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Free School Meals (FSM) Expansion Evaluation

Department for Education

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

30 Sep 2026 at 16:04

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Education commissioned an evaluation of the expansion of free school meals. This is research and evaluation work, within the broader field of research and development and related consultancy. The procurement describes the requirement only as “FSM Expansion Evaluation”; it does not set out specific research questions, methods, outputs or delivery locations. The buyer is the Department for Education. The listed delivery coverage spans the United Kingdom, Europe, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, British Overseas Territories and the rest of the world, so the work is not confined to a single local area.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded. Alma Economics was selected through a call-off from a framework agreement, using a selective process. The award date was 25 September 2026 and the awarded value is £599,200. The contract runs from 25 September 2026 to 31 December 2031. The tender deadline was 27 July 2026. The available procurement details do not describe the evaluation criteria or explain how bids were assessed, and do not identify separate lots. The award is active. The buyer is the Department for Education, and the selected supplier is Alma Economics.

This award shows demand from the Department for Education for research and evaluation focused specifically on the expansion of free school meals, delivered through a framework call-off. Suppliers competing for a similar requirement would need credible research and evaluation capability relevant to education policy and free school meals, as well as the capacity to deliver work with the wide geographic coverage listed for this contract. The selected supplier is identified as an SME and voluntary, community or social enterprise, and the procurement was marked suitable for both SMEs and such organisations. These details indicate that smaller suppliers and social enterprises could be relevant competitors, although no particular accreditation, staffing profile, research method or prior experience requirement is stated. The scope is narrowly focused on evaluating this policy expansion, rather than general education consultancy.」}-vesmorescence of? Wait JSON has weird closing quote? At end string ends 「 and curly quote? I output

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Free School Meals (FSM) Expansion Evaluation

Notice Description

FSM Expansion Evaluation

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-b5fd17-9a8f621d-f2a1-4752-8b7f-6923ce98a923
Publication Source
Contracts Finder
Latest Notice
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/52979075-b770-4ec0-a5c7-028005d30eb1
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Call-off from a framework agreement
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

CPV Codes

73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£599,200 £500K-£1M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
30 Sep 20266 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
25 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Contract Period
25 Sep 2026 - 31 Dec 2031 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Not Specified
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Department for Education
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SE1 3PL
Postcode Area
South East London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI4 Inner London - East
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI44 Lewisham and Southwark
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Southwark
Electoral Ward
London Bridge & West Bermondsey
Westminster Constituency
Bermondsey and Old Southwark

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Alma Economics

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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