--- title: "Reviewing Metabarcoding Guidelines and Understanding Sources of Error" ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-6b43165f-2cf7-4089-b54f-c7a0901658ad" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-6b43165f-2cf7-4089-b54f-c7a0901658ad" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-6b43165f-2cf7-4089-b54f-c7a0901658ad.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-6b43165f-2cf7-4089-b54f-c7a0901658ad.json" source: "Contracts Finder" current_stage: "Tender" buyer: "JNCC SUPPORT CO" published: "2020-11-27" --- # Reviewing Metabarcoding Guidelines and Understanding Sources of Error Buyer: JNCC SUPPORT CO Current stage: Tender OCID: ocds-b5fd17-6b43165f-2cf7-4089-b54f-c7a0901658ad [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-6b43165f-2cf7-4089-b54f-c7a0901658ad) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-6b43165f-2cf7-4089-b54f-c7a0901658ad.json) ## Summary The procurement process titled "Reviewing Metabarcoding Guidelines and Understanding Sources of Error" is being conducted by JNCC Support Co, located in Peterborough, England. This project falls under the environmental services industry category and is currently in the Tender stage, with a deadline for submissions set for 18 December 2020. The estimated value of the contract ranges from £11,000 to £15,000, and it will run from 4 January 2021 to 19 March 2021. The procurement method is an open procedure, allowing for competitive bidding. This tender presents opportunities for growth for businesses specialising in environmental services, particularly those with expertise in DNA analysis, ecological monitoring, and guideline development. Companies that can contribute to the evaluation and enhancement of metabarcoding methodologies, as well as those familiar with the operational challenges faced by public authorities in implementing DNA-based methods, are particularly well-suited to compete for this contract. Engaging with this project could lead to valuable partnerships and the development of innovative solutions in environmental monitoring. ## Notice The overall project aim is to contribute to greater use of DNA-based methods for monitoring species and ecosystems by environmental public bodies. This project will focus particularly on metabarcoding, and aims to improve end user understanding and awareness of: * What guidance documents and standards for using metabarcoding in environmental exist and what the strengths and weaknesses of these documents are * Why metabarcoding results can differ from conventional methods, and potential approaches to mitigation where these differences may arise from error or bias in metabarcoding. DNA-based methods for detecting and identifying species have many potential applications within the Defra group of organisations (APHA, Defra, CEFAS, Environment Agency, Forest Research, JNCC, Kew, Marine Management Organisation, Natural England). These include surveillance for invasive or rare species, characterising communities to assess the condition of protected sites, understanding the effects of management interventions, and describing ecosystem functioning and resilience. However, operational use by public bodies faces several challenges. To contribute to addressing these challenges, Defra have established a Centre of Excellence (CoE) to support projects that will help facilitate greater uptake of DNA-based methods for monitoring species and ecosystems. The CoE brings together expertise and interests from across the Defra group of organisations to identify and tackle shared priorities through a series of projects. As with all environmental monitoring carried out by public bodies, practical implementation of DNA-based methods requires agreed guidelines and protocols that give confidence the results are robust and are spatially and temporally comparable. However, whilst CoE organisations are aware of and have contributed to several existing guidelines and protocols for using DNA in monitoring, there is less knowledge of documents developed by other organisations - particularly in relation to metabarcoding. A better understanding amongst end users of what metabarcoding guidelines and standards exist would therefore be beneficial for several reasons: * Brings together key resources to make it easier to find relevant documents * Provides opportunities to learn from existing guidelines * Avoids duplicating effort or producing conflicting documents * Allows new guidance documents to be targeted to key remaining gaps A related important knowledge gap for several CoE organisations is understanding how, when, and why metabarcoding results can differ from conventional methods. Understanding the sources of error and bias in metabarcoding, and being able to distinguish these from situations in which metabarcoding and conventional methods give different results because each samples a different portion of the community, is particularly important for end user interpretation of results from DNA-based methods. ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Contracts Finder | | Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/58d1783f-1ca7-4c26-9267-7ada410fa074 | | Notice type | Tender Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Open | | Procurement method details | Open procedure (below threshold) | | Tender suitability | Not specified | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Tender | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 27 Nov 2020 | | Submission deadline | 18 Dec 2020 | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 4 Jan 2021 - 19 Mar 2021 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £15,000 | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Active | | Lots status | Not specified | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | JNCC SUPPORT CO | | Locality | PETERBOROUGH | | Post town | Peterborough | | Postcode | PE1 1JY | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLH East (England) | | ITL 2 | TLH4 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough | | ITL 3 | TLH41 Peterborough | | Local authority | Peterborough | | Electoral ward | Central | | Westminster constituency | Peterborough | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 90 - Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services ### Codes - 90700000 - Environmental services ## Release History - 27 Nov 2020 at 16:58 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/58d1783f-1ca7-4c26-9267-7ada410fa074 ## Documents - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/58d1783f-1ca7-4c26-9267-7ada410fa074 27th November 2020 - Opportunity notice on Contracts Finder - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/ce78e409-e99a-4597-9764-cf50cb305960 Reviewing Metabarcoding Guidelines and Understanding Sources of Error. ITT Documents ## Notice URLs - http://www.jncc.gov.uk ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-6b43165f-2cf7-4089-b54f-c7a0901658ad. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-6b43165f-2cf7-4089-b54f-c7a0901658ad.json.