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Thematic Evaluation - Community Connection

Big Lottery Fund

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

09 Sep 2026 at 11:50

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
TenderUpdate

30 Jun 2026 at 11:54

UK4 - Tender Notice
Tender

29 Jun 2026 at 21:01

UK4 - Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The National Lottery Community Fund commissioned an independent thematic evaluation focused on community connection and cohesion. The work is evaluation consultancy, covering the development of an approach for cross-Fund thematic evaluations, testing that approach through a pilot, and making recommendations for embedding thematic evaluation into future practice. It is intended to generate impact evidence across multiple funding portfolios while also producing methodological learning for the Fund’s Impact and Evaluation Team. The requirement is delivered across the United Kingdom. The buyer is The National Lottery Community Fund, based in Birmingham. The procurement is classified as evaluation consultancy services (CPV 79419000) and is a services contract. The requirement is suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community or social enterprises.

The procurement has been awarded through an open procedure. Twenty-one bids were received, with 12 reaching the final stage, including seven from SMEs and one from a VCSE. Technical quality carried 85% of the evaluation and commercial considerations 15%; the criteria were amended to correct the published breakdown. Sheffield Hallam University was selected on 26 August 2026 for £199,535 excluding VAT (£239,442 including VAT). The award remains pending the standstill period, which ends on 18 September 2026, with contract signature scheduled by 23 September 2026. The contract period is 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2028. The original estimated value was £200,000 excluding VAT (£240,000 including VAT). The tender deadline was 24 July 2026 at 14:00, enquiries closed on 17 July 2026 at 16:00, and the award decision period ended on 1 September 2026.

This procurement indicates demand for suppliers able to design and deliver independent evaluations spanning multiple funding programmes and portfolios, rather than assessing a single programme in isolation. A credible competitor would need strong evaluation consultancy capability, including thematic or cross-cutting research design, impact assessment, evidence synthesis and the ability to test a methodology through a live pilot. The requirement also favours organisations that can turn evaluation findings into practical recommendations for embedding a new approach in future organisational practice. Suppliers should be able to produce robust, publishable evidence while explaining methodological learning clearly to a public-sector funder. The competitive field included SMEs and a VCSE, showing that this scale and type of evaluation can be pursued by specialist organisations as well as universities.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Thematic Evaluation - Community Connection

Notice Description

Our Evidence and Impact Strategy sets out an ambition to increase the proportion of our funding supported by independent impact evaluations. A key way for achieving this is through commissioning and publishing cross-Fund impact evaluations on themes linked to our missions (e.g. environmental sustainability and community connection). To support this ambition, the Impact & Evaluation (I&E) Team is undertaking a project designed to: a. develop an pproach for carrying out cross-Fund thematic evaluation b. test this approach through a pilot thematic evaluation c. make recommendations for embedding thematic evaluation into future practice While the fund regularly commissions evaluations for specific programmes, undertaking an evaluation focused on a theme cutting across multiple portfolios is new. This pilot evaluation will therefore generate both impact evidence on a theme, and methodological learning from the process to support in decisions about rollong this approach out more widely.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06bf8e
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/085323-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
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, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

CPV Codes

79419000 - Evaluation consultancy services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£200,000 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
£200,000 £100K-£500K
Awards Value
£199,535 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
9 Sep 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
24 Jul 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
26 Aug 20262 months ago
Contract Period
1 Oct 2026 - 31 Mar 2028 1-2 years
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
Big Lottery Fund
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
BIRMINGHAM
Postcode
B15 1TR
Postcode Area
Birmingham
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLG West Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLG3 West Midlands
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLG31 Birmingham
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Birmingham
Electoral Ward
Edgbaston
Westminster Constituency
Birmingham Edgbaston

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Sheffield Hallam University

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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