---
title: "Skills and Productivity Board: Skills Taxonomy"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-4247c83b-3359-4c6a-96d5-b8cfa39ea58e"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-4247c83b-3359-4c6a-96d5-b8cfa39ea58e"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-4247c83b-3359-4c6a-96d5-b8cfa39ea58e.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-4247c83b-3359-4c6a-96d5-b8cfa39ea58e.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION"
published: "2021-05-07"
---

# Skills and Productivity Board: Skills Taxonomy

Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-4247c83b-3359-4c6a-96d5-b8cfa39ea58e

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## Summary

The procurement process titled "Skills and Productivity Board: Skills Taxonomy," initiated by the Department for Education, pertains to the industry of research and development services. This tender is currently in the award stage, with the contract awarded on April 22, 2021, for a value of £25,000. The procurement method used was an open procedure below the threshold, with the contract period set to begin on March 31, 2021, and to conclude on June 30, 2021. The procurement activity is located in the UK and the expressions of interest were accepted until March 5, 2021.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs) that have expertise in skills research and analysis. Companies capable of providing consultancy services related to the development of skills taxonomies and labour market analysis would be particularly well-suited to compete. Additionally, businesses with experience in mapping skills to qualifications and occupations, as well as those familiar with emerging technologies such as web scraping, may find themselves at an advantageous position to respond to this tender.

## Notice

As announced in September 2020, the new Skills and Productivity Board (SPB) will undertake expert analysis of national skills needs to inform government policy. The board is independent, composed of labour market and skills economists and chaired by business leader Stephen van Rooyen (CEO and EVP of Sky). The government established the board to provide it with evidence and analysis on gaps in our knowledge of the labour market, including identifying which skills add the most value to the economy and locating the most significant skills mismatches, both now and in the future. Given its scope and role outlined above, the SPB requires clear definitions of skills and skills mismatches. Specifically, the SPB requires: * A functional and operational skills 'taxonomy' - to be able to name, define and classify skills (e.g., knowledge skills, workplace skills, transferable skills). * A way of linking these skills/skill sets to occupations and, possibly, qualifications. We are seeking expressions of interest to undertake a scoping report on how the SPB could: * Develop a functional skills taxonomy, possibly building on the work of others, for use * Use this skill taxonomy to identify areas of significant skills shortage. This report should provide: * An overview of other work in this area (such as that based on O*NET and ESCO), outlining the pros/cons of these taxonomies and which is best to map to jobs in the UK. * Bringing together the work currently taking place on skills taxonomies in the UK to consider how the SPB could use this within their own work to identify skills shortages. Possible extensions - including techniques such as information from web scraping vacancies and other RTI - should also be explored. * Extending this work further to understand whether it is possible to link skills to both qualifications and occupations using these taxonomies. Therefore, the main research question are: * What skills taxonomies exist in the UK, and what are the pros/cons of using them to identify skill mismatches/shortages? * How might the SPB use these taxonomies within their work given their scope/interest? * How could these taxonomies be developed to include mapping of skills to qualifications as well as occupations? Further information can be found in the attachment. Assessment criteria * Evidence of suppliers' understanding of the policy area * Evidence of suppliers' technical/professional ability to undertake the work * Evidence of relevant research experience. EOI responses should be limited to 3 A4 pages maximum. Additional information: EOI responses should be limited to 3 A4 pages.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/25ed4e59-e80f-48f5-850e-fe742a4e1f33 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure (below threshold) |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 7 May 2021 |
| Submission deadline | 5 Mar 2021 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 21 Apr 2021 |
| Contract period | 21 Apr 2021 - 23 Jul 2021 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £25,000 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION |
| Locality | SHEFFIELD |
| Post town | Sheffield |
| Postcode | S1 2FJ |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLE Yorkshire and The Humber |
| ITL 2 | TLE3 South Yorkshire |
| ITL 3 | TLE32 Sheffield |
| Local authority | Sheffield |
| Electoral ward | City |
| Westminster constituency | Sheffield Central |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | FRONTIER ECONOMICS |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

## Release History

- 7 May 2021 at 12:15 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/25ed4e59-e80f-48f5-850e-fe742a4e1f33
- 1 Mar 2021 at 10:39 - TenderAmendment - Tender Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/cd254799-e53c-4ea3-9759-781a855bb4fa
- 26 Feb 2021 at 11:20 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/cd254799-e53c-4ea3-9759-781a855bb4fa

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/25ed4e59-e80f-48f5-850e-fe742a4e1f33
  7th May 2021 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/cd254799-e53c-4ea3-9759-781a855bb4fa
  1st March 2021 - Opportunity notice on Contracts Finder
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/1bfa0ac3-a505-493c-9f28-3ba27e1243e3
  Expression of Interest
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/cfc6d08b-4144-4719-a0b1-6ffc722b38b4
  Project Overview
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/SupplierAttachment/421eecb9-8298-4417-bac1-cf7608e15918
  Redacted Contract

## Provenance

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