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planningFind a Tender · planning

UKRI-4863 National STEM Ambassadors programme

Buyer: UK Research and Innovation →

BuyerUK Research and Innovation
Statusplanning
DeadlineNot published
Value£21,250,000
Published27 Feb 2026

What is being bought

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is seeking a new supplier to continue the delivery of the STEM Ambassadors programme. UKRI wants to maintain the focus on STEM in this new contract whilst also piloting activities to build further on the existing focus of the programme. The STEM Ambassadors programme is an established, recognisable national programme that supports the UK Government in its ambitions to support young people to develop STEM skills and consider career opportunities in the STEM sector by connecting them with Ambassadors that work in the sector. It is the UK’s largest STEM engagement programme for young people aged 5-19. The main priorities of the renewed programme will be to: - maintain its effectiveness as a national STEM volunteering infrastructure. - implement changes that improve the delivery and coordination of the programme - improve the programme’s recruitment of Ambassadors from universities and academic research organisations - design, develop and implement targeted, innovative interventions that focus on young people from minoritised and underrepresented groups that have potential to be scaled up in local schools and non-school organisations (such as youth and community groups and cultural organisations such as art galleries and museums). - evaluate the effectiveness of the programme and targeted interventions. UKRI wants the programme to achieve the following objectives: 1. Support the development and growth of the STEM skills required for working within STEM. 2. To introduce and connect young people with the range of careers in STEM and challenge perceptions of what STEM is and who can work in STEM sectors. 3. To inspire young people and build their trust and understanding of STEM. The supplier will deliver these objectives through the following five work packages: • Work package 1: STEM Ambassador recruitment, induction, support and training • Work package 2: Employer and schools engagement and support • Work package 3: Coordinated UK wide activity at national and regional levels • Work package 4: Design, development, piloting and scaling of interventions targeting young people from underrepresented and minoritised groups • Work package 5: Monitoring and evaluation of programme and targeted interventions • Work package 6: Convening sector, network building and communications The programme will be delivered from 1st October 2026 until 30th September 2032 Market Engagement Webinar: UKRI is holding a market engagement webinar on 16th March 2026 commencing at 14.00 with a presentation followed by a question and answer session. This webinar is an opportunity to learn more about the STEM Ambassadors Programme and the procurement process as well as to provide valuable feedback on the requirement. Please note that not registering an interest will not prevent any organisation from participating in any future procurement, nor will any information shared during preliminary market engagement provide an advantage in any subsequent process. To find out more information about this webinar and register your interest https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/01f75b04-c7c5-48f4-8a03-7d3b838d4675@8bb7e08e-daa4-4a8e-927e-fca38db04b7e

Categories

Business and management consultancy services 79410000

Lot details

Lot 1

No lot description published.

Statusplanning
Contract periodFrom 1 Oct 2026 to 30 Sept 2032
SME suitabilitySuitable for SMEs

What is included

ItemCategoryQuantity
1Business and management consultancy servicesNot published

Comparable-procurement analytics

Benchmarked against retained Find a Tender procedures with CPV division 79. The category anchor is Business and management consultancy services (79410000); this is a deliberately broad market comparator. The comparison is shown at several levels rather than pretending one company or region is always the best benchmark.

Comparison setProceduresReported bids per procedureNamed award suppliersPrice evidence
Market: CPV division 799,8774 median · 32.5 average (3,978 of 9,877 with a bid count)3.2 average (4,450 of 9,877 with named award suppliers)1 comparable price pairs
Same buyer7Not publishedNot publishedNot published
Similar published value (0.5×–2×)2854 median · 4 average (2 of 285 with a bid count)1 average (2 of 285 with named award suppliers)Not published

“Reported bids” is an official aggregate, sometimes reported per lot; it is the closest available competition measure. “Named award suppliers” are winners, not all applicants.

Price-outcome signal

Not enough comparable procedures currently publish both a GBP tender value and a usable lowest-valid-bid value to calculate a responsible price-reduction benchmark. Tenderline deliberately does not infer a saving from named award suppliers or from missing award values.

