--- title: "Evaluation of the Families First Partnership programme contract award" ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-c0586182-591f-4a6c-a949-c8ba2a7cf0ef" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-c0586182-591f-4a6c-a949-c8ba2a7cf0ef" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-c0586182-591f-4a6c-a949-c8ba2a7cf0ef.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-c0586182-591f-4a6c-a949-c8ba2a7cf0ef.json" source: "Contracts Finder" current_stage: "Award" buyer: "Department for Education" published: "2026-09-22" --- # Evaluation of the Families First Partnership programme contract award Buyer: Department for Education Current stage: Award OCID: ocds-b5fd17-c0586182-591f-4a6c-a949-c8ba2a7cf0ef [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-c0586182-591f-4a6c-a949-c8ba2a7cf0ef) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-c0586182-591f-4a6c-a949-c8ba2a7cf0ef.json) ## Summary The Department for Education procured an independent evaluation of the Families First Partnership programme, a national whole-system reform programme focused on strengthening early help, improving multi-agency safeguarding and reducing the number of children entering care. The evaluation is intended to assess delivery, impact and value for money, provide robust evidence of the programme’s effectiveness, support accountability for public investment, and inform future policy, service delivery and spending decisions. This is a research services requirement, classified under CPV 73110000. Delivery covers the United Kingdom and a wide international area, including the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Europe, British Overseas Territories and the rest of the world. The opportunity was identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. The procurement is complete and was awarded to I.F.F RESEARCH LIMITED. The award date was 4 August 2026, for £809,665.25 including the stated currency of GBP, with a contract period from 4 August 2026 to 31 December 2035. The tender submission deadline was 20 July 2026 at 23:59. The Department for Education used a selective call-off from the RM6126 CCS Research & Insights Marketplace dynamic purchasing system. The successful supplier will provide the evaluation over the full contract period. The stated purpose requires robust, independent assessment of Families First Partnership delivery, impact and value for money, with findings used for accountability and future decisions. The contract award is active and the tender status is complete. This award demonstrates demand for large-scale public policy evaluation focused on children’s services, early help, safeguarding and care outcomes. A credible competitor for a future requirement would need strong research and evaluation capability, including the ability to design and deliver independent assessments of complex, national, whole-system programmes. Relevant strengths include mixed-methods research, impact evaluation, value-for-money analysis, evidence synthesis and the production of findings that can support ministerial policy, operational delivery and spending decisions. Suppliers would also need to work across multiple agencies and jurisdictions, understand children’s social care and safeguarding practice, and manage a long-running programme of evidence collection and reporting. The buyer’s use of a research and insights dynamic purchasing system indicates that access to the relevant marketplace route is commercially important. ## Notice This procurement used the RM6126 CCS Research & Insights Marketplace DPS. The Families First Partnership (FFP) programme is a national, whole-system reform programme aimed at strengthening early help, improving multi-agency safeguarding practice, and reducing the number of children entering care. A robust evaluation is required to generate robust, independent evidence on FFP delivery, impact and Value for Money. The evaluation will provide accountability for investment and inform future policy, delivery and spending decisions. Additional information: Redacted contract ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Contracts Finder | | Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/8cb5dbae-0edf-4bd3-a0b6-612c91cf269a | | 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 | | Awardee scale | SME | | All stages | Award | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 22 Sep 2026 | | Submission deadline | Not specified | | Future notice date | Not specified | | Award date | 4 Aug 2026 | | Contract period | 4 Aug 2026 - 31 Dec 2035 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £809,665 | | Lots value | Not specified | | Awards value | £809,665 | | 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 | LONDON | | Postcode area | South West London | | Postcode | SW1P 3BT | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLI London | | ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West | | ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London | | Local authority | Westminster | | Electoral ward | St James's | | Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## Supplier | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Number of suppliers | 1 | | Supplier names | IFF Research | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services ### Codes - 73110000 - Research services ## Release History - 22 Sep 2026 at 14:48 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/8cb5dbae-0edf-4bd3-a0b6-612c91cf269a ## Documents - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/8cb5dbae-0edf-4bd3-a0b6-612c91cf269a 22nd September 2026 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/ae9d9391-c734-49fb-aa43-9eb81e72d2c7 n/a ## 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-c0586182-591f-4a6c-a949-c8ba2a7cf0ef. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-c0586182-591f-4a6c-a949-c8ba2a7cf0ef.json.