Official UK procurement notice
DHSC: CSA: NIHR Research Commissioning and Management Services Lot 6
Authority: Department of Health & Social Care (Central government)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
What is being bought6 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionLot 6, Research Commissioning for Career Development and Capacity Building
CPV: Administrative services of agencies · Business and management consultancy services · Contract administration services · General management consultancy services · Miscellaneous business-related services · Research and development services and related consultancy services · Research consultancy services · Research services · Social research services
Lots and requirements (6)Procurement structure
6 lots · all with a published value (£363,840,000 together) · win at most 4 of themLot #1Strategic Business Services and One NIHR hubAwardedRenewalPublished value£101,900,000
Lot 6, Research Commissioning for Career Development and Capacity Building, is responsible for developing the current and future health and care research workforce through the commissioning and management of NIHR training, fellowship and career development programmes. It builds research capacity and capability across professions, disciplines and care settings by providing structured career pathways, skills development and leadership opportunities, ensuring that NIHR has a diverse, highly skilled workforce capable of delivering high-quality research and driving innovation across the health and care system.<br/><br/>There are options to extend the contract by up to 4 years.
Lot #2Research Commissioning: Individual Level & Global Health ProgrammesRenewalPublished value£127,260,000
- End-to-end commissioning, management and oversight of domestic research programmes, with an expected annual budget of approximately £300 million;<br/>
- End-to-end commissioning, management and oversight of the global health research (GHR) programme, with an expected annual budget of approximately £170 million; and,<br/>
- Coordination and management of the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST) and UK Vaccine Network.
Lot #3Research Commissioning: Population and Policy Level ProgrammesRenewalPublished value£45,480,000
- End-to-end commissioning, management and oversight of domestic research programmes, with an expected annual budget of approximately £170 million; and<br/>
- Coordination and management of the following functions on behalf of NIHR: <br/>o James Lind Alliance <br/>o Liaison with NHSE, ALBs and the devolved administrations, ensuring their contributions are effectively managed.
Lot #4Research Infrastructure Commissioning: Translational and DeliveryRenewalPublished value£28,380,000
- End-to-end commissioning and monitoring of infrastructure and infrastructure-like schemes, focussed on individual level interventions, with an expected annual budget of approximately £350 million; and,<br/>
- Provide the Research Capability Funding (RCF) function on behalf of NIHR.
Lot #5Research Infrastructure Commissioning: Applied, Public Health and SCRenewalPublished value£13,320,000
End-to-end commissioning and monitoring of infrastructure and infrastructure-like schemes, focussed on population, policy, service and public health investments, with an expected annual budget of approximately £170 million.
Lot #6Research Commissioning: Career Development and Capacity BuildingRenewalPublished value£47,500,000
- End-to-end administration and monitoring of domestic academic training schemes, with an expected annual budget of almost £300 million;<br/>
- End-to-end administration and monitoring of global research academic training schemes; and,<br/>
- Deliver NIHR research capacity building services.
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 (3)
- Quality: 65%
- Cost: 25%
- Social Value: 10%
Published award criteria (3)
- Quality: 65
- Social Value: 10
- Cost: 25
- Successive reduction
- Candidates will be reduced successively across stages
- Price carries 25 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2.5 points. 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 · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Competitive dialogue
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 9 Aug 2024, 09:53 BST
- Last source update
- 13 Aug 2026, 11:30 BST
- Authority reference
C454749- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-077152- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-048940Find a Tender
- Electronic trading
- e-invoicing allowed
- Performance terms
Please refer to procurement documents
Publisher note: This Tender process will be issued by in accordance with the Public Contract Regulations 2015 ( as amended). Competitive Dialogue Procedure will be used for this procurement.<br/>The opportunity will be available on the Authority's e-Sourcing Portal. Select this link to access and register your organisation to the Authority's e-Sourcing Portal: https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome, if you have not already done so.<br/>To find this opportunity in the e-Sourcing system, select “Find Opportunities” and then search by project number or title. Once you have found the Opportunity, press the ‘Register Interest’ button to register your interest. This will make the project to appear on ‘My proposals and quotes’. From there you can review documents, send clarification messages, submit the response, or decline to respond, if you decide not to participate in the opportunity. For full details on the instruction for the selection stage, please refer to the SQ Guidance Document.<br/>Earlier this year a PIN was issued relating to this procurement, as an early market engagement only. The link is as follows: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025178-2024
How it was run
Official noticeTender documents are also served through a separate tool: https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome ↗
- Submission deadline
- 5 Mar 2025, 17:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- {"electronicSubmission","written"}
- Accepted languages
- en
- Bid validity
- 270 days from the deadline
Timeline
2 Dec 2024 → 13 Aug 2026 · 5 dates- Next notice expected2 Dec 2024
- Submission deadline5 Mar 2025, 17:00 GMT
- Invitations to tender expected17 Mar 2025
- Contract starts168 days ago1 May 2026, 00:00 BST
- Notice published64 days ago13 Aug 2026, 11:30 BST
Notice history
6 events · 10 releases on Find a Tender · since 3 Feb 2025- Published value updated to £364,000,0003 Feb 2025, 16:21 GMTwas £747,000,000
- Status changed to active3 Feb 2025, 16:21 GMT
- Procurement method changed3 Feb 2025, 16:21 GMT
- Deadline published: 5 Mar 2025, 17:00 GMT3 Feb 2025, 16:21 GMT
- Status changed to complete13 Aug 2026, 11:29 BST
- Buyer details updated13 Aug 2026, 11:29 BST
Published amendments (2 · 0 deadline changes)
| When | What | Before | After | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | TextII.1.4 | The day-to-day operations of the NIHR are carried out by coordinating centres - the NIHR Coordinating Centre (NIHRCC) and the NIHR Research Delivery Network Coordinating Centre (RDNCC). The NIHRCC is currently made up of the following five DHSC contracts, which went live on 1st April 2018:• NIHR Evaluations, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre (NETSCC)• Central Commissioning Facility (CCF)• NIH… | The day-to-day operations of the NIHR are carried out by the NIHR Coordinating Centre (NIHRCC). The NIHRCC is currently made up of the following six DHSC contracts and one Service Level Agreement (SLA):• NIHR Evaluations, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre (NETSCC)• Central Commissioning Facility (CCF) • NIHR Office for Clinical Research Infrastructure (NOCRI) • NIHR Academy• NIHR Centre for E… | |
| — | TextII.1.5.1 | 364000000 | 671000000 |
Documents for this RFI can be found as attachments by following this link: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/a97ca1ee-d612-4a09-b459-1906bca26227
1 amendment published without a description.
Routine re-releases (10)
- 2026-08: 3 releases · 13 Aug 2026, 13 Aug 2026
- 2025-02: 2 releases · 3 Feb 2025, 6 Feb 2025
- 2024-08: 2 releases · 9 Aug 2024, 9 Aug 2024
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot 1 · Strategic Business Services and One NIHR hub6 awards | |||
| LGC LIMITED | — | — | Awarded |
| UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON | — | — | Awarded |
| UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON | — | — | Awarded |
| LGC LIMITED | — | — | Awarded |
| LGC LIMITED | — | — | Awarded |
| LEEDS TEACHING HOSPITALS NHS TRUST | — | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 077152-2026-1 · LEEDS TEACHING HOSPITALS NHS TRUST
- Signed
- 21 Jul 2026
- Value
- £41,369,111
- Period
- … – 31 Mar 2032
- Status
- active
Contract 077145-2026-1 · LGC LIMITED
- Signed
- 20 Jul 2026
- Value
- £88,802,511
- Period
- … – 31 Mar 2032
- Status
- active
Contract 077146-2026-1 · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON
- Signed
- 20 Jul 2026
- Value
- £89,056,782
- Period
- … – 31 Mar 2032
- Status
- active
Contract 077148-2026-1 · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON
- Signed
- 20 Jul 2026
- Value
- £39,482,053
- Period
- … – 31 Mar 2032
- Status
- active
Contract 077149-2026-1 · LGC LIMITED
- Signed
- 20 Jul 2026
- Value
- £24,746,534
- Period
- … – 31 Mar 2032
- Status
- active
Contract 077150-2026-1 · LGC LIMITED
- Signed
- 20 Jul 2026
- Value
- £11,618,809
- Period
- … – 31 Mar 2032
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Strategic Business Services and One NIHR hub | 4bids · 4 electronic | 2 | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeConsortium members and other public bodies
- Department of Health and Social CareContracting authorityMinistry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisionsHealth
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- The High CourtReview body
Bidders & participating suppliers
3 commercial parties on the notice- LEEDS TEACHING HOSPITALS NHS TRUSTAwarded supplier
- LGC LIMITEDAwarded supplier
- UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTONAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Economic and financial selection criteria
- Technical selection criteria