---
title: "PS26164 - Business Interviews for Innovative Scale-ups"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-b58e73ca-82b5-4dc5-9e89-3606c1de4071"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-b58e73ca-82b5-4dc5-9e89-3606c1de4071"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-b58e73ca-82b5-4dc5-9e89-3606c1de4071.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-b58e73ca-82b5-4dc5-9e89-3606c1de4071.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "Department for Science, Innovation & Technology"
published: "2026-09-28"
---

# PS26164 - Business Interviews for Innovative Scale-ups

Buyer: Department for Science, Innovation & Technology  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-b58e73ca-82b5-4dc5-9e89-3606c1de4071

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## Summary

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) commissioned research interviews with innovative scale-up businesses in its sectors. The work is intended to understand how these firms make decisions as they grow, focusing on funding, recruitment and talent, management, and business location. This is research and insight services, rather than the provision of funding or business support. The recorded delivery scope covers the United Kingdom and a broad range of overseas locations, including Europe and the rest of the world. The requirement is relevant to research consultancies and interview providers able to engage scale-up businesses and investigate their growth decisions.

The procurement is complete and a supplier has been selected. SQW Limited won the contract, with an award value of £149,557. The award was made on 16 September 2026, and the contract period runs from 28 September 2026 to 31 March 2027. The work was procured through a mini-competition under the Government Commercial Agency’s Research & Insights dynamic purchasing system (RM6126), using a selective call-off procedure. The tender deadline was 27 July 2026. The stated scope is a single research requirement; the award information does not break it into separate lots. The procurement is identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community and social enterprises.

This award shows demand from DSIT for research that gets beyond general views of business growth and examines how innovative scale-ups make practical decisions about funding, talent, management and location. A credible competitor for a similar requirement would need strong business research capability, an approach suited to interviewing scale-up leaders, and the ability to draw clear insights from their decisions. Access to relevant firms across DSIT’s sectors and the capacity to conduct work across the UK and wider international locations would support delivery. The buyer used a mini-competition through a research and insights dynamic purchasing system, so suppliers seeking comparable work would need to be positioned to compete through that route. The contract was awarded to an SME, and the opportunity was marked suitable for SMEs and VCSEs.

## Notice

***** THIS IS AN AWARD NOTICE, NOT A CALL FOR COMPETITION ***** This procurement is being concluded following a mini competition under the GCA RM6126 Research & Insights DPS Brief Description of Requirement Business interviews to understand business decisions of innovative (DSIT sector) scale-ups. The project will focus on how businesses make decisions when scaling up relating to - funding, talent, management, location

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/4cba1c88-57c0-4a4a-938b-b7b072fb723d |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Dynamic |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Call-off from a dynamic purchasing system |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 28 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 16 Sep 2026 |
| Contract period | 28 Sep 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £149,557 |
| 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 Science, Innovation & Technology |
| Locality | SWINDON |
| Postcode area | Swindon |
| Postcode | SN2 1FF |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLK7 Gloucestershire and Wiltshire |
| ITL 3 | TLK71 Swindon |
| Local authority | Swindon |
| Electoral ward | Rodbourne Cheney |
| Westminster constituency | Swindon North |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | SQW Limited |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

## Release History

- 28 Sep 2026 at 13:58 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/4cba1c88-57c0-4a4a-938b-b7b072fb723d

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/4cba1c88-57c0-4a4a-938b-b7b072fb723d
  28th September 2026 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder

## 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-b58e73ca-82b5-4dc5-9e89-3606c1de4071. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-b58e73ca-82b5-4dc5-9e89-3606c1de4071.json.