Official UK procurement notice
ID 6274755 - DFE - Invest NI - Technical Advisory - PRE-MARKET ENGAGEMENT
Authority: Invest Northern Ireland (Central government)·On behalf of: CPD
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionInvest Northern Ireland's Innovation, Research & Development Division (IR&DD) is preparing to retender its R&D Technical Advisory Framework and want to understand what would help make the tender process accessible, proportionate and attractive to potential suppliers.
IR&DD supports local organisations to develop and commercialise innovative products, processes and services that contribute to Northern Ireland's economic growth. We achieve this by providing grant funding, specialist guidance, and connections to research partners through programmes such as Grant for R&D and Proof of Concept.
As part of the assessment process for R&D funding applications, a technical appraisal is required to determine project suitability. These appraisals are carried out either by our internal Technology Executives or with the support of external independent advisors with the relevant technical expertise. External advisors are typically engaged for projects seeking more than £1m of support or where the work involves applied research at lower Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). Consultants may also be asked to complete technical reviews at key points during the project i.e., midway and at the end of the project.
For the next framework period, Invest NI also intend to include the option for independent advisors to support Post Project Evaluations (PPEs), conducted 3-5 years after project completion. These evaluations assess outcomes, benefits, lessons learned and the counterfactual-what would have occurred in the absence of funding.
To deliver these commitments, IR&DD operates a four year framework of independent consultants. Our current framework expires in November 2026, and we are preparing to procure a new framework to run from November 2026 to November 2030. If you are interested in providing these services to Invest NI, we would appreciate your feedback to help us shape the new framework. Depending on the volume of responses we may also arrange follow-up discussions.
If you wish to participate in the Contracting Authority's (Invest NI) Preliminary Market Engagement for this requirement, a questionnaire for completion is available via the following Link (please copy and paste this to your browser for access):
www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/invest-ni-technica… ↗
The questionnaire must be completed and submitted via this link by the engagement deadline of 09/04/2026
CPV: Business and management consultancy and related services · Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security · Research and development consultancy services · Research and development services and related consultancy services · Research consultancy services · Research services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 4 yrs from 15 Nov 2026
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Planned
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).
- “ID 6274755 - DFE - Invest NI - Technical Advisory - PRE-MARKET…” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Invest Northern Ireland buys Research services (CPV 7311), and who usually turns up
Invest Northern Ireland’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. This notice is a framework or DPS, so only frameworks and DPS are compared. Whole-market view: Research services (CPV 7311) →
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 the winner is registered in the region where that contract was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in Northern Ireland.
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 70 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.
The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.
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 bid5% / 0%
2–340% / 22%
4–645% / 9%
7+10% / 70%
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.
On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Not comparable on a framework or DPS. The notice sets up a supplier panel and a ceiling value; what the work actually costs is agreed later, on each call-off or mini-competition, and those publish as contract notices of their own. The award-vs-estimate record of this market therefore sits on the call-offs; this page shows it on the contracts, not on the panel that frames them.
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 7311Estimate 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 23 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid0%
2–322%
4–69%
7+70%
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
- Below threshold
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 25 Mar 2026, 08:09 GMT
- Last source update
- 25 Mar 2026, 08:09 GMT
- Authority reference
ID 6274755- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-027097- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-067365Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
25 Mar 2026 → 15 Nov 2026 · 4 dates- Planning notice published209 days ago25 Mar 2026, 08:09 GMT
- Market engagement193 days ago9 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
If you wish to participate in the Contracting Authority's (Invest NI) Preliminary Market Engagement for this requirement, a questionnaire for completion is available via the following Link (please copy and paste this into your browser for access):
www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/invest-ni-technica… ↗
The questionnaire must be completed and submitted via this link by the engagement deadline date and time detailed above.
- Today20 Oct 2026
- Tender notice expectedin 13 days1 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 26 days15 Nov 2026
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published25 Mar 2026, 08:09 GMTUK2
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
3 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- CPDBeneficiary authority
- CPD - Supplies & Services DivisionProcuring entityConstruction and Procurement Delivery - Supplies and Services Division, is a Centre of Procurement Expertise and provides a central procurement function for central government in Northern Ireland.
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