Award

Ask AI about this notice

Summarise, research or assess it with AI

View Markdown

Share this notice

Send this contract to a colleague

VRU - Expert Partner for Youth Digital Safety in London

The Mayor's Office for Policing And Crime

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

08 Sep 2026 at 13:53

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

07 Jul 2026 at 15:44

UK4 - Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, through London’s Violence Reduction Unit, commissioned expert services to strengthen youth digital safety across London. The work concerns online harms affecting children and young people aged 11 to 25, including exploitation, peer conflict, misogyny, violence against women and girls, harassment, technology-enabled abuse and risks that can contribute to offline violence. Lot 1 covers research, policy and evidence: monitoring emerging trends, building the evidence base and translating research into policy and practice. Lot 2 covers programme development and learning: supporting delivery, evaluation, learning and improvement across digital safety initiatives. Both lots involve research and development consultancy services delivered for London-wide, multi-agency prevention and safeguarding work.

The procurement has been awarded following an open procedure. Lot 1, Research, Policy and Evidence Partner, was awarded to Public Group International Ltd on 8 September 2026 for £231,090 including VAT. Lot 2, Programme Development and Learning Partner, was awarded to Social Development Direct Ltd on the same date for £428,880 including VAT. Both contracts run from 1 October 2026 to 31 October 2028, with an optional extension to 31 October 2029. Each lot was evaluated on quality at 85% and price at 15%. The tender had seven bids for Lot 1 and six for Lot 2. The planned contract signature date is 30 September 2026. Both lots were identified as suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community or social enterprises.

This procurement demonstrates sustained London-wide demand for specialist youth digital safety expertise at substantial programme scale. A credible future competitor would need strong capability in online harms affecting young people aged 11 to 25, including safeguarding, exploitation, misogyny, violence against women and girls, technology-enabled abuse and links between online and offline violence. Relevant experience should span research, evidence development, policy advice, programme design, evaluation, learning and practical support for frontline services. Providers should be able to work across local authorities, education, health, policing, government and voluntary and community organisations, while incorporating the voices of young people and practitioners. Partnership or consortium delivery could strengthen complementary expertise, capacity and reach. The requirement is suitable for SMEs and voluntary, community or social enterprises.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

VRU - Expert Partner for Youth Digital Safety in London

Notice Description

About the VRU The London Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), hosted within the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), pioneers a partnership-based public health approach to tackling violence through prevention and early intervention. Since 2019, the VRU has invested in over 550,000 targeted interventions for young people across London. Working with partners across government, local authorities, education, health, policing and the voluntary and community sector, the VRU supports coordinated action at the key touchpoints that influence a young person's journey: early years and families, education, positive opportunities, youth work, and communities and place. Central to the VRU's approach is a commitment to embedding the voices of young people, practitioners and communities in policy, programme design and decision-making. Programme Background The VRU recognises that the rapid growth of digital platforms and technologies has created both new opportunities and new risks for children and young people. While online spaces can support connection, creativity, learning and participation, they can also expose young people to harmful content, exploitation, misogyny, harassment, coercion and technology-enabled abuse, and can contribute to the escalation of offline harm and violence. As digital risks continue to evolve, there remains a significant gap between young people's lived experiences of the online world and the systems, policies and services designed to support them. The VRU is therefore developing a wider digital safety programme to strengthen London's response to online harms through a more coordinated, place-based and multi-agency approach. This programme is expected to include: - Strengthening trusted adult capability through specialist training and practical support. - Piloting innovative digital youth work approaches that engage young people safely in digital spaces. - Supporting local authorities and borough partners to test and strengthen local responses to online harms through safeguarding and place-based practice. - Building a stronger London-wide evidence base, strategic understanding and coordinated regional response. To support this ambition, the VRU is seeking to appoint an Expert Partner for Youth Digital Safety in London. The successful provider(s) will help the VRU keep pace with emerging trends in online harms, strengthen the evidence and practice base, embed youth-informed approaches, and support the development of a more coordinated public health response across London. Description of the Service The appointed provider(s) will act as an expert partner to the VRU, delivering specialist support across policy, research, evidence, programme development, learning and practice translation. The role will support the wider digital safety programme by strengthening connections between research, policy, safeguarding and frontline delivery, ensuring that insight and learning are translated into practical improvements for young people, practitioners and systems across London. The commission is structured into two complementary lots: Lot 1: Research, Policy and Evidence Partner Lot 2: Programme Development and Learning Partner Bidders may apply for one or both lots, and proposals may be led by a single organisation, partnership or consortium. The VRU particularly welcomes collaborative delivery models that bring together complementary expertise, capacity and reach. Target Audience The commission focuses on online harms affecting children and young people aged 11-25, with particular relevance to the VRU's violence reduction, safeguarding and prevention agenda. Providers should demonstrate an understanding of how digital risks, behaviours and protective factors may vary across adolescence and young adulthood, and how they may be shaped by factors such as age, gender, race, sexuality, disability, neurodivergence, socio-economic disadvantage and wider vulnerability. The work is expected to address a broad and evolving range of online harms, including peer conflict, harmful social media dynamics, exploitation, violence against women and girls (VAWG), misogyny, technology-enabled abuse and online harms that may contribute to or escalate offline violence. The scope is intentionally flexible and intended to support the VRU in identifying emerging risks and priority areas over time. Intended Outcomes The commission will contribute to: - Stronger strategic understanding of digital safety and opportunity for children and young people. - Stronger multi-agency safeguarding responses to digital risk. - Youth-informed research, policy and delivery across the wider VRU digital safety programme. - Stronger learning partner support and programme improvement across priority delivery strands. - More practical and timely support across the wider VRU digital safety programme. - A more coordinated public health response to online harms across London. - Stronger external influence and strategic leadership on youth digital safety. Timeframe and Budget The intended contract period is 36 months, from October 2026, comprising an initial 24-month term with an option to extend for a further 12 months, subject to funding, performance and relevant approvals. The budget breakdown is detailed below: Lot 1 - Fixed Services: PS110,600 Lot 2 - Fixed Services: PS205,400 In addition, optional draw-down provision may be commissioned subject to programme need, funding availability and approvals: Lot 1: up to PS82,000 Lot 2: up to PS152,000 The maximum potential contract value is therefore up to PS550,000 excluding VAT, inclusive of core and optional provision. The VRU does not guarantee that any draw-down provision will be utilised. Note: Market engagement was conducted on 29th June 2026, you can see the notice here https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/058240-2026

Lot Information

Research, Policy and Evidence Partner

Renewal: optional 12 months extension

Programme Development and Learning Partner

Renewal: Optional extension of 12 months

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06c583
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/084903-2026
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, SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

CPV Codes

73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

73200000 - Research and development consultancy services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£660,000 £500K-£1M
Lots Value
£660,000 £500K-£1M
Awards Value
£659,970 £500K-£1M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
8 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
5 Aug 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
8 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Contract Period
1 Oct 2026 - 31 Oct 2028 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
The Mayor's Office for Policing And Crime
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SE1 0LL
Postcode Area
South East London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI4 Inner London - East
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI44 Lewisham and Southwark
Delivery Location
TLI London
Local Authority
Southwark
Electoral Ward
Borough & Bankside
Westminster Constituency
Bermondsey and Old Southwark

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
2
Supplier Names

PUBLIC GROUP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED

Social Development Direct

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.

Loading OCDS record...