Award

DECON-Labour Market Statistics and Financial Data Feasibility Project

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

10 Feb 2026 at 00:00

Tender

08 Sep 2025 at 00:00

Summary of the contracting process

The Scottish Government has completed the award stage of a public procurement process titled "DECON-Labour Market Statistics and Financial Data Feasibility Project". This project falls under the services category, specifically related to general public services, and will be conducted in Edinburgh, UKM. The procurement process, which followed an open procedure, aimed to commission a feasibility study to utilize anonymised financial data for enhancing labour market statistics in Scotland. The awarded contract, valued at £148,000, was signed on 4th February 2026 with Smart Data Foundry as the supplier, concluding the evaluation initiated in September 2025. The project's completion will provide crucial insights into labour trends, contributing to national statistics and policy-making.

This tender provides significant opportunities for businesses specialising in data analytics, particularly those with expertise in handling large datasets and financial data interpretation. Companies involved in financial technology, economic research, and statistical analysis are likely to benefit substantially as they can utilise such projects to demonstrate their capabilities and establish their expertise in data-driven decision-making for governmental bodies. The requirement for development and validation of datasets presents a robust business growth avenue, especially for larger enterprises or SMEs with innovative data solutions. Engaging in such a project would not only enhance a company's portfolio but also position it advantageously for future government contracts related to data analytics and public services.

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Notice Title

DECON-Labour Market Statistics and Financial Data Feasibility Project

Notice Description

The Scottish Government's Labour Market Statistics team has awarded a contract for a feasibility study to assess the potential of using anonymised financial data to enhance national and sub-national labour market statistics. The feasibility study will establish if and how we can extract and assess labour market trends such as employment, unemployment and economic inactivity from financial data such as bank transactions, payroll records, or other administrative financial data. The ultimate aim of this study is to establish whether or not this type of data and methodology could add valuable insights to our existing statistics on an ongoing basis (subject to future procurement activities).

Lot Information

Lot 1

The Scottish Government's Labour Market Statistics team has awarded a contract for a feasibility study to assess the potential of using anonymised financial data to enhance national and sub-national labour market statistics. The feasibility study will establish if and how we can extract and assess labour market trends such as employment, unemployment and economic inactivity from financial data such as bank transactions, payroll records, or other administrative financial data. The ultimate aim of this study is to establish whether or not this type of data and methodology could add valuable insights to our existing statistics on an ongoing basis (subject to future procurement activities). Objectives - Evaluate the feasibility of using financial data to enhance Scottish labour market statistics on employment, unemployment and economic inactivity. - Develop a Scotland-specific dataset using anonymised financial data for feasibility analysis - Validate Scotland-specific dataset against official statistics (e.g., Census 2022). - Develop inference methodology and provide strategic recommendations for future data use in Scotland and the rest of the UK based on this. Scope of Requirement The requirement is for services. Specifically, we ask that suppliers provide the following, however, bidders are invited to suggest alternative approaches that could also meet the needs of the specification: - Segmentation and categorisation of suppliers financial datasets to meet Scotland and sub-Scotland level breakdowns and categorisations of data, with a focus on demonstrating high quality data and robust sample sizes. - Validation of dataset and research outputs against official national statistics, including the Scottish Census and other reference datasets, to evidence representativeness of the data based on criteria to be agreed, and accuracy of outputs. - Methodology development to establish economic trends from suppliers financial data, specifically employment, unemployment and economic inactivity (see glossary). - Data analysis services using anonymised financial data that the suppliers have access to, analyse outputs for trends in employment, unemployment and economic inactivity, alongside other economic variables, for Scotland and sub-Scotland geographies and different population groups. - Geodemographic analysis to identify labour market trends across sex, age, and Local Authority as a minimum, although breakdowns by other protected equality characteristics would be beneficial. - Strategic reporting to summarise methodologies and findings and potential uses of financial data in economic trends, recommend data provision formats and frequencies for ongoing delivery of data, and identify gaps in current labour market data provision.

Renewal: May be extended by one period of up to two months at the discretion of Scottish Ministers.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-r6ebe6-0000809565
Publication Source
Public Contracts Scotland
Latest Notice
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=FEB549203
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
OJEU - F3 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

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


CPV Codes

71241000 - Feasibility study, advisory service, analysis

73110000 - Research services

79310000 - Market research services

79311400 - Economic research services

79314000 - Feasibility study

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£148,000 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£148,000 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
10 Feb 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
8 Oct 2025Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
4 Feb 20262 weeks 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
SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT
Contact Name
Colin Anderson, leigh stark
Contact Email
colin.anderson@gov.scot, leigh.stark@gov.scot
Contact Phone
+44 412425466

Buyer Location

Locality
EDINBURGH
Postcode
EH6 6QQ
Post Town
Edinburgh
Country
Scotland

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLM Scotland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLM3 West Central Scotland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLM32 Glasgow City
Delivery Location
TLM Scotland

Local Authority
Glasgow City
Electoral Ward
Anderston/City/Yorkhill
Westminster Constituency
Glasgow North

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

SMART DATA FOUNDRY

Further Information

Notice Documents

  • https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=SEP538714
    DECON-Labour Market Statistics and Financial Data Feasibility Project - The Scottish Government's Labour Market Statistics team seeks to commission a feasibility study to assess the potential of using anonymised financial data to enhance national and sub-national labour market statistics. The feasibility study will establish if and how we can extract and assess labour market trends such as employment, unemployment and economic inactivity from financial data such as bank transactions, payroll records, or other administrative financial data. The ultimate aim of this study is to establish whether or not this type of data and methodology could add valuable insights to our existing statistics on an ongoing basis (subject to future procurement activities).
  • https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=FEB549203
    DECON-Labour Market Statistics and Financial Data Feasibility Project - The Scottish Government's Labour Market Statistics team has awarded a contract for a feasibility study to assess the potential of using anonymised financial data to enhance national and sub-national labour market statistics. The feasibility study will establish if and how we can extract and assess labour market trends such as employment, unemployment and economic inactivity from financial data such as bank transactions, payroll records, or other administrative financial data. The ultimate aim of this study is to establish whether or not this type of data and methodology could add valuable insights to our existing statistics on an ongoing basis (subject to future procurement activities).

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