Planning

Environmental Monitoring System Framework

VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

08 Jan 2026 at 13:54

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Victoria and Albert Museum, located in London, UK, is in the planning stage of a public procurement process for an "Environmental Monitoring System Framework" aimed at replacing the museum's current system by January 2027. This initiative involves setting up a multi-supplier framework not only for the V&A but also for other UK cultural institutions. The procurement process is presently in the planning stage, with a preliminary market engagement notice published to gather insights through a survey due by 16th January 2026. The EMS framework will entail both software and hardware acquisitions, focusing on environmental controls like temperature, humidity, and possibly leak detection, with the total procurement value estimated at £10 million to £12 million. The contract is anticipated to commence on 1st September 2026 and run until 31st August 2030, with an initial engagement inviting views from potential suppliers by 30th January 2026.

This procurement presents a significant opportunity for businesses specialising in environmental monitoring solutions, particularly those with innovative capabilities suited to the needs of historical and cultural institutions. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs) could find this tender particularly appealing given the framework's inclusivity and scope for participation. The inclusion of a trial stage allows for the demonstration of real-world performance, providing new market entrants an opportunity to showcase their capabilities despite a lack of extensive case studies. Suppliers who successfully navigate the trials may secure long-term engagement given the framework's application across multiple cultural institutions, fostering business growth and opening up a broader customer base.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Environmental Monitoring System Framework

Notice Description

Can you help with our procurement of an environmental monitoring system framework? We are looking for your views on our proposed procurement approach. The V&A is a family of museums dedicated to the power of creativity. Our mission is to champion design and creativity in all its forms, advance cultural knowledge, and inspire makers, creators and innovators everywhere. Here at the V&A we monitor the environmental conditions of our galleries using an environmental monitoring system, or EMS. Our current EMS is going end of life in January 2027 so we are looking for a replacement. Our intention is to set up a multi-supplier framework that other UK cultural institutions can also easily use. The framework will consist of a number of suppliers that can provide a complete EMS solution (in terms of software, hardware and support services) to monitor temperature, relative humidity, light (lux), UV, and possibly leak/flood detection too. Our market research has identified that the EMS market for cultural sector use is currently emergent, and that many new providers do not yet have large relevant case studies that we can rely on to demonstrate the ability of their EMS. We are therefore planning to build in a trial stage as part of our procurement process to establish the framework agreement. V&A South Kensington is a large historic building and we want suppliers to demonstrate the real world performance of their EMS solution in this building before they can be appointed to the framework. The trial will involve a limited number of suppliers running their EMS for a 3 month period in a specific gallery to demonstrate that they can meet the requirements of operating an EMS in a challenging real world environment. By setting up a framework that other institutions can use to procure their EMS requirements, other institutions will be able to benefit from the outcome of our trials process. We appreciate that the kind of trial that we are proposing requires a large amount of your resource. We want to budget for providing an honorarium to those suppliers that are selected to proceed to the trial stage and that carry out a trial for us. However, our resources are limited. We are inviting potential suppliers to tell us their views by completing a short survey. The purpose of the survey is to provide evidence for us to consider when determining the number of providers and the value of the honorarium for the EMS trials. Please use the below link to respond to the survey: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=pqhybT5ixEK4FwRbTfKt1ALr7oRSeTZCnNMmYCrdTopUQ01PVDJWRzJGNUJCMUdLOEc3TkpCQjdIQyQlQCN0PWcu Responses submitted in this survey will not in any way impact any future submission for this or any other tender with the V&A. Any data received as part of our preliminary market engagement activities will be retained and deleted in line with Regulation 98 (4) of the Procurement Act 2023 (three years after a contract is entered into). We may share responses to this survey with other contracting authorities that wish to participate in the framework. We have carried out a conflicts interest assessment for all individuals that will have sight of the responses received. To fulfil our duty under the Regulation 16(4) of the Procurement Act 2023 we will include in our tender pack an aggregated summary of all responses received once we go out to market for these services but that summary will not contain any personally identifiable information.

Planning Information

Please use the link below to respond to the survey: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=pqhybT5ixEK4FwRbTfKt1ALr7oRSeTZCnNMmYCrdTopUQ01PVDJWRzJGNUJCMUdLOEc3TkpCQjdIQyQlQCN0PWcu It is optional to provide an email address, but if you do we may contact you with any follow up questions about your response.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0601ea
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/001481-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Goods
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

38 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

90 - Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services

CPV Codes

38290000 - Surveying, hydrographic, oceanographic and hydrological instruments and appliances

38400000 - Instruments for checking physical characteristics

90711500 - Environmental monitoring other than for construction

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£10,000,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
8 Jan 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
30 Jan 20262 weeks to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
31 Aug 2026 - 31 Aug 2030 4-5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
procurement@vam.ac.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW7 2RL
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)
TLI33 Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Kensington and Chelsea
Electoral Ward
Brompton & Hans Town
Westminster Constituency
Kensington and Bayswater

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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