Find a TenderCancelledProcurement termination notice
Published 19 Dec 2025, 11:08 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

Food Data Infrastructure and Governance

Official notice

Authority: DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS (Central government)

ServicesBelow threshold - open competitionBelow thresholdConcessionSME suitableVCSE suitable
Sectors: Research & Development (R&D) (73) Delivery: UK
Budget not disclosed£0£0 inc. VAT · 2 value updates
Submissions closed 3 Nov 2025
Contract term 1 yr 6 moup to 2 yrs with extensions · starts 12 Jan 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

This project’s aims are three-fold: to design and develop a data sharing infrastructure suitable for the UK agri-food system; advise on an optimal governance model for this infrastructure; and pilot data sharing across a selection of food product supply chains. The project will begin with a discovery phase that will form a picture of the current data sharing ecosystem in the agri-food sector and learn from current practice within and outside of the agri-food sector. Following this, a detailed design of a potential DSI system architecture will be developed alongside an optimal model of system governance. Data sharing pilots in specific agri-food supply chains will consider how data sharing can be operationalised and incentivised to inform this design, identifying and proposing solutions to scale-up participation.

The outputs of this project should provide the evidence base for government and industry to invest in and deliver DSI that delivers public goods and promotes sustainable growth and resilience of the UK agri-food sector. Support the work of UK government to create a smart data ecosystem with in the Agri-Food Sector. It should take into account major international data sharing infrastructure in development such as the EU ‘digital product passports’ and the UN CEFACT ‘Transparency Protocol’ and align with any UK data sharing policy that emerges between project procurement and inception. This project should use the Digital Twin Hub’s Gemini Principles (Figure 2), Smart Data initiatives such as Open Banking, and the FDTP Key Principles as a basis for the aims and outcomes of the DSI and governance design work.

CPV: Research and experimental development services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Lot 1AwardedRenewal 1 yr 6 moSMEVCSEPublished value£0
Contract period: 12 Jan 2026 — 12 Jul 2027 (1 yr 6 mo) · up to 2 yrs with extensionsEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligibleDelivery: UK
Value
£0 exc. VAT · £0 inc. VAT
Extensions
Break Clause The contract term is 18 months with a break clause 6 months into the project; upon receipt of the Work Package 2 Technical Report. · There is an option of a 6-month extension to the project contingent on satisfactory delivery and the needs of the Authority (Defra). Due to unknown situations any extension must be agreed with the Authority (Defra) and will be processed via a Variation/ Contract Change more…Note (CCN) issued by DGC. (Should an extension request arise at a cost and agreed on, then an additional invoice will need to be sent to cover the period between the interim payment and the original project end date).
73100000 Research and experimental development services

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 were scored
Quality: 70%Price: 30%
Published sub-criteria (2)
  • Technical70%
  • Commercial30%
Published award criteria (2)
  • TechnicalE01: Approach and methodology – 30% E02: Project management (including project plan) – 20% E03: Proposed staff and contractor/sub-contractor expertise – 25% E04 Risk – 10% E05 Social Value – 15%
  • CommercialTotal Cost
Conditions of participation1
  • Condition of participation
    Part 1 - confirmation of core supplier information: suppliers participating in procurements will now be expected to register on a central digital platform (CDP). Suppliers can submit their core supplier information and, where a procurement opportunity arises, more…share this information with the contracting authority via the CDP. It is free to use and will mean suppliers should no longer have to re-enter this information for each public procurement but simply ensure it is up to date and subsequently shared. The CDP is available at https://www.gov.uk/find-tender. Part 1 provides confirmation that suppliers have taken these steps. Part 2 - additional exclusions information: procurement legislation provides for an ‘exclusion regime’ and a published ‘debarment’ list to safeguard procurement from suppliers who may pose a risk (for example, due to misconduct or poor performance). Suppliers must submit their own (and their connected persons ) exclusions information via the CDP. This includes self-declarations as to whether any exclusion grounds apply to them and, if so, details about the event or conviction and what steps have been taken to prevent such circumstances from occurring again.

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
Cancelled
Procurement threshold
Below threshold
Regulatory regime
Concession
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
No (one-off requirement)
First published
19 Dec 2025, 11:08 GMT
Last source update
19 Dec 2025, 11:08 GMT
Latest notice
Procurement termination notice (UK12)
Classification (CPV)
Research and experimental development services
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0523ef Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: Atamis (Health Family) · Who buys & how to bid on Atamis
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowed
Access & registration note: Free · one account PER buying organisation portal · password resets come "from Salesforce.com" (check spam)
Submission deadline
3 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT
Clarification deadline
20 Oct 2025, 12:00 BST
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

7 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Planning notice published
    23 May 2025, 15:36 BST
  2. Market engagement
    2 Jun 2025, 23:59 BST
    NOTICE OF INTENTION TO HOLD PRELIMINARY ENGAGEMENT Food Data Infrastructure and Governance (FIG) Project In collaboration with the Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP), Defra’s Agri-Food Science team are tendering for a new R&D project on Agri-food system data sharing infrastructure and more…governance. This project has the following aims: 1. To identify the breadth of data and data sharing initiatives, currently within the agri-food system. 2. To provide detailed recommendation for the design and development of a data sharing infrastructure suitable for the UK agri-food system. 3. To explore the feasibility of operationalising product level environmental impact data sharing across a selection of food product supply chains, through piloting the proposed data sharing infrastructure. The work will build on the work of the FDTP and associated R&D projects commissioned by the Defra Agri-Food science team. More information can be found at the following links: • https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/food-data-transparency-partnership • https://www.wrap.ngo/resources/report/led-4-food-project Bidders should be able to demonstrate good technical understanding of the key themes of the project: digital infrastructure, data sharing infrastructure, date system architecture, and governance structures. They should also have a good understanding of the complexity of the agri-food system. Bidders are encouraged to submit joint bids to ensure that multi-disciplinary requirements across the themes can be satisfied. The project is to be contracted through an open tender competition. It is expected to commence in September 2025 and will last for approximately 18 months. Supplier Engagement Event Please note that the Authority (Defra); will be holding a supplier event in w/c 9th June 2025 (exact time and date TBD). If you and or your organisation is interested in attending this event, please respond using the email address below: [email protected] on or before Monday 2nd June by 12:00pm. Please include the name and email address of who to invite. An invite will be shared via teams. Regards Defra
  3. Tender notice published355 days ago
    2 Oct 2025, 13:55 BST
  4. Clarification questions by337 days ago
    20 Oct 2025, 12:00 BST
  5. Submission deadline323 days ago
    3 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT
  6. Latest notice published277 days ago
    19 Dec 2025, 11:08 GMT
  7. Contract starts254 days ago
    12 Jan 2026, 00:00 GMT

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics — not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded toValueDateStatus
supplier not published18 Dec 2025CancelledThe Procurement has been terminated due to unforeseen circumstances.

Notice history

12 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 23 May 2025
  1. Procurement termination notice published
    19 Dec 2025, 11:08 GMTUK12
  2. Published value updated
    19 Dec 2025, 11:08 GMTwas £0
  3. Status changed to complete
    19 Dec 2025, 11:08 GMT
  4. Procurement method changed
    19 Dec 2025, 11:08 GMT
  5. Deadline withdrawn
    19 Dec 2025, 11:08 GMT
  6. Buyer details updated
    19 Dec 2025, 11:08 GMT
  7. Tender notice published
    2 Oct 2025, 13:55 BSTUK4
  8. Published value updated to £0
    2 Oct 2025, 13:55 BSTwas £1
  9. Status changed to active
    2 Oct 2025, 13:55 BST
  10. Procurement method changed
    2 Oct 2025, 13:55 BST
  11. Deadline published: 3 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT
    2 Oct 2025, 13:55 BST
  12. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    23 May 2025, 15:36 BSTUK2

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PNBD-3289-CDGX Seacole Building, 2 Marsham Street, London, London, SW1P 4DF [email protected] 03459 335577

Official documents & specifications (3)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure