid4%
2–37%
4–630%
7+59%
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.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
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.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
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- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Below threshold
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 1 Jun 2026, 15:44 BST
- Last source update
- 1 Jun 2026, 15:44 BST
- Authority reference
ID 6441797- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-051513- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06aa9fFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
1 Jun 2026 → 24 Aug 2026 · 4 dates- Planning notice published145 days ago1 Jun 2026, 15:44 BST
- Market engagement123 days ago22 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
The Questionnaire can be located within the Tender documents area in eTendersNI.
Interested Suppliers should download the questionnaire, complete and upload into the
messaging function within eTendersNI by 3pm Monday 22 June 2026. Any clarifications
can also be submitted using the messaging function before the closing date. The questionnaire must be completed and submitted via eTendersNI by the engagement deadline date and time detailed above. Details of additional participating bodies can be found detailed within the questionnaire document.
- Tender notice expected88 days ago27 Jul 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts61 days ago24 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published1 Jun 2026, 15:44 BSTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
3 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- CPDBeneficiary authority
- CPD - Supplies & Services DivisionProcess contact pointProcuring entityConstruction and Procurement Delivery Supplies and Services Division, is a Centre of Procurement Expertise and provides a central procurement function for central government in Northern Ireland.
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender