Award

Scottish Election Study (SES)

UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

13 Apr 2026 at 00:00

PCS Notice - Website Contract Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The University Of Edinburgh has recently completed a procurement process titled "Scottish Election Study (SES)" under the industry category of Education services. The procurement aimed to provide pre/post-election services and was conducted for the region of UKM75, Edinburgh. This process is in the award stage, with a contract signed on 4th March 2026 for an amount of GBP 165,150. The SES has been supported by the ESRC, with a significant financial commitment of GBP 1.5 million, designated for its 2026-2030 iteration. The University chose a limited procurement method due to the technical necessity of contracting YouGov PLC, a supplier uniquely positioned to ensure data continuity and valuable trend data owing to their extensive prior involvement in similar projects. Key dates in this context include the initiation of fieldwork within weeks of the 2026 Scottish Elections and subsequent UK General Election.

This tender presents specialised opportunities for businesses like YouGov PLC, which competes on the basis of its technical capabilities and historic involvement rather than an open competition. Firms with similar niche offerings, particularly those capable of providing comprehensive trend analysis and data continuity in research services, may find growth opportunities by aligning their capabilities with the unique and required services, like those provided in educational and election-related data collection. The reliance on unique data offerings underlines the importance of developing specialised talents and databases that offer distinct advantages in bidding for such targeted procurements.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Scottish Election Study (SES)

Notice Description

Pre/Post Election Services

Lot Information

Lot 1

The Scottish Election Study (SES), headquartered at the University of Edinburgh, has been awarded 1.5 Million GBP by the ESRC to conduct the 2026-2030 SES. It has been based at the University of Edinburgh since 2016. The SES includes two main forms of data collection: a 15 wave SCOOP survey and a pre/post-election study before and after the 2026 Scottish Elections and before and after the next UK General Election. The fieldwork will include a rolling cross section wave conducted four weeks before the election, and a static post, with fieldwork beginning within one week of the election. This will occur in April/May 2026. In addition, YouGov will provide fieldwork for a two-wave pre/post data collection the month before and immediately after the next UK General Election (the timing of which is set by the UK government but which will fall within the lifetime of the SES 2026 grant). YouGov has been identified as the sole supplier for this requirement on the basis of completing prior work for UoE ensuring data continuity which is a crucial component of this research: 1. The use of YouGov in previous SES fieldwork since 2007 means that respondents can be linked across multiple elections, providing trend data within individuals. This cannot be replicated by alternative suppliers without compromising the integrity of the data set. 2. Unlike any other provider in the UK, YouGov is able to offer us web tracker data enabling us to capture politically relevant news consumption during the campaign as well as the relationship between news habits and attitudes, and the impact of external political events (eg debates) on media habits. 3. The use of YouGov as the supplier for the British Election Study Internet Panel also facilitates data linkage between the SES and the larger BES, effectively ensuring there is greater value for ESRC spend.

Procurement Information

YouGov has been identified as the sole supplier for this requirement, due to their unique position in the market and on the basis of completing prior work for UoE ensuring data continuity which is a crucial component of this research: 1. The use of YouGov in previous SES fieldwork since 2007 means that respondents can be linked across multiple elections, providing trend data within individuals. This cannot be replicated by alternative suppliers without compromising the integrity of the data set. 2. Unlike any other provider in the UK, YouGov is able to offer us web tracker data enabling us to capture politically relevant news consumption during the campaign as well as the relationship between news habits and attitudes, and the impact of external political events (eg debates) on media habits. 3. The use of YouGov as the supplier for the British Election Study Internet Panel also facilitates data linkage between the SES and the larger BES, effectively ensuring there is greater value for ESRC spend.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-r6ebe6-0000825507
Publication Source
Public Contracts Scotland
Latest Notice
https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=APR553723
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
PCS Notice - Website Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
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

73110000 - Research services

79300000 - Market and economic research; polling and statistics

79320000 - Public-opinion polling services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£165,150 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
13 Apr 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
4 Mar 20261 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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
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
EH1 1HT
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
TLM75 City of Edinburgh
Local Authority
City of Edinburgh
Electoral Ward
City Centre
Westminster Constituency
Edinburgh East and Musselburgh

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

YOUGOV

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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