Award

Strategic Evaluation of the Museum Futures Programme

MUSEUMS GALLERIES SCOTLAND

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Summary of the contracting process

The procurement process for the "Strategic Evaluation of the Museum Futures Programme" was initiated by Museums Galleries Scotland, located in Edinburgh. The programme, aimed at supporting Scotland's museums and galleries, commenced in July 2025 and is scheduled to complete in January 2027. This contract, primarily focused on the recreation, culture, and religion sector, went through an open procedure procurement method, with the tender phase concluding on 23rd September 2025. The award was subsequently made on 9th October 2025, with the active contract valued at £47,785 GBP. The entire process is overseen by the Edinburgh Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court as the review body.

This contract offers substantial opportunities for businesses specialising in service delivery and evaluation within the cultural sector, especially those equipped to handle strategic programme-level evaluations. As it involves an independent evaluation of the Museum Futures Programme, businesses with expertise in impact and process evaluations, particularly those that can identify barriers and opportunities, will find this contract beneficial. SMEs, like the successful supplier Social Value Lab, with capabilities in adapting to financial and capacity challenges in the cultural sector, are well-suited for such tenders. The project is an avenue for long-term growth, as it offers insights that may influence future program design and funding in the cultural sector.

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Notice Title

Strategic Evaluation of the Museum Futures Programme

Notice Description

MGS is looking to appoint a contractor to support the evaluation of its Museum Futures Programme (the "Programme"). This Programme, which launched in July 2025 and is due to complete in January 2027, is designed to provide essential support for Scotland's museums and galleries in direct response to the significant and ongoing financial and capacity challenges faced by the sector. The Programme features innovative and essential support which will be rolled out to the sector with the aim of transitioning the sector from its current fragile state to a more sustainable position. See more about the Programme at https://www.museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk/museum-futures/

Lot Information

Lot 1

FURTHER DETAILS ARE AVAILABLE IN THE INVITATION TO TENDER - SEE ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS SECTION MGS is looking to appoint a contractor to support the evaluation of its Museum Futures Programme (the "Programme"). This Programme, which launched in July 2025 and is due to complete in January 2027, is designed to provide essential support for Scotland's museums and galleries in direct response to the significant and ongoing financial and capacity challenges faced by the sector. The Programme features innovative and essential support which will be rolled out to the sector with the aim of transitioning the sector from its current fragile state to a more sustainable position. The evaluation will assess how successful the Programme has been in achieving the aims set out above. It will also assess how effective the Programme has been in reaching a diverse range of museums, and in developing and delivering a relevant offer that is effective in supporting museums organisations to become more sustainable and resilient. This independent evaluation will be a strategic programme- and portfolio-level evaluation. It will incorporate elements of both Process and Impact evaluation. The evaluation process will not only provide evidence of impact of this investment and examine how effective this model of investment is but will also identify barriers and opportunities, and crystallise valuable lessons learnt - all of which can fuel ongoing adaptive management, inform future programme design and help to leverage further support and funding.

Renewal: The contract may be extended beyond March 2027 (subject to quality assurance of processes and outputs) if further investment is secured for the programme or timescales extended.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-r6ebe6-0000808334
Publication Source
Public Contracts Scotland
Latest Notice
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=OCT541043
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
PCS Notice - Website Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

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


CPV Codes

73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

73210000 - Research consultancy services

79419000 - Evaluation consultancy services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£47,785 Under £100K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
9 Oct 20254 months ago
Submission Deadline
23 Sep 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
9 Oct 20254 months ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
MUSEUMS GALLERIES SCOTLAND
Contact Name
Laura McDonald
Contact Email
procurement@museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk
Contact Phone
+44 1315504100

Buyer Location

Locality
EDINBURGH
Postcode
EH2 3DN
Post Town
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
TLM Scotland

Local Authority
City of Edinburgh
Electoral Ward
City Centre
Westminster Constituency
Edinburgh North and Leith

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

SOCIAL VALUE LAB

Further Information

Notice Documents

  • https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/NoticeDownload/DownloadDocument.aspx?id=AUG537782&idx=1
    27th August 2025 - Invitation to Tender - Strategic Evaluation of the Museum Futures Programme
  • https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=AUG537782
    Strategic Evaluation of the Museum Futures Programme - MGS is looking to appoint a contractor to support the evaluation of its Museum Futures Programme (the "Programme"). This Programme, which launched in July 2025 and is due to complete in January 2027, is designed to provide essential support for Scotland's museums and galleries in direct response to the significant and ongoing financial and capacity challenges faced by the sector. The Programme features innovative and essential support which will be rolled out to the sector with the aim of transitioning the sector from its current fragile state to a more sustainable position. See more about the Programme at https://www.museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk/museum-futures/
  • https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=OCT541043
    Strategic Evaluation of the Museum Futures Programme - MGS is looking to appoint a contractor to support the evaluation of its Museum Futures Programme (the "Programme"). This Programme, which launched in July 2025 and is due to complete in January 2027, is designed to provide essential support for Scotland's museums and galleries in direct response to the significant and ongoing financial and capacity challenges faced by the sector. The Programme features innovative and essential support which will be rolled out to the sector with the aim of transitioning the sector from its current fragile state to a more sustainable position. See more about the Programme at https://www.museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk/museum-futures/

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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