Procurement strategy & market signals

Framework agreementNot published
Dynamic purchasing systemNot published
Competitive procurementNot published
Recurring requirementNot published
Procurement method rationaleNot published
Rationale classificationsNot published
Special regimeNot published
Covered byNot published
Submission policyNot published
Selection criteriaNot published
Risk detailsNot published

Planning & early market engagement

BudgetValue not published
No-engagement rationaleNot published
Planning documents1
Planning milestones1
MilestoneTypeDueStatus
Market engagement Webinarengagement16 Mar 2026scheduled

Related procurements

No linked framework, prior procurement or reprocurement published.

Documents & submission route

Source data inventory

Diagnostic view. “Not published” means this current release does not provide a value.

OCIDocds-h6vhtk-065ee2
Latest release ID018167-2026
Latest release timestampFri Feb 27 2026 17:48:17 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Sourcefind-a-tender
Official notice URLNot published
Tender statusplanning
Procurement methodNot published
Procurement method detailsNot published
Main procurement categoryservices
Above thresholdYes
Legal basis2023/54
Tender period: startNot published
Tender period: endNot published
Expression of interest deadlineNot published
Enquiry deadlineNot published
Award period: startNot published
Award period: endNot published
Submission method detailsNot published
Submission languagesNot published
Electronic catalogue policyNot published
Total tender value£21,250,000
Tender lots in source1
Tender items in source1
Tender documents in source0
Awards in latest release0
Contracts in latest release0
Parties in latest release1

Notice history

DateEventReference
27 Feb 2026planning018167-2026

All source data

Unmodified official OCDS data retained by Tenderline for this procurement process.

Complete current OCDS release JSON
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    ]
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Complete JSON history (1 releases)
27 Feb 2026 · 018167-2026 · planning
{
  "id": "018167-2026",
  "tag": [
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  "date": "2026-02-27T17:48:17Z",
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    "description": "UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is seeking a new supplier to continue the delivery of the STEM Ambassadors programme. UKRI wants to maintain the focus on STEM in this new contract whilst also piloting activities to build further on the existing focus of the programme. \nThe STEM Ambassadors programme is an established, recognisable national programme that supports the UK Government in its ambitions to support young people to develop STEM skills and consider career opportunities in the STEM sector by connecting them with Ambassadors that work in the sector. It is the UK’s largest STEM engagement programme for young people aged 5-19. \nThe main priorities of the renewed programme will be to:\n- maintain its effectiveness as a national STEM volunteering infrastructure.\n- implement changes that improve the delivery and coordination of the programme\n- improve the programme’s recruitment of Ambassadors from universities and academic research organisations \n- design, develop and implement targeted, innovative interventions that focus on young people from minoritised and underrepresented groups that have potential to be scaled up in local schools and non-school organisations (such as youth and community groups and cultural organisations such as art galleries and museums).  \n- evaluate the effectiveness of the programme and targeted interventions.\nUKRI wants the programme to achieve the following objectives: \n1. Support the development and growth of the STEM skills required for working within STEM.\n2. To introduce and connect young people with the range of careers in STEM and challenge perceptions of what STEM is and who can work in STEM sectors.\n3. To inspire young people and build their trust and understanding of STEM.\nThe supplier will deliver these objectives through the following five work packages:\n• Work package 1: STEM Ambassador recruitment, induction, support and training\n• Work package 2: Employer and schools engagement and support\n• Work package 3: Coordinated UK wide activity at national and regional levels\n• Work package 4: Design, development, piloting and scaling of interventions targeting young people from underrepresented and minoritised groups\n• Work package 5: Monitoring and evaluation of programme and targeted interventions\n• Work package 6: Convening sector, network building and communications\nThe programme will be delivered from 1st October 2026 until 30th September 2032\nMarket Engagement Webinar: \nUKRI is holding a market engagement webinar on 16th March 2026 commencing at 14.00 with a presentation followed by a question and answer session. \nThis webinar is an opportunity to learn more about the \nSTEM Ambassadors Programme and the procurement process as well as to provide valuable feedback on the requirement. \nPlease note that not registering an interest will not prevent any organisation from participating in any future procurement, nor will any information shared during preliminary market engagement provide an advantage in any subsequent process. \nTo find out more information about this webinar and register your interest \nhttps://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/01f75b04-c7c5-48f4-8a03-7d3b838d4675@8bb7e08e-daa4-4a8e-927e-fca38db04b7e",
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}