Official UK procurement notice
Lessons · UK public procurement notice
Authority: Ministry of Defence (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionIntegrated Warfare Centre (IWC) requires a suitable Contractor to provide professional services support in the form of 8 full time personnel working across the Cyber & Specialist Operations Command (CSOC, formerly UK STRATCOM) footprint, within the following Departments; IWC, Analysis and Assurance (A&A) Team, Military Strategic Headquarters (MSHQ), Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ), jHUB and the Defence Experimentation and Wargaming Hub (DEWH). Lessons Contractors will be responsible for collecting, analysing, actioning, implementing and validating lessons from UK Defence operations and exercises, wargaming events, experimentation, and innovation activities. This will be conducted in accordance with relevant Defence Lessons Policies, which will be shared with Lessons Contractors during an initial mobilisation period, and using tools, primarily the Defence Lessons Identified Management System (DLIMS).
This Contract Award Notice is for the award of a public contract through an Open Procedure in accordance with the Competitive Tendering Procedures under the Procurement Act 2023 (PA2023). In accordance with Section 7, the requirement falls within the Defence and Security Requirement derogations (e), (f) and (g) for the goods, services or works for military purposes, and services that are otherwise relevant to the operational capability, effectiveness, readiness for action, safety or security of the armed forces. Therefore, the relevant provisions of the PA 2023 relating to Defence and Security contracts are applicable.
The Lessons Contract will initially be for two (2) years at a cost of £3,048,269.71 ex VAT. If the two (2) proposed option years are taken (on a 1 year + 1 year basis), subject to affordability and approval, this may take the value to £6,531,793.57 ex VAT. The second option year is subject to indexation in accordance with the formula outlined within the Invitation to Tender (ITT).
This will be a Service based Contract, with a security classification of up to and including SECRET. Further security requirements were detailed during the tender process as part of ITT.
The Cyber Risk Profile for this requirement identified by the Cyber Risk Assessment is High (Reference – RAR 250605A01)
TUPE provisions were outlined within the ITT.
A UK1 Pipeline notice was published under Notice Reference 2025/S 000-026958.
A UK4 Tender notice was published under Notice Reference 2025/S 000-034026.
A UK6 Contract Award Notice was published under Notice Reference: 2025/S 000-080462
CPV: Contract administration services · Staff training services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£8,440,000
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).
Published sub-criteria (3)
- Technical/Quality: 55%
- Price: 35%
- Social Value: 10%
Published award criteria (3)
- Technical/Quality
- Social Value
- Price
- Price carries 35 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3.5 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Defence & security
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 23 May 2025, 16:35 BST
- Last source update
- 6 Mar 2026, 15:30 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 15 Aug 2025
- Authority reference
714600450- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-034026- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05247dFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 16 Jul 2025, 09:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 1 Jul 2025, 10:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
23 May 2025 → 6 Mar 2026 · 10 dates- Planning notice published23 May 2025, 16:35 BST
- Next notice expected6 Jun 2025, 23:59 BST
- Tender notice published20 Jun 2025, 12:01 BST
- Clarification questions by1 Jul 2025, 10:00 BST
- Submission deadline16 Jul 2025, 09:00 BST
- Contract starts15 Aug 2025, 00:00 BST
- Award decision expected by15 Aug 2025, 23:59 BST
- Assessment summaries sent316 days ago8 Dec 2025
- Standstill ends306 days ago17 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMT
- Latest notice published228 days ago6 Mar 2026, 15:30 GMT
Notice history
10 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 23 May 2025- Pipeline notice published23 May 2025, 16:35 BSTUK1
- Tender notice published20 Jun 2025, 12:01 BSTUK4
- Published value published: £8,440,00020 Jun 2025, 12:01 BST
- Status changed to active20 Jun 2025, 12:01 BST
- Procurement method changed20 Jun 2025, 12:01 BST
- Deadline published: 16 Jul 2025, 09:00 BST20 Jun 2025, 12:01 BST
- Contract award notice published8 Dec 2025, 10:19 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete8 Dec 2025, 10:19 GMT
- Contract signature expected23 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
- Contract details notice published6 Mar 2026, 15:30 GMTUK7
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2025-05: 1 release · 23 May 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mass Consultants Ltd714600450 - Lessons7 Feb 2026 – 6 Feb 2028 · up to 6 Feb 2030Extensions: 1 + 1 year option periods · Options: Two Optional Extension Years are included and may be invoked on Authority request on a one year plus one year basis.(1+1) | £6,531,794 | 8 Dec 2025 | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 1 · Mass Consultants Ltd
- Signed
- 26 Feb 2026
- Value
- £6,531,794
- Period
- 8 Mar 2026 – 7 Mar 2028 · up to 7 Mar 2030 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- 1+1 year Option Periods
- Options
- Two optional Extension Years are included in the Contract and may be invoked on Authority request on a one year plus one year basis (1+1)
4 agreed KPIs: Contractor Performance · Social Value · Governance: Reporting …
- Contractor Performance, In accordance with the SOR, the Contractor shall ensure that Lessons Contractors are meeting deadlines for the delivery of work, meeting the specification and timeline as allocated by respective Line Management and/or as directed by formal 1* and 2* Governance Boards. This includes the Mobilisation activities as outlined in the SOR.
- Social Value, In accordance with D7 of the SOR, the Contractor shall deliver a written report to the Authority on a quarterly basis, outlining measures taken within that period to achieve the mission.
- Governance: Reporting, The Contractor shall ensure that reporting measures set out in the SOR at Deliverable 3: (attendance at quarterly progress meetings), are complied with by all staff required otherwise agreed by the Authority).
- Knowledge Transfer, In accordance with D9, the Contractor shall ensure that Lessons Contractors deliver the knowledge transfer activity and as outlined in the Exit Management Plan, which is to be delivered within 3 months of Contract Award.
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5final-stage tenders | 2 | 0 | — |
Who bid
- did not winEngage Technical Solutions LtdSME · South West England
- did not winGRANT THORNTON UK LLP · Greater London
- did not winQINETIQ TRAINING AND SIMULATION LIMITED · South East England
- did not winWHITETREE GROUP LTDSME · South West England
- wonMass Consultants Ltd · East of England
Bidders as named on the Procurement Act 2023 award notice. “Won” means the bidder holds an award on this notice.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
5 commercial parties on the notice · 1 awarded- Engage Technical Solutions LtdBidder / tenderer
- GRANT THORNTON UK LLPBidder / tenderer
- Mass Consultants LimitedAwarded supplier
- QINETIQ TRAINING AND SIMULATION LIMITEDBidder / tenderer
- WHITETREE GROUP LTDBidder / tenderer
Official documents & specifications (6)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Lessons ITT Pack
- Signed contract Lessons Final signed REDACTED Contract
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender