Award

Ask AI about this notice

Summarise, research or assess it with AI

View Markdown

Share this notice

Send this contract to a colleague

Incident Management Forecasting System (IMFS) software support, maintenance and development services

Environment Agency

This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

Implementation

19 Oct 2026 at 10:48

UK9 - Contract Performance Notice
Award

03 Nov 2025 at 14:57

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

16 Sep 2025 at 08:03

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

20 May 2025 at 12:47

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Environment Agency buys support, maintenance and development for its Incident Management Forecasting System (IMFS), which runs on Delft-FEWS software. The system is the Agency’s primary flood-forecasting platform and runs models for flood forecasting, groundwater modelling and bathing-water quality forecasting, as well as other services. The National Groundwater Modelling Service also uses Delft-FEWS. The work covers specialist software support and maintenance, plus development of code for new functionality requested by the Agency. The supplier is the software’s owner and licensor. The service supports the Agency’s forecasting systems in the United Kingdom; the delivery location is recorded nationally rather than at a particular town or site.

The procurement is complete, and Stichting Deltares was selected and signed the contract. The Environment Agency used a direct award, relying on Deltares’ ownership and licensing of Delft-FEWS and the absence of a reasonable technical alternative: replacing it would require redevelopment of the Agency’s forecasting models. The award was made on 16 September 2025. The signed contract runs from 20 October 2025 to 19 October 2030, with options to extend by a further three years and then two years, to a maximum end date of 19 October 2035. Its value is £14,925,560 excluding VAT (£17,910,672 including VAT). The requirement was arranged as one lot. No competitive evaluation criteria are recorded; the direct award rationale is the stated basis for selecting the supplier.

This requirement demonstrates demand for long-term specialist support of Delft-FEWS installations underpinning operational flood, groundwater and water-quality forecasting. The selected supplier was the software’s owner and licensor, and the Agency justified its choice on the grounds that no alternative provider could supply and support the product, while moving away from it would mean rebuilding its forecasting models. A credible competitor for a future requirement of this kind would therefore need to demonstrate direct rights and deep technical expertise in Delft-FEWS, along with the capacity to maintain a mission-critical forecasting platform and develop new functionality for the Agency’s models. Service delivery must also be dependable: the contract’s agreed measures include business-day help-desk cover, rapid response and resolution for the most severe incidents, and performance against availability and fault-resolution service levels.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Incident Management Forecasting System (IMFS) software support, maintenance and development services

Notice Description

The Incident Management Forecasting System (IMFS) is the Environment Agency's primary flood forecasting system and uses Deltares owned Delft-FEWS software as a platform to run models for flood forecasting, groundwater modelling, bathing water quality forecasting, and other services. The National Groundwater Modelling Service (NGMS) also uses Delft-FEWS software.

Procurement Information

Stichting Deltares are the sole owners and licensor of Delft-FEWS and there are no alternatives available to the Environment Agency without rewriting all forecasting models. It is the view of the Environment Agency that this contract is justifiable under Paragraph 5 in Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023 to award the contract for the supply and support of the Delft-FEWS software because, as Stichting Deltares own the intellectual property for the software, and develop and support the specialist Delft-FEWS software, therefore no reasonable alternative exists, nor can another organisation supply and support the product. Additionally, it is the view of the Environment Agency that this contract is also justifiable under Paragraph 6 in Schedule 5 of the Procurement Act 2023 to award the contract for the supply and support of the Delft-FEWS software because, at this time, no alternative solution is available because any decision to deviate from Delft-FEWS would require a redevelopment of all Environment Agency models, therefore competition is absent for technical reasons.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05189d
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/098339-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK9 - Contract Performance Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

CPV Codes

71351600 - Weather-forecasting services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£14,925,560 £10M-£100M
Contracts Value
£14,925,560 £10M-£100M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
19 Oct 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
16 Sep 20251 years ago
Contract Period
20 Oct 2025 - 19 Oct 2030 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active, Pending
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Environment Agency
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
SW1P 4DF
Postcode Area
South West London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Stichting Deltares

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

JSON Markdown

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.

Loading OCDS record...