Award

Soil Sample Metabarcoding for Natural England's Long Term Monitoring Network 2025 - 2026

NATURAL ENGLAND

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

23 Jan 2026 at 12:00

TenderUpdate

12 Dec 2025 at 09:37

Tender

01 Dec 2025 at 12:06

Summary of the contracting process

The procurement process for the "Soil Sample Metabarcoding for Natural England's Long Term Monitoring Network 2025 - 2026" project was led by Natural England, a public authority in central government based in London, United Kingdom. The final stage was the award, which took place on 23rd January 2026, following an open competition procurement method. This contract, classified under research laboratory services, involves the analysis of soil samples to deliver comprehensive data on bacteria and fungi essential for long-term monitoring. The contract value was £34,960.10, running from 12th January to 25th March 2026. The winning supplier was the University of Sheffield, located in Sheffield, United Kingdom.

This tender offers substantial opportunities for research-oriented entities, particularly those specialising in environmental science and laboratory services, to showcase expertise in innovative data analysis techniques such as metabarcoding. Given the project's focus on providing repeatable and comparable data in line with historical analyses, organisations with strong capabilities in scientific research and data interpretation within environmental contexts are well-placed to benefit. The nature of the work being under a central government monitoring programme also provides prestige and potential for future collaborations and projects within the public sector.

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Notice Title

Soil Sample Metabarcoding for Natural England's Long Term Monitoring Network 2025 - 2026

Notice Description

This project is to analyse soil samples collected from a range of sites and time points by Natural England's Long Term Monitoring Network using metabarcoding. The project will deliver raw and taxonomically assigned data on bacteria and fungi within the samples, along with meta-data and reporting sufficient to ensure analyses are fully repeatable. As the soil samples originate from a longer term monitoring programme this project should aim to produce data comparable with previous metabarcoding analyses, as detailed in the specification.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05ebd8
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/006139-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Below threshold - open competition
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services


CPV Codes

73111000 - Research laboratory services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£49,500 Under £100K
Lots Value
£49,500 Under £100K
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£34,960 Under £100K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
23 Jan 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
15 Dec 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
9 Jan 20261 months ago
Contract Period
12 Jan 2026 - 25 Mar 2026 1-6 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
NATURAL ENGLAND
Contact Name
Matthew Shepherd
Contact Email
matthew.j.shepherd@naturalengland.org.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1P 4DF
Post Town
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

UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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