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Accredited learning programmes across the policy profession

Department for Education

This public procurement record has 11 releases in its history.

Award

23 Sep 2026 at 14:41

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

10 Jun 2026 at 12:20

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

21 May 2026 at 13:25

UK1 - Pipeline Notice
PlanningUpdate

26 Feb 2026 at 11:26

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
PlanningUpdate

26 Feb 2026 at 11:03

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

09 Feb 2026 at 13:36

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

04 Feb 2026 at 15:20

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

04 Feb 2026 at 15:18

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

02 Oct 2025 at 12:49

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
PlanningUpdate

19 Sep 2025 at 13:28

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
Planning

19 Sep 2025 at 13:21

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Education, acting for the Civil Service Policy Profession and government departments across the UK, procured accredited postgraduate learning programmes for civil servants. The work covers two offers: a 180-credit Master’s programme for experienced policy leaders, delivered to five cohorts, and postgraduate modules and qualifications at Award, Certificate and Diploma level for policy practitioners, including a separate Postgraduate Award for Government Policy Fast Streamers delivered through a three-year programme. The programmes are intended to strengthen policy skills and capability in line with the Policy Profession Standards, with participants continuing in their government roles. Delivery is for learners across UK government departments. The service category is higher education and accredited professional learning.

The competitive open procedure has concluded, with contracts awarded on 23 September 2026. Lot 1, the 180-credit Master’s programme, was awarded to the University of Manchester for £6,409,780. Lot 2, the postgraduate offer for policy practitioners and Fast Streamers, was awarded to King’s College London for £12,436,000. Both contract periods begin on 5 October 2026; Lot 1 runs to 31 August 2031 and Lot 2 to 31 August 2032. Each contract includes a single extension clause for additional learner cohorts, with a maximum possible end date of 31 August 2035. Evaluation weighted quality, including social value, at 70% and price at 30%. Selection required pass/fail checks on GDPR, financial standing, insurance and technical ability, including relevant higher education status and experience.

This award demonstrates demand for accredited postgraduate education designed around working civil servants, including advanced policy leadership and modular qualifications for experienced practitioners. A credible future provider would need degree-awarding powers and registration as a higher education institution with the Office for Students, alongside a strong record of tailoring, developing and delivering executive education to full-time professionals. Delivery capability should cover curriculum design, assessment and accreditation, learner enrolment and administration, support, accessibility and inclusion, and programme governance, quality assurance and evaluation. The buyer also valued social contributions that create opportunities for young people and widen access for underrepresented groups. Suppliers need robust GDPR controls, financial standing and suitable insurance. The two awards went to established universities, indicating that substantial capacity to serve learners across government and manage delivery at scale is relevant.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Accredited learning programmes across the policy profession

Notice Description

The Civil Service Policy Profession consists of approximately 38,500 civil servants, making it the second largest profession in government. It has a presence across the regions and nations of the UK. The work of policy professionals has a significant impact on the lives of people across the country. Investing in the development of policy makers supports the creation of stronger policies and improved outcomes for the public. The Policy Profession Unit, part of the Department for Education and operating on behalf of policy professionals across government, is responsible for overseeing the development of the Policy Profession. This includes building the skills and capability of policy professionals at different stages of their careers. Following a competitive procurement process, the Department for Education has awarded contracts for the development and delivery of accredited postgraduate learning programmes designed to build the skills and capabilities of UK civil servants in line with the Policy Profession Standards. The programmes will be available from September 2027 and will support policy professionals across government departments. The procurement was divided into two lots: Lot 1 (itt_3995): A contract for the delivery of five cohorts of an accredited 180-credit Master's programme, with one cohort delivered per academic year from Academic Year 2027/28. The programme is designed for experienced civil service policy leaders and will strengthen advanced policy capability, enabling participants to apply academic rigour and best practice to complex government policy challenges while continuing in their roles. Lot 2 (itt_3999): A contract for the delivery of a postgraduate accredited learning offer for civil service policy professionals, including standalone modules and qualifications at Postgraduate Award, Certificate and Diploma level for experienced practitioners. The contract also includes a separate 30-credit Postgraduate Award for Government Policy Fast Streamers, delivered annually through a structured three-year programme. The Department for Education will hold the contracts on behalf of the Civil Service Policy Profession; however, the programmes will be accessible to participants from all UK Government departments. The estimated values published are based on historic student volumes and expenditure. Actual contract expenditure will be determined by future learner numbers and departmental demand over the contract term. The Department for Education does not guarantee any minimum level of spend under the contracts and reserves the right to vary volumes in accordance with operational requirements.

