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Evaluation of Cultural Development Fund

The Arts Council of England

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

11 Sep 2026 at 16:38

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Arts Council England commissioned services to evaluate its Cultural Development Fund (CDF). The requirement is for a rolling programme evaluation covering all CDF rounds, consolidating existing evidence and strengthening ongoing monitoring. The work is intended to assess the programme’s economic and social outcomes at programme level and explain its impact to stakeholders including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the cultural sector and wider government. This is an economic research and programme evaluation service, classified under CPV 79311400. The contracted work is delivered across the United Kingdom. The buying organisation is Arts Council England, a public authority based in Manchester. The requirement centres on evidence-based evaluation, impact assessment and clear reporting about a publicly funded cultural development programme.

The procurement is complete and one supplier was selected for the single lot. Steer Davies & Gleave Limited was awarded the contract on 5 August 2026, with the contract running from 6 August 2026 to 31 March 2029. The contract value is £69,054.47 excluding VAT, or £82,865.36 including VAT. The process was a below-threshold procedure, recorded as “unknown” in the procurement details. The award is active and the contract is active. The published outcome identifies services rather than goods or works. The evaluation requirement was framed around a proportionate, theory-based rolling approach that builds on evidence from every CDF round, supports continuing monitoring and demonstrates economic and social outcomes. No separate scored evaluation criteria are recorded in the procurement outcome.

This requirement indicates demand for specialists in public programme evaluation, economic and social research and cultural-sector impact assessment. Strong competitors for a future requirement would need to design proportionate, theory-based evaluation methods; consolidate evidence across multiple funding rounds; establish or improve monitoring arrangements; and assess outcomes at programme level rather than focusing only on individual projects. Useful capability would include analysing qualitative and quantitative evidence, linking activity to economic and social outcomes, and producing clear findings for government departments, cultural organisations and wider public-sector stakeholders. The work suits an established research or consultancy team able to manage a rolling evaluation over a substantial programme, maintain consistency across successive rounds and turn complex evidence into credible impact reporting for policy and funding decisions.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Evaluation of Cultural Development Fund

Notice Description

Arts Council England is seeking a Contractor to deliver a rolling programme evaluation of the Cultural Development Fund (CDF). The core aim of the evaluation is to deliver a proportionate, theory-based rolling evaluation that consolidates and builds on existing evidence across all rounds of CDF and strengthens ongoing monitoring demonstrating the extent to which the economic and social outcomes of CDF have been achieved at a programme level. This will be important to tell the story of impact to key stakeholders including DCMS, the cultural sector and wider Government department

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f89a
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/086618-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Below threshold - unknown
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

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

CPV Codes

79311400 - Economic research services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£69,054 Under £100K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
11 Sep 20264 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
6 Aug 2026 - 31 Mar 2029 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
The Arts Council of England
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
MANCHESTER
Postcode
M1 1FN
Postcode Area
Manchester
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLD North West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLD3 Greater Manchester
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLD33 Manchester
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Manchester
Electoral Ward
Piccadilly
Westminster Constituency
Manchester Central

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Steer Davies Gleave

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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