Find a TenderAwarded without competitionContract award notice
Published 1 Oct 2026, 17:16 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Metagenomic Profiling of Gut Microbiome IID3: New Perspectives Infectious Intestinal Disease

Official notice

Authority: The Food Standards Agency (Central government)

Direct awardSME suitableVCSE suitable
Sectors: Research & Development (R&D) (73) Delivery: UK
Awarded value£599,689published award · exc. VAT
Award in standstill 1 Oct 2026no call for competition
Award (standstill) to University of Liverpool

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is an independent Government department working across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to protect public health and consumers wider interest in food. We make sure food is safe and what it says it is.

The FSA are looking to appoint a supplier to deliver a research project to undertake metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses of faecal samples generated as part of The Third Study of Infectious Intestinal Disease (IID3), alongside other relevant datasets. The study aims to improve our understanding of the causes of IID and to characterise the prevalence and diversity of antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes in IID samples.

The contract will run for a period of 24 months, with an optional 6-month extension period if required. The maximum budget assigned for this project is £600,000, excluding VAT.

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1AwardedSMEVCSE
Delivery: UKEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible

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
1 Oct 2026, 17:16 BST
Last source update
1 Oct 2026, 17:24 BST
Authority reference
C459301
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-093049
Latest notice
Contract award notice (UK6)
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-077f18 Find a Tender
Why no open competition
Single Suppliers Technical Reasons
Published justification

A Direct Award is justified for this procurement based on the conditions permitted under the Procurement Act 2023, specifically the Schedule 5 Sch. 5 para 6 “technical reasons / no reasonable alternative supplier” and “compatibility / additional services from existing supplier” justifications.

Review and risk notes
Risks

Risks associated with a scientific services project of this nature may include (but not limited to) delays in project delivery, budgetary pressures, changes in scope or requirements, difficulties in obtaining representative samples, sampling plan amendments, sample quality or availability issues, laboratory capacity constraints, analytical method development and validation challenges, equipment failure, data quality concerns, regulatory or legislative changes, stakeholder availability, and delays in the provision of information, materials or approvals. There is also a risk that research findings or analytical results may not generate the expected outcomes, requiring additional investigation, testing, or revisions to the proposed approach. Suppliers will be expected to identify, manage and mitigate such risks throughout the contract lifecycle to ensure delivery of the agreed objectives, timelines and outputs.

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

1 Oct 2026 → 13 Oct 2026 · 2 dates
  1. Notice published21 days ago
    1 Oct 2026, 17:24 BST
  2. Standstill ends9 days ago
    13 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST

Notice history

3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 1 Oct 2026
  1. Transparency notice published
    1 Oct 2026, 17:16 BST
    UK5
  2. Contract award notice published
    1 Oct 2026, 17:24 BST
    UK6
  3. Contract signature expected
    16 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
    scheduled

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast
Awards 1
Awarded value £599,6891 award exc. VAT
Awarded toValueDateStatus
University of LiverpoolVCSE19 Oct 2026 – 19 Oct 2028 · up to 18 Apr 2029Extensions: 6 month optional extension£599,6891 Oct 2026standstill to 13 Oct 2026Standstill

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Food Standards Agency

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PJRM-6866-LYYX YO1 7PR, York, Yorkshire & Humber, YO1 7PRContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice
  • University of LiverpoolAwarded supplierGB-PPON: PYNH-9859-XVMD The Foundation Building, 765 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, North West, L69 7ZXContact email

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

  • Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender
  • Transparency notice awardTransparency noticeUK5Transparency notice on Find a Tender