Official UK procurement notice
GMCA2197 MBacc Award (Stage 1) Evaluation & Learning Partner
Authority: Greater Manchester Combined Authority (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionGreater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is considering the appointment of an independent Evaluation and Learning Partner to evaluate Stage 1 of the MBacc Award. The commission would assess the programme’s implementation, effectiveness, inclusivity and early outcomes, drawing on engagement with young people, schools, colleges, employers and other key stakeholders.
The partner would be expected to develop and deliver a proportionate mixed-method evaluation, provide timely learning to support programme development, and produce interim and final evaluation reports. The evaluation would include appropriate consideration of disadvantaged learners, including young people with special educational needs and disabilities and those in alternative provision.
GMCA is currently undertaking preliminary market engagement to inform the scope, budget and procurement approach for this potential future opportunity.
CPV: Education and training services · Research and development consultancy services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Greater Manchester Combined Authority buys Research and development consultancy services (CPV 7320), and who usually turns up
Greater Manchester Combined Authority’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: Research and development consultancy services (CPV 7320) →
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.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
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 North West England.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside North West England.
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.
Half of these awards were announced within 35 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.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
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.
1 bid25% / 16%
2–330% / 28%
4–623% / 31%
7+21% / 25%
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.
Below estimate40% / 52%
Within ±2%60% / 38%
Above estimate0% / 10%
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 7320Estimate not published
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 21 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid19%
2–314%
4–638%
7+29%
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
- Unspecified in notice
- 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
- 20 Oct 2026, 08:21 BST
- Last source update
- 20 Oct 2026, 08:21 BST
- Authority reference
DN833456- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-098739- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-078b55Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
20 Oct 2026 → 4 Jan 2027 · 3 dates- Planning notice published1 day ago20 Oct 2026, 08:21 BST
- Today21 Oct 2026
- Market engagementin 9 days30 Oct 2026, 23:59 GMT
Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is inviting prospective suppliers to take part in preliminary market engagement for the potential future appointment of an independent Evaluation and Learning Partner for the MBacc Award.
The potential commission would evaluate the programme’s implementation, effectiveness, inclusivity and early outcomes, drawing on engagement with young people, schools, colleges, employers and other key stakeholders. The partner would be expected to develop and deliver a proportionate mixed-method evaluation, provide timely learning to inform programme development, and produce interim and final evaluation reports. The evaluation would include appropriate consideration of disadvantaged learners, including young people with special educational needs and disabilities and those in alternative provision.
Through this engagement, GMCA is seeking supplier feedback on the proposed scope and methodology, deliverability and timescales, data and research requirements, market capacity, commercial considerations and the potential procurement approach. In particular, feedback is requested on indicative costs, key pricing assumptions and principal cost drivers.
How to respond
Suppliers wishing to participate in this market engagement excerise can find all relevant information on the Chest via the following link:
procontract.due-north.com/Advert ↗
Deadline for clarification questions: 5pm Monday 26th October 2026
Deadline for market engagement responses: 5pm Friday 30th October 2026
This market engagement exercise does not form part of a formal procurement process and does not commit GMCA to undertake a procurement, enter into a contract or reimburse suppliers for any costs incurred in responding. Any information provided at this stage is indicative, subject to change and will not be evaluated as part of any future procurement process.GMCA will consider the feedback received when refining the potential commission, but may not adopt all suggestions.
- Contract startsin 74 days4 Jan 2027
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published20 Oct 2026, 08:21 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
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