Lot Information

Accredited learning offer for expert policy leaders (180 Credit Master's qualification)

Options: DfE reserves the right to extend this Contract by any period or periods of its choosing. Any extension shall be exercised by DfE giving the Supplier no less than three (3) months' written notice prior to the expiry of the then current term. DfE further reserves the right to extend the Contract to cover additional cohorts or cohort volumes. Where such extensions are exercised, the maximum value of the Contract extension must not exceed 100% of the initial Contract value, in accordance with the pricing mechanism to be set out in Schedule 3 (Charges), provided that the overall nature of the Contract remains unchanged.

Renewal: DfE reserves the right to extend this Contract by any period or periods of its choosing. Any extension shall be exercised by DfE giving the Supplier no less than three (3) months' written notice prior to the expiry of the then current term. DfE further reserves the right to extend the Contract to cover additional cohorts or cohort volumes. Where such extensions are exercised, the maximum value of the Contract extension must not exceed 100% of the initial Contract value, in accordance with the pricing mechanism to be set out in Schedule 3 (Charges), provided that the overall nature of the Contract remains unchanged.

Postgraduate level accredited learning offer for policy practitioners

Options: DfE reserves the right to extend this Contract by any period or periods of its choosing. Any extension shall be exercised by DfE giving the Supplier no less than three (3) months' written notice prior to the expiry of the then current term. DfE further reserves the right to extend the Contract to cover additional cohorts or cohort volumes. Where such extensions are exercised, the maximum value of the Contract extension must not exceed 100% of the initial Contract value, in accordance with the pricing mechanism to be set out in Schedule 3 (Charges), provided that the overall nature of the Contract remains unchanged.

Renewal: DfE reserves the right to extend this Contract by any period or periods of its choosing. Any extension shall be exercised by DfE giving the Supplier no less than three (3) months' written notice prior to the expiry of the then current term. DfE further reserves the right to extend the Contract to cover additional cohorts or cohort volumes. Where such extensions are exercised, the maximum value of the Contract extension must not exceed 100% of the initial Contract value, in accordance with the pricing mechanism to be set out in Schedule 3 (Charges), provided that the overall nature of the Contract remains unchanged.

Planning Information

If you are interested in attending this market engagement please register via Jaggaer before the event at 15:00 on 18th February 2026. Once registered, the supplier event area can be accessed by clicking "View Opportunities" on the main page. By registering for this market engagement event, you acknowledge that the information shared through this market engagement is provided in confidence and must not be disclosed outside your organisation. Please ensure all attendees from your organisation are aware of and comply with this requirement. Please register for Jaggaer using the URL link below: https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html Following registration, you will receive a message via the Jaggaer portal asking you to confirm this acknowledgement. You must respond in confirmation to this message before an event invite will be issued. Participants who have registered an expression of interest will receive a link to join the session via Microsoft Teams. If you do not receive the invite at least 24hrs before the event, please also email Core.PROCUREMENT@education.gov.uk to ensure you receive joining instructions in time. The event will help attendees to: • Gain a better understanding of our requirements for the proposed accredited learning programmes and how they relate to the three levels of the Policy Profession Standards. • Gain a better understanding of expected delivery timelines • Provide feedback on the feasibility of the requirements, including any constraints or pressures that may affect them- You will have the opportunity to share this feedback through a Request for Information after the event. We are aiming to develop our requirements based on market feedback and ensure our requirement is clear at the time of tender to the market. • Gain a better understanding of Cabinet Office requirements around Modern Slavery and the planned Social Value criteria This preliminary market engagement notice is for information only and is not a call for competition. This is intended to inform the market of a potential procurement exercise to appoint suppliers to work with the Department on providing the outlined service. The Department reserves the right not to enter a formal procurement process and not proceed with contract award. Accordingly, the Department will not be liable for any bid cost, expenditure, work, or effort incurred by any organisation in acting on the basis of this preliminary market engagement notice All information included in this notice is indicative and subject to change and is neither exhaustive nor binding. The authority reserves the right at its absolute discretion to amend it at the time of issue of any further notices or at any other time.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-059e28
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/090195-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

80 - Education and training services

CPV Codes

80300000 - Higher education services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£16,550,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
£16,550,000 £10M-£100M
Awards Value
£18,845,780 £10M-£100M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
23 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
13 Jul 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
5 Jun 2026Expired
Award Date
23 Sep 20262 weeks ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
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
SW1P 3BT
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
2
Supplier Names

The University of Manchester

Kings College London

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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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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