Official UK procurement notice
What works in AI Adoption within DCMS Sectors
Authority: Department for Culture, Media & Sport (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionFull information is provided within the specification.
DCMS are seeking to commission "what works" research into the impact and effectiveness of AI adoption interventions within DCMS sectors. We are interested in two broad sets of questions. The first is analysis of how businesses within DCMS sectors that are in the process of adopting AI achieve this, the challenges they face and the opportunities and benefits realised. We anticipate this will be explored through an ethnographic study that observes how individuals and teams actually use AI tools in their jobs. The second set of questions is what policy interventions work best to support businesses that wish to adopt AI, which we anticipate will be answered by testing hypothetical interventions through randomised control trials (RCTs). Bidders will be able to propose alternative methodologies if they think they suit these questions better; the core need for this project is to produce direct, robust evidence of what works, as opposed to what is self-reported (e.g. through interviews, focus groups, surveys, and similar) to work.
- Two-stage procedure: up to 5 candidates will be invited to tender.
How the procedure runs: Under Section 3(2) and Schedule 2: Exempted Contracts, Part 2: Subject-matter Exempted Contracts, Paragraph 11: Research and development services, of the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23), public contracts consisting solely of pure research and development that are intended for general public benefit are explicitly exempt from statutory more…
"covered procurement" rules. As this contract qualifies for the R&D Exemption under Schedule 2, Paragraph 11 of the Procurement Act 2023, DCMS will operate outside of the statutory constraints of a covered procurement. Because this is an exempted contract, the statutory challenge regime and automatic suspension provisions under Part 9 of the Procurement Act 2023 do not apply. However, DCMS is committed to conducting a fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory process in voluntary alignment with core PA23 principles This procurement is structured as a two-stage competitive procedure, Suppliers are invited to complete the Stage 1 Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) to participate in the shortlisting stage. Suppliers should read the PSQ Guidance document before completing the questionnaire. Bidders will be shortlisted based on pass/fail criteria and on their total weighted scores for the PSQ. The top 5 highest scoring candidates will be invited to Stage 2. The shortlisted candidates will be issued the Invitation to Tender (ITT) to submit their full technical proposal and commercial pricing for evaluation. This will be evaluated in accordance with the ITT guidance that will be released to the shortlisted candidates.
CPV: Research and development services and related consultancy services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1Lot 1Published value£1,500,000
- Value
- £1,500,000 exc. VAT · £1,800,000 inc. VAT
- Second stage
- up to 5 candidates invited to tender
What it takes to wini
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 morei
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).
Published award criteria (2)
- Quality — Full details will be provided at ITT stage (Stage2). 70% will be weighted towards quality 10% will be weighted towards social value
- Price — Pricing schedule will be provided within the ITT (Stage 2). 20% weighting will be toward price.
- Economic & financial standing
Suppliers are required to satisfy the baseline financial capacity conditions set out in Part 3 of the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ). Bidders must self-certify and provide two years of verified financial statements demonstrating a minimum annual more…
turnover equivalent to 1x the maximum estimated annual contract value (£400,000 per year). Where a bidder is a newly formed entity, or consortium relying on parent/associated entity support, alternative evidence of financial standing (such as parent company guarantees, bank references, or confirmed grant funding allocations) may be provided to satisfy this threshold on a pass/fail basis. - Technical & professional ability
To demonstrate technical capability under Part 3 of the PSQ, suppliers must provide details of two relevant case studies from the past five years that illustrate experience of a similar size, scale, and complexity to this requirement. Bidders must complete more…
either Route 1 (Q15a & Q15b) for formal commercial/public contract history or Route 2 (Q15c & Q15d) for non-contractual, grant-funded, or academic experience. Submissions across both routes will be scored and evaluated against four weighted criteria: Research Aims & Scope (10%), Methodological Design & Execution (40%), Deliverables & Practical Policy Impact (30%), and Project Delivery & Stakeholder Management (20%) DCMS will then shortlist the top 5 highest-scoring bidders to progress to Stage 2. - Condition of participationshortlisting
The department will use a two-stage competitive process. In Stage 1, candidate suppliers will be evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis against Part 1 (Supplier Information), Part 2 (Exclusions), and Part 3 Conditions of Participation (Financial Turnover threshold more…
of £400k/year and Required Insurance Levels). Bidders meeting all Pass/Fail conditions will then be evaluated and ranked based on their response to Question 15 (Technical Ability Case Studies, completed via Route 1 or Route 2). Responses will be evaluated against four weighted criteria: Research Aims & Scope (10%) Methodological Approach, Design & Execution (40%) Deliverables, Outputs & Practical Impact (30%) Project Delivery & Stakeholder Management (20%) The top 5 highest-scoring suppliers based on total weighted score will be invited to Stage 2 (Invitation to Tender). In the event of a tie for the 5th shortlist position, a sequential tie-break methodology will be applied based on unweighted scores in Criterion 2 (40%), Criterion 3 (30%), and Criterion 4 (20%). If still tied, all tied 5th-place suppliers will be invited to Stage 2.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How Department for Culture, Media & Sport buys Research and development services (CPV 73) — and who usually turns up
Department for Culture, Media & Sport’s own published record, next to the Greater London market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Research and development services (CPV 73) →
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.
Department for Culture, Media & Sport
contract notices in 36 months: 4 in division 73 (2 route not published) · 10 in all categories (3 route not published)
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 all categories, last 36 months: 3 lots. 2 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 3.5) and 1 from older notices (bids received, middle 3).
Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.
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 all categories, last 36 months: 3 lots.
High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.
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.
Nothing published for this buyer in this sector: no comparable estimate → award pairs.
A past pattern, not a price to bid.
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 all categories, last 24 months: 3 notices.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
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: 63 notices.
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 all categories, last 36 months: 7 notices.
Greater London · Research and development services (CPV 73)
contract notices delivered in Greater London in 36 months: 154 in division 73 (102 competed, 22 route not published) · the notice publishes no delivery location, so the authority’s registered region is used
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 industry (CPV 73), last 36 months: 52 lots. 28 lots are from Procurement Act 2023 notices (bids assessed, middle 5) and 24 from older notices (bids received, middle 4.5).
Nothing is filled in from UK-wide numbers. An empty tile means nothing usable was published.
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 industry (CPV 73), last 36 months: 52 lots.
High means a thin market or an incumbent that is hard to beat.
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 industry (CPV 73), last 36 months: 42 pairs.
A past pattern, not a price to bid.
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 industry (CPV 73), last 36 months: 23 notices.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
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 industry (CPV 73), last 36 months: 34 lots.
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 industry (CPV 73), last 36 months: 99 awards.
Registered address, so a national firm with a local branch counts as outside.
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 the Greater London market’s usual movement over 42 lots (division 73), applied to the £1,500,000 estimate on this notice. The range comes from the region’s middle half.
A benchmark, not a price to bid.
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.
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.
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.
| Supplier | Evidence | Last award | Their award vs estimate | Relevance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality Health Ltd SME | 10 class wins | this month | at estimate n=2 | 57% |
| Verian Group UK Limited Large | 5 class wins | this month | 3% below n=1 | 57% |
| CRITICAL RESEARCH LTD SME | 17 class wins | 20 months ago | 8% below n=1 | 57% |
| COGNISENSE LTD | 5 class wins | 16 months ago | at estimate n=3 | 56% |
| Deloitte Large | 6 class wins · 1 lots for this buyer | this month | 9% below n=6 | 56% |
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. 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
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Open for expressions of interest
- 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
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 24 Sept 2026, 17:17 BST
- Last source update
- 24 Sept 2026, 17:17 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end — 8 Feb 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Authority reference
105017- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06d489Find a Tender
- How it runs
Under Section 3(2) and Schedule 2: Exempted Contracts, Part 2: Subject-matter Exempted Contracts, Paragraph 11: Research and development services, of the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23), public contracts consisting solely of pure research and development that are intended for general public benefit are explicitly exempt from statutory "covered procurement" rules. As this contract qualifies for the R&D Exemption under more…
Schedule 2, Paragraph 11 of the Procurement Act 2023, DCMS will operate outside of the statutory constraints of a covered procurement. Because this is an exempted contract, the statutory challenge regime and automatic suspension provisions under Part 9 of the Procurement Act 2023 do not apply. However, DCMS is committed to conducting a fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory process in voluntary alignment with core PA23 principles This procurement is structured as a two-stage competitive procedure, Suppliers are invited to complete the Stage 1 Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) to participate in the shortlisting stage. Suppliers should read the PSQ Guidance document before completing the questionnaire. Bidders will be shortlisted based on pass/fail criteria and on their total weighted scores for the PSQ. The top 5 highest scoring candidates will be invited to Stage 2. The shortlisted candidates will be issued the Invitation to Tender (ITT) to submit their full technical proposal and commercial pricing for evaluation. This will be evaluated in accordance with the ITT guidance that will be released to the shortlisted candidates.
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via portal- Expression of interest (EOI)
- 23 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
- Tender submission deadline
- 23 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 14 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
- Shortlist
- up to 5 candidates invited to tender
The information and/or documents for this opportunity are available on the Atamis e-sourcing portal: https://dcms.my.site.com/login . You must register on this site to respond. If you are already registered you will not need to register again, simply use your existing username and password. Please note there is a password reminder link on the homepage. **Once registered on Atamis, click 'Find Opportunities' and register your interest. Once you have confirmed your interest, more…
go to 'My Proposal and Quotes' to view the documentation.*** Please ensure you have clicked 'SUBMIT' after uploading your response. Please ensure you review all communications and follow any instruction provided to you. Any questions or clarification requests regarding this opportunity must be submitted exclusively through the Atamis portal messaging system before the Clarification Deadline. If you experience any technical difficulties please contact the Atamis eSourcing Helpdesk at: [email protected] **Please ensure you have registered on the Central Digital Platform to obtain your unique identifier. This is a requirement for all public sector contracts governed under The Procurement Act.*** It is available at www.gov.uk/find-tenderTimeline
9 published dates · Europe/London- Planning notice published61 days ago27 Jul 2026, 16:18 BST
- Market engagement8 days ago · met18 Sept 2026, 23:59 BSTThe webinar has now concluded. To view the presentation and associated Q&A, please visit the links below. Presentation: drive.google.com/file/d/1ZLYwrdvYoMXU… ↗ Q&A drive.google.com/file/d/1wXijWILOUTIG… ↗
- Next notice expected5 days ago21 Sept 2026, 23:59 BST
- Tender notice published2 days ago24 Sept 2026, 17:17 BST
- Clarification questions byin 18 days14 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
- Expressions of interest byin 27 days23 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
- Submission deadlinein 27 days23 Oct 2026, 17:00 BST
- Award decision expected byin 135 days8 Feb 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 138 days12 Feb 2027, 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
6 events · 4 releases on Find a Tender · since 27 Jul 2026- Tender notice published24 Sept 2026, 17:17 BSTUK4
- Status changed to active24 Sept 2026, 17:17 BST
- Procurement method changed24 Sept 2026, 17:17 BST
- Preliminary market engagement notice published14 Sept 2026, 10:01 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published27 Jul 2026, 17:20 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published27 Jul 2026, 16:18 BSTUK2
Published amendments (2)
Title change
The Market Engagement webinar has now ended. A copy of the presentation is now available within this notice.
Routine re-releases (4)
- 2026-07: 1 release · 27 Jul 2026
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (5)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Conflict of interest declarationNot published
Notices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender