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R2O Maintenance - University of Surrey

MET OFFICE

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

29 Jul 2026 at 16:43

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

28 Jul 2026 at 14:34

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The procurement process led by the Met Office, a central government public authority based in Exeter, focuses on the "R2O Maintenance - University of Surrey" contract within the services industry category, specifically research and experimental development services. The procurement is tied to the space weather programme, with the aim of maintaining and enhancing the operational use of scientific models for forecast capabilities at the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre. This direct award contract, totalling £299,889, was awarded to the University of Surrey. Key dates include the contract start on 1st September 2026, with the end date set for 31st March 2027, and potential annual extensions up to 2030. The procurement stage is currently at the award stage with relevant milestones scheduled for completion by 10th August 2026. The project location primarily focuses on the UKJ region, reflecting the operation's geographical scope.

This tender presents significant growth opportunities for businesses involved in scientific modelling, software maintenance and development, particularly those with expertise in space weather modelling and scientific collaborations. Companies possessing proprietary scientific models and the capability to provide technical maintenance, as well as having a robust understanding of complex model architectures, would be well-suited to compete in this sector. By aligning with such contracts, businesses can expand their service offerings, enhance their profile in the government contracting space, and potentially unlock avenues for long-term relationships with central government bodies like the Met Office. The unique requirements, such as intellectual property rights and technical expertise exclusively held by the existing partner, indicate the high value placed on domain-specific knowledge and proprietary innovations within these collaborations.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

R2O Maintenance - University of Surrey

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.

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 Surrey. 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 Surrey, 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 Surrey to ensure the ongoing operation and reliability of the service.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06d58e
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/071921-2026
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
£249,908 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
29 Jul 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
28 Jul 20261 weeks ago
Contract Period
31 Aug 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

UNIVERSITY OF SURREY(THE

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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