Find a TenderOpen for tender Tender notice
Published 24 Sept 2026, 17:19 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Request for Quote: Women of Colour in Leadership Development Programme

Authority: Cambridgeshire County Council (Local council)

ServicesBelow threshold - open competitionBelow thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable
Published estimate£11,000£13,200 inc. VAT
Submission deadline 19 Oct 202623:59 BST · 23d 1h left
Contract term 4 mostarts 1 Dec 2026
Bids per lot · this authority 3division 80 · n=5 · competition analysis ↓

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Cambridgeshire County Council is seeking a supplier to deliver a leadership development programme for Women of Colour, designed to inspire, empower and equip participants to become the leaders of the future.

Aimed at Women of Colour aspiring to leadership roles, the programme will combine peer networking, facilitated learning and reflective practice to help participants develop lifelong learning skills, build confidence, expand professional networks and pursue future career progression opportunities.

Further Information can be found in the attached Scope of requirements.

CPV: Equal opportunities consultancy services · Training services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Lot 1 4 moSMEVCSEPublished value£11,000
Contract period: 1 Dec 2026 — 31 Mar 2027 (4 mo)Eligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligibleDelivery: East of EnglandTurnover guideline: ~£22,000/yr≈ 2× annual value
Value
£11,000 exc. VAT · £13,200 inc. VAT
80500000 Training services98200000 Equal opportunities consultancy services

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

What it takes to win
i

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 more
How bids are scored

Award criteria will be based on a price and quality assessment, full details are provided in the quotation documents.

No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.

Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid

How Cambridgeshire County Council buys Training services (CPV 8050) — and who usually turns up

Cambridgeshire County Council’s own published record, next to the East of England market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Training services (CPV 8050) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Left: this authority. Right: the market where the work is delivered. Bids and award-vs-estimate pairs are per lot, from contested contracts only — direct awards (including PA 2023 transparency notices) report one bid by definition and are left out. On Procurement Act 2023 notices the count is the tenders assessed at the final stage, not every submission received; pairs compare like with like (VAT-exclusive, or VAT-inclusive on both sides). Empty means nothing was published, not filled in from elsewhere.

This authority

Cambridgeshire County Council

contract notices in 36 months: 5 in CPV 8050 · 14 in division 80 (1 route not published) · 223 in all categories (53 without competition · 58 route not published)

Bids per lot
i

How many companies usually bid for work like this.

Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 80), last 36 months: 5 lots. 3 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 1) and 2 from older notices (bids received, middle 9).

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

3division 80 · 36m · n=5 lots
Single-bid lots
i

How often only one company bid.

Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 80), last 36 months: 5 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

40%division 80 · 36m · n=5 lots
Award vs estimate
i

Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.

Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 36 months: 39 pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

at estimateall categories · 36m · n=39 pairs
Deadline → award date
i

How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.

Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in this industry (CPV 80), last 36 months: 3 notices.

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

Last 36 months.

42ddivision 80 · 36m · n=3 notices
Notice updates
i

How often this buyer changes a notice after publishing it.

Middle number of amendments per notice. Deadline extensions and corrections both count.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in all categories, last 24 months: 234 notices.

Last 24 months.

0all categories · 24m · n=234 notices
Awarded without competition
i

How often this buyer awards without a competition.

Direct or limited awards as a share of its notices that say which procedure was used. These routes are legal in defined cases. This is just the record.

Based on this buyer’s tenders in this sector (CPV 8050), last 36 months: 5 notices.

Last 36 months.

0%CPV 8050 · 36m · n=5 notices
Bids per lot robust · n=5
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 5 lots on 5 contested notices · division 80, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 40%
  • 2–3 20%
  • 4–6 20%
  • 7+ 20%

Middle value 3 · 5 lots on 5 contested notices · division 80.

Winning award vs estimate robust · n=39
i

How often winners come in below, near or above the estimate.

Each lot with both an estimate and an award is placed by how far the award sat from the estimate.

Based on 39 lot pairs · all categories, last 36 months.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

  • Below estimate 41%
  • Within ±2% 41%
  • Above estimate 18%

39 lot pairs · all categories.

The market · delivery region

East of England · Training services (CPV 8050)

contract notices delivered in East of England in 36 months: 57 in CPV 8050 (44 competed, 10 route not published) · 280 in division 80 (196 competed, 47 route not published)

Bids per lot
i

How many companies usually bid for work like this.

Middle value of published bid counts, one per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 8050), last 36 months: 26 lots. 17 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 4) and 9 from older notices (bids received, middle 4).

Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.

4CPV 8050 · 36m · n=26 lots
Single-bid lots
i

How often only one company bid.

Share of lots that received exactly one bid, on the same competitions as the bids figure.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 8050), last 36 months: 26 lots.

High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.

12%CPV 8050 · 36m · n=26 lots
Award vs estimate
i

Do awards for work like this land above or below the estimate.

Estimate against award per lot, for this buyer or this region in the same sector.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 8050), last 36 months: 15 pairs.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

at estimateCPV 8050 · 36m · n=15 pairs
Deadline → award date
i

How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.

Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 8050), last 36 months: 18 notices.

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

Last 36 months.

53dCPV 8050 · 36m · n=18 notices
SME bidders
i

How much of this market goes to small and medium firms.

SME bidders where buyers published the split, otherwise SME winners.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 8050), last 36 months: 24 lots.

Last 36 months.

78%CPV 8050 · 36m · n=24 lots
Winners based in the region
i

How much work like this goes to companies based in the delivery region.

Awards in this category delivered here where the winner’s registered address is in the region.

Based on this region’s tenders in this sector (CPV 8050), last 36 months: 41 awards.

Registered address, so a national firm with a local branch counts as outside.

Last 36 months.

61%CPV 8050 · 36m · n=41 awards
Bids per lot robust · n=26
i

How the number of bidders is spread across lots.

Each lot with a published bid count is put in a band: one bid, two to three, four to six, seven or more. Real competitions only.

Based on 26 lots on 24 contested notices · CPV 8050, last 36 months.

  • 1 bid 12%
  • 2–3 23%
  • 4–6 42%
  • 7+ 23%

Middle value 4 · 26 lots on 24 contested notices · CPV 8050.

Winning award vs estimate robust · n=15
i

How often winners come in below, near or above the estimate.

Each lot with both an estimate and an award is placed by how far the award sat from the estimate.

Based on 15 lot pairs · CPV 8050, last 36 months.

A past pattern, not a price to bid.

  • Below estimate 40%
  • Within ±2% 47%
  • Above estimate 13%

15 lot pairs · CPV 8050.

robust · n=39
i

Where this tender’s estimate would land if the usual pattern repeats.

We apply the buyer’s usual movement between estimate and award (or the region’s) to the estimate on this notice.

Based on this buyer’s own usual movement over 39 lots (all categories), applied to the £11,000 estimate on this notice.

A benchmark, not a price to bid.

The middle award in Cambridgeshire County Council (all categories, n=39 pairs) lands at estimate: on this notice’s £11,000 that is about £11,000. Context for a bid, not a recommended price.
2

Who you are likely to meet
i

Who you may be up against.

Suppliers on this buyer’s earlier similar contracts, and suppliers whose record fits this tender.

A guess from the record. Buyers do not publish who is bidding.

Suppliers on this authority’s earlier similar contracts, then suppliers with a matching track record — from published award history, not a bid list

Suppliers with a similar track record — and how they price
i

Suppliers with a similar track record, and how they price.

Suppliers matched on wins in this category, history with this buyer, location and size. Their award vs estimate is from their own past wins.

A guess from the record, not a bidder list.

SupplierEvidenceLast awardTheir award vs estimateRelevance
Norfolk County Council Adult Learning SME9 class wins9 months agono comparable pairs61%
Poultec Training Limited SME7 class wins31 months agono comparable pairs60%
Lighthouse (Training and Development) Ltd SME3 class wins31 months agono comparable pairs57%
Hari Sewell Consultancy Limited SME3 class wins46 months agono comparable pairs55%
West Suffolk College SME11 class wins6 months agoat estimate n=154%

Matched by the nightly worker on class wins, buyer history, delivery geography, scale and notice text; relevance is a 0–100% heuristic score, not a probability of bidding. “Their award vs estimate” is that supplier’s middle value on its own comparable single-supplier wins, CPV 8050 first. Nobody here is known to be bidding.

Coverage and what to read with care
  • Each tile explains itself. The on a figure says what it is, how it is counted and which scope this notice’s own record came from (class, division, all categories, or the authority’s 24-month row). The two columns are never blended and nothing is filled from a UK-wide figure; an empty tile means the source published nothing usable. Long form: Methodology.
  • Coverage. Roughly 40 % of notices publish a bid count; about half publish an ITL1 delivery location, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice has none (labelled). About 30 % of award-vs-estimate pairs are exact matches — the buyer published the award at the estimate. n is on every figure; a thin sample is muted, never hidden.
  • “Match” and “relevance” are model scores from the nightly matcher, not published facts. Find a Tender does not publish who is bidding. Never shown: contact details, payment behaviour, or a recommended price.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Below threshold - open competition
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Open for tender
Procurement threshold
Below threshold
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
No (one-off requirement)
First published
24 Sept 2026, 17:19 BST
Last source update
24 Sept 2026, 17:19 BST
Latest notice
Tender notice (UK4)
Classification (CPV)
Equal opportunities consultancy servicesTraining services
Delivery area
East of England (UKH12)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0779f5 Find a Tender

How to participate & submission route

Official notice
Expression of interest (EOI)
—
Tender submission deadline
19 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
Clarification deadline
—
Electronic submission
Not allowed
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release
The council invites quotations from suppliers interested in delivering this requirement. Suppliers wishing to obtain further information or request the quotation documents should contact Bev Gelder by email: [email protected].
Published estimate £11,000 excludes VAT (£13,200 including VAT).

Timeline

3 published dates · Europe/London
  1. Tender notice published2 days ago
    24 Sept 2026, 17:19 BST
  2. Submission deadlinein 23 days
    19 Oct 2026, 23:59 BST
  3. Contract startsin 65 days
    1 Dec 2026, 00:00 GMT

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Nothing awarded yet
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Tender notice published
    24 Sept 2026, 17:19 BSTUK4

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

Cambridgeshire County Council

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PJVB-3262-VGVJ New Shire Hall Emery Crescent Enterprise Campus,, Alconbury Weald, Huntingdon, East of England, PE28 4YE

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

Notices published for this procedure

  • Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender