Official UK procurement notice
ITEP1168 - Cyber R&D Project
Authority: National Highways Limited (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNational Highways intends to directly award a contract for the delivery of independent cyber security research and development. The requirement is for academic-led, evidence-based analysis to identify and assess emerging cyber risks across Strategic Road Network technologies, supporting development of mitigation strategies and safe adoption of new technologies.
The contract will be awarded under the Procurement Act 2023, Schedule 5 (Research and Development), on the basis that the requirement constitutes specialist, research-led activity that cannot be met through the commercial market and requires independent academic capability.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedProcedure 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
- 15 Jun 2026, 11:36 BST
- Last source update
- 16 Sept 2026, 13:30 BST
- Authority reference
ITEP1168- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-087765- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06b4d1Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- Prototypes Development
- Published justification
This route is compliant because:
- The requirement constitutes a research-driven R&D activity, not a standard
commercial service.
- The deliverable is a novel and exploratory research output, forming an evidence
base rather than a finished product
- Market engagement and existing evidence demonstrate:
- Limited supplier capability in vendor-neutral research delivery
- Commercial suppliers are not aligned to independent R&D outcomes
- Academic partners provide:
- Specialist expertise
- Continuity with existing NH research activity
- Independence and credibility
The use of Schedule 5, Paragraph 2 is justified as the contract concerns:
- Research, experimentation, and development
- Testing viability of new capability areas
(as explicitly permitted under PA2023 provisions)
Notice history
6 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 15 Jun 2026- Transparency notice published15 Jun 2026, 11:36 BSTUK5
- Transparency notice published30 Jun 2026, 13:57 BSTUK5
- Contract award notice published30 Jun 2026, 14:01 BSTUK6
- Contract award notice published13 Jul 2026, 13:22 BSTUK6
- Contract signature expected23 Jul 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
- Contract details notice published16 Sept 2026, 13:30 BSTUK7
Routine re-releases (5)
- 2026-06: 2 releases · 15 Jun 2026, 30 Jun 2026
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| CARDIFF UNIVERSITY23 Jul 2026 – 31 Mar 2027 · up to 31 Mar 2028Extensions: Further extension(s) may be exercised where the research and development activities have not concluded by the contract end date of 31/03/2027, including where additional time is required to complete agreed deliverables, finalise outputs, or support dissemination and evaluation activities. Any extension will be subject to formal agreement between the Parties, continued value for money, and availability of funding. Extensions are expected to be limited in duration and scope, and will only be used where necessary to ensure successful completion of the Project. · Options: The Authority reserves the right to include options for additional related services within the scope of the ITEP1168 Cyber R&D Project. These options may include, but are not limited to: Additional research phases or work packages building on initial findings; Further development, refinement, or scaling of project outputs; Additional analysis, testing, or validation activities; Extended stakeholder engagement, dissemination, or communications activities; and Support for wider adoption, implementation, or operationalisation of project outputs. Any such options will be exercised at the Authority’s discretion, subject to business need, performance of the initial contract, and availability of funding, and will be procured in accordance with the terms set out in the original contract. | £240,000 | 24 Jun 2026 | Awarded |
| CARDIFF UNIVERSITY | £240,000 †same award published again · counted once | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 2 · CARDIFF UNIVERSITY
- Signed
- 10 Sept 2026
- Value
- £240,000
- Period
- 10 Sept 2026 – 31 Mar 2027 · up to 31 Mar 2028 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- An additional extension is included in the contract as a fall back position just incase the deliverables are not completed by the end of the initial term.
No agreed KPIs: This contract does not have KPIs, However, it does contain a number of deliverables, milestones, progress reporting requirements, and performance obligations that effectively act as performance measures.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Cardiff UniversityAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (5)
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
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender