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Space Weather R2O Maintenance - University of Reading

MET OFFICE

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

02 Jul 2026 at 14:41

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

02 Jul 2026 at 14:37

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Met Office, based in Exeter, is leading a procurement process titled "Space Weather R2O Maintenance" in collaboration with the University of Reading. This initiative falls under the category of services focusing on research and experimental development. The procurement method is a direct award, with a contract period commencing on 17th July 2026 and concluding on 31st March 2027, with potential extensions until 2030. The procurement is tied to the UKRI SPF-funded programme SWIMMR, targeting advancements in space weather scientific modelling to enhance forecast capabilities. The primary location of service delivery is within the United Kingdom, specifically in the South West region. The entire process is currently in the award stage, and a key date to note is the scheduled future signature by 16th July 2026.

This procurement offers significant growth opportunities for businesses specialising in scientific research and development services, particularly those with expertise in space weather and related modelling capabilities. Companies with a strong technical understanding of space weather models, architecture, and scientific methodologies are well-suited to participate. The project's success is contingent on leveraging proprietary models and expert knowledge held by the University of Reading, which suggests there is limited availability for other suppliers. However, businesses capable of supporting and enhancing these models may find lucrative opportunities in this direct award contract, potentially benefiting from ongoing collaborations and enhancements to the Met Office's operational models.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Space Weather R2O Maintenance - University of Reading

Notice Description

'Space Weather Implementation, Measurement, Modelling and Risk' (SWIMMR), was a PS19.9m UKRI SPF funded programme led by STFC from 2019, and which largely concluded in 2023. Several of the projects were targeted at space weather scientific modelling gaps, with the aim of bringing them into operation for forecast capabilities in the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre (MOSWOC). The project 'S3' stood up systems and enabled collaboration between academic partners and the Met Office space weather programme, bringing a platform 'sandbox environment' and portal for monitoring outputs into use at the Met Office (MO) where our scientists worked with several academic partners to bring their models into use. Whilst the original SWIMMR programme made this collaboration possible, there is much work remaining to bring the models into working operational use by the target date of September 2026, the Research to Operations to Research (R2O2R) project is the next stage in this Programme. The Space Weather CSA with the Department for Science and Technology (DSIT) sets out a required output for the Met Office to Support the validation, integration and exploitation of new capabilities and data delivered through the SPF SWIMMR Programme. Met Office Space Weather (MOSW) has agreed with funding partner DSIT to deliver several targets for the next phase of work: Evidence of user need and user requirement to shape model use and output (MOSWOC being the primary user, with several end-users being the recipients of forecasting products). Technical and scientific requirements within MOSW for fully onboarding, working with and supporting the models and/or their outputs in operational settings. (Whilst the 'S3' platform and portal were helpful for the early stages of model collaboration, they are not able to support long term model and output development and operation). In terms of the projects to achieve modelling capability, we have agreed a number of these and their priority levels with the academic institutions who own the models.

Procurement Information

The deliverables within this contract are directly associated with models and code that have been developed and are owned by the partner (supplier) to a defined level of maturity under the SWIMMR Programme. The partner retains the intellectual property rights (IPR) for the model code and provides access to the Met Office under licence. As such, the partner is uniquely positioned to deliver the required maintenance, support and enhancement services. The purpose of the contract is to ensure the continued operation, maintenance and incremental improvement of the models within the Met Office Space Weather service. This work requires detailed technical understanding of the model architecture, development history and underlying scientific methodologies, all of which reside with the original developers at Reading. Continued support of the models is dependent on access to both the proprietary codebase and the specialist expertise held by Reading. Replicating this capability with an alternative supplier would require significant time, cost and risk, and would introduce unacceptable impacts to operational continuity and model performance. In summary, due to the proprietary nature of the model code and the reliance on expert knowledge held by Reading, there is no alternative supplier capable of delivering these services. The Met Office therefore requires access to the code and expertise that are solely held by Reading to ensure the ongoing operation and reliability of the service.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06c2ae
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/062412-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award 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

73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

CPV Codes

73100000 - Research and experimental development services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£164,880 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
2 Jul 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
30 Jun 20262 weeks ago
Contract Period
16 Jul 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 6-12 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
MET OFFICE
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
EXETER
Postcode
EX1 3PB
Post Town
Exeter
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK4 Devon
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK43 Devon CC
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Exeter
Electoral Ward
Pinhoe
Westminster Constituency
Exmouth and Exeter East

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

THE UNIVERSITY OF READING

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

JSON Markdown

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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