Official UK procurement notice
Economics for Foreign Policy
Authority: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Central government)
Sectors: Education & Training (80) Delivery: UK
Published estimate£2,100,000≈ £720k / year · £2,520,000 inc. VAT
Submissions closed 15 Sept 2026awarded 1 Oct 2026
Awarded to UCL Consultants Limited
Contract term 2 yrs 11 moends 11 Sept 2029 · up to 11 Sept 2033 with extensions · starts 12 Oct 2026
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe contract is for the development and delivery of an online course designed to equip FCDO staff with role-relevant practitioner level economics knowledge and boost their analytical skills. Upon completion, learners will know how to critically appraise data, scrutinise relevant economic indicators, understand how evaluation can support FCDO’s work, and use robust evidence to inform decision-making.
CPV: Education and training services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£2,100,000
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).
How bids were scored
Published award criteria (3)
- Quality: Suppliers are required to respond to a number of Scored Questions within Attachment 4a of the Invitation to Tender pack which are intended to explain how they will meet the relevant requirements.
- Social Value: When submitting a Tender Suppliers will have the opportunity to demonstrate how their organisations will support the following Social Value Outcome: "Fair work: that offers fair wages and good working conditions" Further details are outlined in Attachment 2 and 4a.
- Price: Price scores will be calculated based upon the lowest price submitted by Suppliers. Further details are outlined in Attachment 2 and 4b.
What this means for your bid
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 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- 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
- Light touch regime
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 22 Jan 2026, 16:19 GMT
- Last source update
- 5 Oct 2026, 16:13 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 25 Sept 2026
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-075945- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-060cb3Find a Tender
How it was run
Official noticeRun through: Jaggaer · Who buys & how to bid on JAGGAER
Access & registration note: Free; latest Chrome/Edge/Firefox only — corporate browsers fail
- Submission deadline
- 15 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 6 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
Tenders to be submitted using the FCDO E-Sourcing platform:
Timeline
22 Jan 2026 → 12 Oct 2026 · 9 dates- Planning notice published273 days ago22 Jan 2026, 16:19 GMT
- Market engagement254 days ago10 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
The FCDO intend to hold a market engagement call on Tuesday 10th February 2026 -10:00 -11:30 UK Time. Suppliers interested in participating in market engagement can do so by using the following link:
forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx ↗
NOTE:
- No procurement documents are available at this stage.
- This UK2 notice does NOT formally commence a procurement procedure.
- Responding to this UK2 notice or participating in any engagement activity will not confer any advantage in any future procurement.
- Participation is entirely voluntary and does NOT form part of any future selection process.
- FCDO reserves the right NOT to commence a procurement, amend the approach, or change timelines based on internal or external factors.
- Tender notice published73 days ago10 Aug 2026, 17:29 BST
- Clarification questions by46 days ago6 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Submission deadline37 days ago15 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Award decision expected by27 days ago25 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Assessment summaries sent18 days ago5 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published17 days ago5 Oct 2026, 16:13 BST
- Contract starts11 days ago12 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
8 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 22 Jan 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published22 Jan 2026, 16:19 GMTUK2
- Tender notice published10 Aug 2026, 17:29 BSTUK4
- Status changed to active10 Aug 2026, 17:29 BST
- Procurement method changed10 Aug 2026, 17:29 BST
- Deadline published: 15 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST10 Aug 2026, 17:29 BST
- Contract award notice published5 Oct 2026, 16:13 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete5 Oct 2026, 16:13 BST
- Contract signature expected14 Oct 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecastAwards 1
Awarded value £2,100,0001 award exc. VAT
Bids received 4
| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCL Consultants Limited19 Oct 2026 – 11 Sept 2029 · up to 11 Sept 2033Extensions: Subject to contract performance and budget availability. | £2,100,000 | 1 Oct 2026 | Awarded |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4final-stage tenders | 0 | 1 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- UCL Consultants LTDAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
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
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender