Award

Pilot for Voting Hub 2026 Elections

MILTON KEYNES CITY COUNCIL

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

03 Mar 2026 at 15:55

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Milton Keynes City Council has awarded a direct contract to Civica for the development of software to modernise the voting experience in the 2026 elections. This project, titled "Pilot for Voting Hub 2026 Elections," focuses on two key elements: Civica Polling Station software and Xpress Electoral Management Software, aiming to test advanced voting hubs. The contract underscores a collaboration between Milton Keynes City Council and Redditch Borough Council, with a significant emphasis on enhancing voter satisfaction, accessibility, and security. The procurement process is at the award stage as of 3rd March 2026, with the contract period set between 1st April 2026 to 30th June 2026. This initiative falls under the services category, with Civica acting as the primary supplier, located in London.

This tender presents substantial opportunities for businesses involved in IT services, software development, and electoral management systems, particularly in the United Kingdom's public sector domain. Civica's role in this endeavour highlights potential growth for firms specialising in innovative software solutions that align with government projects aimed at enhancing public service delivery. Businesses that can offer expertise in developing secure and user-friendly voting systems, or those capable of scaling unique software prototypes, are well-positioned to leverage this contract for future opportunities. Engaging in this tender can pave the way for establishing further collaborations with local authorities and drive advancements in electoral technology, contributing to the democratic process's transparency and efficiency.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Pilot for Voting Hub 2026 Elections

Notice Description

Milton Keynes City Council will be conducting a Direct award contract to Civica, for the required software development of: * (a) Civica Polling Station (CPS), on behalf of Milton Keynes City Council and Redditch Borough Council 2026 elections ; and * (b) Xpress Electoral Management Software (EMS) for all Civica EMS clients, participating in election pilots in local elections. Civica's software development of Xpress EMS and CPS will help local authorities to deliver "Advanced voting in hubs and on the day voting hubs" to achieve the pilots aim to modernise the voting experience by introducing greater flexibility, improving accessibility, and enhancing voter satisfaction while safeguarding the integrity, security, and transparency of the democratic process.

Procurement Information

It is considered that the Council can directly award a contract to develop the software for flexible voting pilots under the prototypes and development justification (Schedule 5 paragraphs 2 and 3). This justification may be used to directly award a contract where: The public contract concerns the production of a prototype or supply of other goods or services for the purposes of testing the suitability of the goods or services or researching the viability of producing or supplying the goods or services at scale and developing them for that purpose, or other research, experiment, study or development. The novel goods or services are goods or services designed or developed at the request of the contracting authority. The required software is a novel and will allow the Council, other local authorities participating in the trial and central government to test the suitability of the software as well as ability to deliver the flexible models for future elections. The required software is not currently available in the market and therefore competitive tendering is not feasible. The software development is being made at the request of the Council as required by regulation 5 of PA23

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06615e
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/019132-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK5 - Transparency Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

CPV Codes

72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

72260000 - Software-related services

72262000 - Software development services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£1,100,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
3 Mar 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
3 Mar 20261 weeks ago
Contract Period
31 Mar 2026 - 30 Jun 2026 1-6 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
MILTON KEYNES CITY COUNCIL
Additional Buyers

REDDITCH BOROUGH COUNCIL

Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
MILTON KEYNES
Postcode
MK9 3EJ
Post Town
Milton Keynes
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLG West Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLG1 Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLG12 Worcestershire CC
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Redditch
Electoral Ward
Central
Westminster Constituency
Redditch

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

CIVICA

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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