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Provision of Audience Research Services

National Galleries of Scotland

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Tender

13 Aug 2026 at 16:02

Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

National Galleries of Scotland seeks an audience research services provider to gather and analyse visitor insight for its 2030 Strategy, Business Plan, key performance indicators, special projects and organisation-wide planning. The work covers fieldwork surveys, project management, client data access, analysis and reporting, provided as required across four gallery sites in Edinburgh. NGS may also require services at a fifth gallery site currently under construction, and may commission additional related research where permitted. This is a services contract for market research and audience insight. The arrangement is non-exclusive, with no guaranteed volume of work, and NGS may continue to procure services outside the agreement when required.

The procurement has reached tender: NGS invited offers through an open procedure, requiring both an SPD and tender response, submitted electronically in English. The tender deadline was 28 September 2026 at 12:00 BST; bids were opened at that time, with evaluation scheduled from the deadline. The contract is anticipated to start on 1 April 2027 for 39 months, with extensions of up to 27 additional months, giving a possible maximum duration of 66 months. The estimated total value is £396,363 excluding VAT, including core and optional requirements; the core budget is capped at £60,000 per year excluding VAT. Quality carries 80% and price 20%. The three highest-scoring tenderers may be invited to presentations on 4 or 5 November 2026.

This opportunity suits established market research, social research, audience insight or analytics providers able to design and deliver robust, flexible data-capture methodologies across multiple cultural venues. Suppliers must be members of, accredited by, or operate to the standards and professional requirements of the Market Research Society or an equivalent recognised professional body. They should be able to provide suitably qualified staff for survey fieldwork, project management, data access, analysis and reporting, with staff names and qualifications required in the bid. Cyber Essentials Basic or an equivalent certification must be obtained before contract commencement and maintained throughout the term. ISO/IEC 27001 is desirable, although equivalent information-security management arrangements may be accepted. Quality assurance, health and safety, environmental management and sound financial capacity are also required.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of Audience Research Services

Notice Description

The Board of Trustees for the National Galleries of Scotland ("NGS") wish to award a Contract for the Provision of Audience Research Services. The Service Provider is required to conduct Audience Research to provide insight and analysis about our visitors in order to support the Organisation's 2030 Strategy, Business Plan and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), special projects and inform organisation-wide strategic planning. The Service Provider shall be a member of, accredited by, or operate in accordance with the standards, codes of conduct and professional requirements of the Market Research Society (MRS) or an equivalent recognised professional body for market research, social research, insight or analytics. This Contract shall primarily provide Fieldwork Surveys and associated Project Management, Client Data Access, Analysis and Reporting for each of our four gallery sites. Services will be agreed to on an "as required" basis with no commitment to a minimum volume of work. NGS may, at its absolute discretion, require the Service Provider to provide Audience Research Services at this fifth site, currently under construction, at any time during the Contract term. If permitted by applicable procurement legislation, where additional audience research requirements arise during the Contract term that constitute an extension of the Services, NGS reserves the right to procure such additional services from the Service Provider. For full details of the Contract Requirements please refer to the associated Tender and Contract Documents. The Service Provider must have a clear understanding of the contract requirements and the organisational needs of NGS. As part of the tender exercise, the Service Provider must detail a robust and flexible methodology for conducting Audience Research Services that will meet all data capture requirements. There is no commitment to a minimum spend over the duration of the Contract. Under this Contract, no minimum spend is guaranteed. The agreement will be non-exclusive i.e. NGS reserves the right, in certain, circumstances, to procure out with the Contract Agreement, as and when required. In the event of unsatisfactory performance by the successful Service Provider and the termination of the contract by either party, NGS reserves the right to negotiate the continuance of the services with the second and third placed Service Providers.

Lot Information

Lot 1

The procurement will be conducted through the use of the Open Procedure. Service Providers must complete and submit both an SPD and Tender response. Economic Operators may be excluded from this competition if they are in any of the situations referred to in Regulation 58 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. Given the nature of the contract, Tenderers must comply with minimum security requirements. The Service Provider must obtain valid Cyber Essentials Basic (or equivalent) certification prior to the Contract Commencement Date and maintain throughout the Contract term including any extension periods. It is desirable that the Service Provider hold current ISO/IEC 27001 (or equivalent) certification or otherwise Tenderers must demonstrate equivalent information security management arrangements as part of the quality assessment. Full details are set out in the Tender and Contract Documents. The maximum available budget to deliver the Core Contract Requirements is 60,000 GBP per annum excluding VAT. Tenderers are required to submit pricing that can be delivered within this annual budget for Years 1 - 5 of the Contract, including any optional extension periods. Any Tender exceeding the maximum available budget, may be deemed unaffordable and may be excluded from further consideration. Tenderers must provide fixed prices for Years 1 - 3 of the Contract, and indicative prices for Years 4 & 5. The prices submitted for Years 4 and 5 shall represent the maximum prices payable during any extension period unless NGS approves a formal change request due to the Service Provider sufficiently demonstrating exceptional circumstances. Cost Control Mechanisms for Years 4 & 5 are detailed under Schedule 2 of the Contract Agreement. For this Tender Competition, and for commercial evaluation purposes, NGS reserves the right to assess affordability against a maximum annual budget of 60,000 GBP for each contract year, including any optional extension periods. NGS reserves the right not to award where it considers submitted pricing to exceed available funding. Information in respect of Optional Contract Requirements, and estimate additional spend, has been provided at section V1.3 'Additional 'Information'. The 'Estimate Total Contract Value' provided at II.1.5, includes both estimate spend for Core Contract Requirements and estimate spend for Optional Contract Requirements. Additional information: The top three highest scoring Tenderers (price & quality combined score) will be invited to a Tender Presentation stage on 4th and/or 5th November 2026 (dates may be subject to change). Full details provided in the Tender Documents.

Options: NGS reserves the right, where permitted by applicable procurement legislation, to award a public contract using the negotiated procedure without prior publication in accordance with Regulation 33(8) of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. NGS reserves the right, where permitted by applicable procurement legislation, to modify the Contract in accordance with Regulation 72 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. Further information is included in the Tender and Contract Documents.

Renewal: The Contract is anticipated to commence by 1st April 2027 for a duration of 39 months, with the option to extend on more than one occasion by a variable period of up to an additional 27 months, resulting in a maximum possible Contract duration of 66 months. Each contract year will run from 1st April through 31st March.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e3e0
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077364-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

79310000 - Market research services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£396,363 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
£396,363 £100K-£500K
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
13 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
28 Sep 20262 months to go
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
NGS may re-let this Contract prior to the end of the initial 3 year period. A Contract Notice will be published circa 6-12 months prior to the end of the initial period. If not, the option to extend will be used.

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
National Galleries of Scotland
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
EDINBURGH
Postcode
EH4 3DS
Postcode Area
Edinburgh
Country
Scotland
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLM Scotland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLM1 East Central Scotland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLM13 City of Edinburgh
Delivery Location
TLM75 City of Edinburgh
Local Authority
City of Edinburgh
Electoral Ward
Inverleith
Westminster Constituency
Edinburgh West

Further Information

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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