Official UK procurement notice
Incident Management Forecasting System (IMFS) software support, maintenance and development services
Authority: ENVIRONMENT AGENCY (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Incident Management Forecasting System (IMFS) is the Environment Agency's primary flood forecasting system and uses Deltares owned Delft-FEWS software as a platform to run models for flood forecasting, groundwater modelling, bathing water quality forecasting, and other services. The National Groundwater Modelling Service (NGMS) also uses Delft-FEWS software.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Awarded
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Direct award
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 20 May 2025, 12:47 BST
- Last source update
- 3 Nov 2025, 14:57 GMT
- Authority reference
C30051- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-070518- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05189dFind a Tender
- Why no open competition
- Single Suppliers Intellectual Property Exclusive Rights
- Published justification
Stichting Deltares are the sole owners and licensor of Delft-FEWS and there are no alternatives available to the Environment Agency without rewriting all forecasting models. It is the view of the Environment Agency that this contract is justifiable under Paragraph 5 in Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023 to award the contract for the supply and support of the Delft-FEWS software because, as Stichting Deltares own the intellectual property for the software, and develop and support the specialist Delft-FEWS software, therefore no reasonable alternative exists, nor can another organisation supply and support the product. Additionally, it is the view of the Environment Agency that this contract is also justifiable under Paragraph 6 in Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023 to award the contract for the supply and support of the Delft-FEWS software because, at this time, no alternative solution is available because any decision to deviate from Delft-FEWS would require a redevelopment of all Environment Agency models, therefore competition is absent for technical reasons.
- Risks
The Environment Agency currently envisages that the following risks could jeopardise the satisfactory performance of the contract: a) Emerging cyber security threats and the impact this may have on the Environment Agency's need to make updates to software to address these threats; b) Changes in political direction and policy changes outside the Environment Agency's control that may drive diversified requirements for forecasting services; c) Climate change in the UK and the longer-term impact this may have on the provision of the services; and d) Technology obsolescence and new technologies, and the impact these may have on the provision of the services.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
25 Sept 2025 → 3 Nov 2025 · 2 dates- Standstill ends385 days ago25 Sept 2025, 23:59 BST
- Notice published347 days ago3 Nov 2025, 14:57 GMT
Notice history
4 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 20 May 2025- Transparency notice published20 May 2025, 12:47 BSTUK5
- Contract award notice published16 Sept 2025, 08:03 BSTUK6
- Contract signature expected29 Sept 2025, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published3 Nov 2025, 14:57 GMTUK7
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stichting DeltaresIncident Management Forecasting System (IMFS) software support and maintenance1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sept 2030 · up to 30 Sept 2035Extensions: An initial term of 5 years with the option to extend by a further 3 years and a further 2 years. · Options: Develop new software code to support new functionality requirements specified by the Environment Agency for its Stichting Deltares’ software and Delft-FEWS installations. | £14,925,560 | 16 Sept 2025standstill to 25 Sept 2025 | Standstill |
| Stichting Deltares | — | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Incident Management Forecasting System (IMFS) software support · Stichting Deltares
- Signed
- 19 Oct 2025
- Value
- £14,925,560
- Period
- 20 Oct 2025 – 19 Oct 2030 · up to 19 Oct 2035 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- An initial term of 5 years with the option to extend by a further 3 years and a further 2 years.
- Options
- The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid. Develop new software code to support new functionality requirements specified by the Environment Agency for its Deltares' software and Delft-FEWS installations.
3 agreed KPIs: Help desk availability · Severity 1 incident resolution time · Severity 1 incident response time
- Help desk availability, The help desk must be available on business days from 8am to 5pm.
- Severity 1 incident resolution time, The incident must be resolved in 8 hours.
- Severity 1 incident response time, A response must be received within 15 minutes
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Stichting DeltaresAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender