Find a TenderAwarded without competitionContract award notice
Published 8 Sept 2026, 13:52 BST

Official UK procurement notice

PATH-SAFE Genomic Data Platform - Technical Strand

Authority: Food Standards Agency (Central government)

Direct awardSME suitableVCSE suitable
Sectors: Research & Development (R&D) (73) Delivery: UK
Awarded value £967,000published award · exc. VAT
Award in standstill 7 Sept 2026no call for competition
Award (standstill) to University of Oxford (Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance)

What is being bought

Published requirement description

This requirement is for a 24-month project to work with relevant government end user agencies to conduct further R&D across three workstreams (technical, governance, and strategy) to address uncertainties identified through the 25/26 work.

The project will:

• Create a robust evidence base (datasets, appraisal reports, etc) to inform future platform design and operational decisions, reduce technical uncertainty

and enable confident, data-driven progression of the platform towards operational deployment.

• Realise tangible value from prior investment by advancing the platform to operational readiness, positioning it to strengthen long-term national capability and resilience around response to foodborne threats and antimicrobial resistance.

• Deliver strengthened cross-government One Health collaboration, evidenced through established, sustained ways of working across FSA, UKHSA, APHA and partners, enabling more coordinated and effective foodborne pathogen surveillance.

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Lot 1AwardedSMEVCSE
Eligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligibleDelivery: UK
73000000 Research and development services and related consultancy services

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
No (one-off requirement)
First published
8 Sept 2026, 13:52 BST
Last source update
8 Sept 2026, 13:52 BST
Authority reference
C464429
Latest notice
Contract award notice (UK6)
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f48b
Why no open competition
Additional Repeat Extension Partial Replacement
Published justification
• STAs are justified under Schedule 5 (direct award grounds) of the Procurement Act 2023, specifically “additional or repeat goods, services or works”, where continuity, technical compatibility, and supplier uniqueness are required.
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 more…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

Submission deadline

Timeline

2 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Notice published13 days ago
    8 Sept 2026, 13:52 BST
  2. Standstill ends3 days ago
    17 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics — not a forecast
Awards 1some still in standstill
Awarded value £967,0001 award exc. VAT
Awarded toValueDateStatus
University of Oxford (Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance)21 Sept 2026 — 31 Mar 2029£967,0007 Sept 2026standstill to 17 Sept 2026Standstill

Notice history

3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 8 Sept 2026
  1. Contract signature expected
    18 Sept 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
  2. Contract award notice published
    8 Sept 2026, 13:52 BSTUK6
  3. Transparency notice published
    8 Sept 2026, 13:48 BSTUK5

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Food Standards Agency

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

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

Official documents & specifications (3)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

  • Conflict of interest declarationtenderConflict of interest declarationNot published

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