Research Contracts and Tenders

Research tenders cover commissioned studies, evaluations and analysis rather than academic research funding. Recent examples include a Scottish Government-commissioned study on accessible housing guidance, a Home Office research and analysis call-off on homeland security, and a Department for Transport evaluation-research framework covering multiple policy programmes. Buyers range from central government departments to police and crime commissioners, regulators and universities running research for a third party.

Stotles brings together research tenders and contracts from 100+ portals into one search, so you do not have to check each portal separately, and you can set alerts for new opportunities across the UK and Ireland.

If you want to search the government portals directly, Find a Tender carries higher-value contracts across the UK and Contracts Finder carries lower-value contracts in England. Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and eTendersNI cover Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Ireland's eTenders covers Irish public bodies, and many councils, NHS bodies and housing associations publish on their own e-tendering portals such as ProContract. Much commissioned research is called off from the Crown Commercial Service Research and Insights dynamic purchasing system, and the Scottish and Welsh governments publish their own research calls on Public Contracts Scotland and Sell2Wales.

Research tenders are scored on the research design and methodology, the team's expertise, ethics and data handling, timetable and price. Buyers value evidence of similar evaluations, and many call off from research frameworks, so a framework place opens up repeat work.

Research involving people must handle personal data in line with UK data protection law and follow appropriate research ethics, and some work needs security-cleared staff. Tenders usually set minimum insurance cover, check financial standing and ask for evidence of similar research at selection stage. Under the Procurement Act 2023, suppliers can be excluded for certain criminal convictions, insolvency or failure to pay tax.

The Crown Commercial Service Research and Insights dynamic purchasing system is a common route for commissioned research and evaluation. Buyers such as the Welsh Government and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology run mini competitions on it for individual studies and evaluations.

Research buying mostly runs through research and evaluation frameworks, including the Crown Commercial Service Research and Insights dynamic purchasing system, with call-offs for single studies, and some open calls. Government departments, regulators, health bodies, councils and universities commission research, as do The National Lottery Community Fund and the Scottish Government.

Read departmental areas of research interest, evaluation plans for funded programmes, policy review timetables and framework renewal dates, which show research work coming due ahead of a notice. On Stotles you can track those signals and the buyers behind them, then follow a notice from pre-tender through to award.

Research notices carry 73110000 (Research services) and 73000000 (Research and development services and related consultancy services).