Find a TenderPlanned procurementPreliminary market engagement notice
Published 21 Jan 2026, 15:38 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

Provision of Development and Delivery of Feasibility Test for Online Collection of Crime Statistics

Authority: Office for National Statistics (Central government)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitable
Planned pipeline valueValue not publishedpipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 9 Mar 2026from the planned procurement notice
Contract term 1 yrends 30 Apr 2027 · starts 1 May 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

About the Office for National Statistics (ONS)

ONS is the UK's largest independent producer of official statistics and is the National Statistical Institute for the UK. Formally, it is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-Ministerial Department established by the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. It is responsible for collecting and publishing statistics related to the economy, population, and society at national, regional, and local levels. ONS plays a leading role in national and international good practice in the production of official statistics.

Introduction

ONS (the Authority) is currently undertaking a programme of development work to enhance the collection of crime statistics through the introduction of an online survey. This builds on development work conducted to date for the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW).

This procurement intends to fulfil requirements by contracting with a single or multiple suppliers to test feasibility of collecting data online and improving statistics on crime victimisation and public perceptions of crime.

In 2026-27, we are aiming to set up and run a feasibility test to produce estimates of anti-social behaviour and perceptions of policing. The survey length is expected to average around 30 minutes and sample size requirement of approximately 15,000 interviews to allow for estimates for 7 priority Police Force Areas (PFAs) and a national estimate (England and Wales). Exact sample design and requirements will be agreed with the contractor. Following a successful feasibility test, ONS expects to launch a larger scale online survey (likely to be subject to a separate procurement exercise) in 2027-28.

We will also be using this feasibility test to pilot partially redesigned crime screeners and victimisation modules to assess progress and inform the next iteration of research and development.

ONS is seeking to contract with suppliers that can provide expertise in the following areas: -

-Questionnaire development and cognitive testing, particularly in transitioning face-to-face surveys online.

-Usability and cogability testing of online surveys.

-Survey design for online and multi-mode surveys (including sample design, weighting, and respondent selection approaches).

-Data collection and respondent engagement approaches for online surveys

ONS is seeking to procure up to four separate lots of work:

a. Questionnaire development and cognitive interviews for CSEW modules (modules to be confirmed)

b. Development of the screener and victimization modules for online completion.

c. End-to-end testing, usability and/or cogability testing for an online survey instrument

d. Survey design and fieldwork delivery for online survey feasibility test

Previous development work can be found here (links can ben accessed by copying and pasting into you internet browser):

Research on Transforming the Crime Survey for England and Wales Work package A: Developing and testing an online version of the CSEW questionnaire (2022)

27192314.fs1.hubspotusercontent-eu1.net/hubfs/27192314/CSEW ↗ files/CSEW Transformation Research Work Package A Main Report.pdf

Consultation response (7 November 2022)

consultations.ons.gov.uk/external-affairs/cri… ↗

consultations.ons.gov.uk/external-affairs/cri… ↗

Transformation of the Crime Survey for England and Wales - Discovery research on the redesign of multi-mode questions - Part 1

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandc… ↗

Crime Survey for England and Wales Transformation - Discovery Part 2: mental models research (8th Aug 2025)

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandc… ↗

Crime Survey for England and Wales Transformation - Discovery Part 3: Redesign of the screener module (2nd April 2025)

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandc… ↗

Discussion Areas for potential bidders engaging in Market Engagement?

-How would you recommend sampling one individual per household for the survey (for victimisation modules)?

-What would be your recommended approach to ensure the survey is inclusive - including for those who may feel unable to take part online?

-Can you recommend approaches for producing statistics using multi-modal data and impact on the continuity of a time series?

-What actions can be taken to maximise response rates?

-Can you suggest the technology required to run the survey and for ONS to receive and access the data?

-Can you recommend the extent of usability testing required?

Can you outline a suggested timeline to set up and deliver this work?

CPV: Market and economic research; polling and statistics

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1Planned 1 yrSME
Contract period: 1 May 2026 – 30 Apr 2027 (1 yr)
Delivery: UKEligibility: SME eligible

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published

How Office for National Statistics buys Market and economic research; polling and statistics (CPV 7930), and who usually turns up

Office for National Statistics’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Market and economic research; polling and statistics (CPV 7930) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerOffice for National Statistics · division 79
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
i

How often small and medium firms win.

Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.

The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 5 of 9 known-size awards · market: CPV 7930 · UK-wide, n=26
56%58%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
i

How often local firms win similar work.

Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.

Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered.

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 0 of 1 known-location awards · market: CPV 7930 · UK-wide, n=20
0 of 150%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside the region where that award was delivered.

How long to a decision?
i

How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.

Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: no decision dates published · market: CPV 7930 · UK-wide, n=6
—43 days

Half of these awards have an award date within 43 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
i

How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.

Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.

Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.

Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: at least 5 of 11 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 7930 · UK-wide, n=44
45%41%

Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.

How many bids did past lots attract?

i

How many bids past lots received.

Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.

Past bids do not predict this tender.

Last 36 months.

This buyerToo few to chart: 2 lots with bid counts, 5 needed · all categories
The market14 lots with bid counts · CPV 7930 · UK-wide
14% had one bid
Market · select a colour for counts
1 bid14%
Market: 2 of 14 lots with published bid counts.
2–329%
Market: 4 of 14 lots with published bid counts.
4–643%
Market: 6 of 14 lots with published bid counts.
7+14%
Market: 2 of 14 lots with published bid counts.

How did awards compare with estimates?

i

Where winning prices landed against estimates.

Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.

Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.

Last 36 months.

This buyerNo estimate-and-award pairs published
The market12 lots with estimate and award · CPV 7930 · UK-wide
50% below estimate
Market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate50%
Market: 6 of 12 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%50%
Market: 6 of 12 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate0%
Market: 0 of 12 lots with an estimate and award.
2

Assess each lot
i

What past awards tell you about each lot.

See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.

No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 793012 monthsSME suitableEstimate not published
Expected competition
i

How many bids this lot may attract.

The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.

Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 14 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet14% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 14 similar lots
1 bid14%
2 of 14 similar past lots received 1 bid (14%).
2–329%
4 of 14 similar past lots received 2–3 (29%).
4–643%
6 of 14 similar past lots received 4–6 (43%).
7+14%
2 of 14 similar past lots received 7+ (14%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 4.5 bids.
Commercial price forecast
i

Where the award price may land.

The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.

No comparable awards for this lot yet.

A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.

—Estimate not published
The buyer published no estimate for this lot, so there is nothing to forecast against. A price prediction here would be a number about a number we do not have.

Who has supplied this buyer on similar work?
i

Who has done similar work for this buyer.

Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.

A past supplier may not bid again.

No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.

Who could compete for this lot?
i

Who could compete for this lot?

Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.

None is confirmed as a bidder.

Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.

About this data
  • Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
  • Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
  • Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
  • Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.

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
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
21 Jan 2026, 15:38 GMT
Last source update
21 Jan 2026, 16:43 GMT
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 27 Apr 2026
Authority reference
CS-26-143
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-005489
Latest notice
Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
Classification (CPV)
Market and economic research; polling and statistics
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-060b6f Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
8 Apr 2026, 12:00 BST
Accepted languages
en

Timeline

21 Jan 2026 → 1 May 2026 · 6 dates
  1. Planning notice published281 days ago
    21 Jan 2026, 15:38 GMT
  2. Market engagement264 days ago
    6 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT

    To register your interest, please email [email protected]. In the email subject please quote CS-26-143 C Jones

    Within your email, please give a brief synopsis of what your organisation can offer in terms of the requirements detailed above.

    There is a presentation scheduled to take place at 1pm on 4th February 2026. This will include an overview of the known requirements as well as any restrictions and limitations. If you would like to attend the session, please send a contact email and we will share a Teams invitation to the session.

    Following on from the session, and once the engagement notice has closed, we plan on scheduling 1:1 supplier session to discuss the requirements and potential solutions in more detail. We also welcome written answers to our discussion points and a high-level overview of your suggested solution, where time does not allow you to attend a 1:1 session. Any written submission should be no more than 5 pages long and be submitted via the In-tend portal as correspondence.

    Additional Information

    This Exercise is NOT a pre-qualification or selection exercise and is NOT part of any pre-qualification or selection process that may apply to any future potential procurement. It is intended to act as an awareness and information gathering exercise offering an opportunity for suppliers to advise us on the extent to which they potentially can provide some or all the services that ONS may require, in order to help ONS with its future intentions.

  3. Tender notice expected233 days ago
    9 Mar 2026, 23:59 GMT
  4. Submission deadline204 days ago
    8 Apr 2026, 12:00 BST
  5. Award decision expected by184 days ago
    27 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
  6. Contract starts181 days ago
    1 May 2026, 00:00 BST

Notice history

7 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 21 Jan 2026
  1. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    21 Jan 2026, 15:38 GMT
    UK2
  2. Planned procurement notice published
    21 Jan 2026, 15:48 GMT
    UK3
  3. Status changed to planned
    21 Jan 2026, 15:48 GMT
  4. Procurement method changed
    21 Jan 2026, 15:48 GMT
  5. Deadline published: 8 Apr 2026, 12:00 BST
    21 Jan 2026, 15:48 GMT
  6. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    21 Jan 2026, 16:40 GMT
    UK2
  7. Preliminary market engagement notice published
    21 Jan 2026, 16:43 GMT
    UK2
Published amendments (1)

Updated guidance and viewing links within the document.

Routine re-releases (4)
  • 2026-01: 1 release · 21 Jan 2026

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Office for National Statistics

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central government GB-PPON: PMZG-4913-JQXG Government Buildings, Cardiff Road, Newport, Wales, NP10 8XGContact email

Official documents & specifications (4)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure