Find a TenderOpen for tender Tender notice
Published 15 Oct 2026, 07:00 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Extending the Cost of Food Crime Analysis: Additional Case Studies and Assessing the Impact of NFCU Activity

Authority: Food Standards Agency (Central government)

ServicesBelow threshold - open competitionBelow thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable
Published estimate£100,000≈ £75k / year · £120,000 inc. VAT
Submission deadline 12 Nov 202612:00 GMT · 27d 11h left
Clarification cut-off 29 Oct 202612:00 GMT · questions to the authority
Contract term 1 yr 4 moends 31 Mar 2028 · up to 12 May 2028 with extensions · starts 1 Dec 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Food crime poses a significant cost to the UK economy, estimated to be between £410 million and £1.96 billion per year . Food crime encompasses a broad range of activities, including adulteration, substitution, misrepresentation, illegal processing and other forms of fraud that undermine food authenticity and integrity. The impacts of food crime extend beyond direct economic losses, affecting consumer confidence, public trust in the food system and the reputation of the UK food sector.

Tenderers are invited to submit proposals setting out how they would deliver research to develop a robust, evidence-based framework and methodology for assessing and communicating the impact of the NFCU on an ongoing basis.

The proposal should provide a detailed description of the proposed methodological approach and include a set of clearly defined deliverables comprising:

  • A final research report, setting out a practical methodology for the ongoing assessment of NFCU impact;
  • An updated and expanded methodological framework; and
  • A suite of repeatable public-facing impact measures with practical implementation enabling communicable realised impacts.

CPV: Data analysis services · Research consultancy services · Research services · Social research services · Survey analysis services · Survey services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Renewal 1 yr 4 moSMEVCSEPublished value£100,000
Contract period: 1 Dec 2026 – 31 Mar 2028 (1 yr 4 mo) · up to 12 May 2028 with extensionsValue: £100,000 exc. VAT · £120,000 inc. VAT
Eligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligibleTurnover guideline: ~£149,910/yr≈ 2× annual value
Extensions: The contract will run for an initial period of 16-18 months from 1 December 2026 to 31 March 2028 / May 2028. The Authority may extend the contract by up to 6 weeks if required. In addition, an interim review will be undertaken during the contract term, and the Authority reserves the right to terminate the contract at that point in accordance with the break clause provisions set out in the contract documentation.
Pre-qualification & selection criteria (PQQ)1
  • Condition of participation

    See PSQ and Specification

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

What it takes to win
i

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 more
How bids are scored
Quality: 80%Price: 20%
Published sub-criteria (2)
  • Technical Criteria: 80%
  • Commercial Criterion: 20%
Published award criteria (2)
  • Technical Criteria: See the Specification and Tender Documents for full details. The technical evaluation criteria are divided into a number of sections and sub-criteria which assess the bidder's technical capability, methodology, experience, resources, and delivery approach.
  • Commercial Criterion: See the Specification and Tender Documents for full details. The Commercial evaluation criteria are divided into five sub-sections and will assess the bidder's pricing proposal and overall value for money in accordance with the published evaluation methodology.
Conditions of participation1
  • Condition of participation

    See PSQ and Specification

What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 20 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
  • Turnover usually expected at this size: about £149,910 (twice the annual value).

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula. Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.

Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid

How Food Standards Agency buys Market research services (CPV 7931), and who usually turns up

Food Standards Agency’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Market research services (CPV 7931) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerFood Standards Agency · all categories
The marketMarket research services (CPV 7931) · Yorkshire and the Humber (authority’s region)
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
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.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 4 of 79 known-size awards · market: CPV 7931 · Yorkshire and the Humber (authority’s region), n=23
5%65%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
i

How often local firms win similar work.

Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.

Here, local means registered in Yorkshire and the Humber (authority’s region).

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: no winner locations published · market: CPV 7931 · Yorkshire and the Humber (authority’s region), n=45
—22%

No winner locations published for this authority. Local means a registered address in Yorkshire and the Humber.

How long to a decision?
i

How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.

Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 8 decided notices · market: CPV 7931 · Yorkshire and the Humber (authority’s region), n=10
30 days31 days

Half of these awards were announced within 30 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
i

How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.

Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.

Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.

Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: at least 44 of 82 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 7931 · Yorkshire and the Humber (authority’s region), n=45
54%40%

Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.

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.

Last 36 months.

This buyer21 lots with bid counts · all categories
57% had one bid
The market15 lots with bid counts · CPV 7931 · Yorkshire and the Humber (authority’s region)
7% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid57% / 7%
Buyer: 12 of 21 lots with published bid counts. Market: 1 of 15 lots with published bid counts.
2–329% / 33%
Buyer: 6 of 21 lots with published bid counts. Market: 5 of 15 lots with published bid counts.
4–610% / 13%
Buyer: 2 of 21 lots with published bid counts. Market: 2 of 15 lots with published bid counts.
7+5% / 47%
Buyer: 1 of 21 lots with published bid counts. Market: 7 of 15 lots with published bid counts.

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.

Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.

Last 36 months.

This buyer21 lots with estimate and award · all categories
48% below estimate
The market15 lots with estimate and award · CPV 7931 · Yorkshire and the Humber (authority’s region)
53% below estimate
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate48% / 53%
Buyer: 10 of 21 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 8 of 15 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%38% / 27%
Buyer: 8 of 21 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 4 of 15 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate14% / 20%
Buyer: 3 of 21 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 3 of 15 lots with an estimate and award.
2

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.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 793116 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£100k
Expected competition
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 15 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet7% single-bid risk
Past bids on 15 similar lots
1 bid7%
1 of 15 similar past lots received 1 bid (7%).
2–333%
5 of 15 similar past lots received 2–3 (33%).
4–613%
2 of 15 similar past lots received 4–6 (13%).
7+47%
7 of 15 similar past lots received 7+ (47%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 4 bids.
Commercial price forecast
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.

—No model forecast yet
No comparable awards on record for this lot’s category yet. The published estimate is £100k, and the forecast stays empty until the market has a record to read.

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.

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.

No supplier with a record in this category fits this lot yet.

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 match score 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
Procedure method
Below threshold - open competition
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Open for tender
Procurement threshold
Below threshold
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
15 Oct 2026, 07:00 BST
Last source update
15 Oct 2026, 07:00 BST
Authority reference
C475058
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-097241
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Data analysis servicesResearch consultancy servicesResearch servicesSocial research servicesSurvey analysis servicesSurvey services
Delivery area
Not published
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078808 Find a Tender
Submission portal named on this notice: Atamis legacy domain (health-family.force.com) · Who buys & how to bid on Atamis
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowed
Access & registration note: Legacy Salesforce domain still used in notices — use the current Atamis portal · this portal address is a legacy domain; the operator has migrated
Requests to participate (first stage)
—
Tender submission deadline
12 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
29 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Tenders for FSA funded projects must be submitted through the health-family single e-Commercial System (Atamis), using the following link: health-family.force.com/s/Welcome ↗

Published estimate £100,000 excludes VAT (£120,000 including VAT).

Timeline

15 Oct 2026 → 1 Dec 2026 · 4 dates
  1. Tender notice published1 day ago
    15 Oct 2026, 07:00 BST
  2. Today
    16 Oct 2026
  3. Clarification questions byin 13 days
    29 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
  4. Submission deadlinein 27 days
    12 Nov 2026, 12:00 GMT
  5. Contract startsin 46 days
    1 Dec 2026

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Tender notice published
    15 Oct 2026, 07:00 BST
    UK4

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Nothing awarded yet
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Food Standards Agency

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PJRM-6866-LYYX YO1 7PR, York, Yorkshire & Humber, YO1 7PRContact name, email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender