---
title: "Modelling of Ambient Air Quality"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-02a623"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-02a623"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02a623.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02a623.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEFRA NETWORK ETENDERING PORTAL"
published: "2021-04-14"
---

# Modelling of Ambient Air Quality

Buyer: DEFRA NETWORK ETENDERING PORTAL  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-02a623

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## Summary

The procurement process titled "Modelling of Ambient Air Quality" was initiated by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), focusing on air quality management within the environmental services industry in the UK. This process is currently at the Award stage, having been completed on 12 April 2021, with the contract valued at £3.8 million. The services will commence on 1 May 2021 and are expected to last for two years, with a potential one-year extension. The procurement method utilised was limited, with a direct award granted to Ricardo Energy & Environment due to the technical expertise required and intellectual property rights considerations.

This contract presents significant opportunities for business growth, particularly for firms specialising in environmental services, data modelling, and air quality assessment. Companies with the capability to understand and work with complex environmental data, especially those familiar with the PCM model required for compliance with air quality standards, would be well-suited to engage in future bidding processes. Given the current complexities introduced by the Covid-19 pandemic affecting air quality assessments, businesses that can offer innovative solutions or complementary services in air quality management may find advantageous avenues for collaboration and competition in the public procurement space.

## Notice

A contract to develop and apply air quality models and other methods of assessment to: * Map ambient air pollutant concentrations across the UK for 13 pollutants; * Carry out an annual assessment of compliance with air quality limit values and target values for reporting; * Support the investigation and development of policy initiatives.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Defra intends to award a contract for the Modelling of Ambient Air Quality. The services required under this contract include: * Mapping ambient air pollutant concentrations across the UK for 13 pollutants; * Carrying out an annual assessment of compliance with air quality limit values and target values for reporting; * Supporting the investigation and development of policy initiatives. The contract is planned to start on 01/05/2021 and to run for two (2) years. There is a possibility that the contract will be extended for a period of up to twelve (12) months. (The value covers the full three-year period). This notice advises that Defra has decided to award the contract with the named provider on a direct award basis and is published for reasons of transparency. Additional information: If you have any concerns regarding this decision, please ensure that you contact Penny Hebden, Defra Group Commercial, at penny.hebden@defra.gov.uk, clearly detailing the basis of your concerns, within 10 calendar days of the publication of this notice.

### Procurement Information

This contract uses the PCM model, developed under previous contracts with Ricardo Energy & Environment, and they own the intellectual property rights (IPR) for elements that feed into the model, such as the Stack Characterisation Database and associated tools. Any new supplier would need to buy a licence to use the Stack Characterisation or develop a replacement option that would not infringe on their IPR. There is no other model in the market at this time that can take the place of the PCM model and meet the requirements of the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010 in time for the 2020 compliance assessment. The PCM model is specifically designed to provide outputs which form the majority of the scientific base that enables Defra to fulfil its legal obligations. The current situation with Covid-19 has had a significant impact on air quality, so the modelling required for the 2020 compliance assessment (carried out between March and August 2021) will be much more complex than usual. A new contractor would not be able to complete this work and meet the reporting deadline, thus creating a further risk of failure to meet statutory obligations. The justification for the direct award of this contract is that there is currently only one supplier who can fulfil the requirements of the contract, which is justified under Regulation 32 of the Public Contracts regulations (PCR) 2015: (b) Where the works, supplies or services can be supplied only by a particular economic operator for any of the following reasons: (ii) Competition is absent for technical reasons, and (iii) The protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/007858-2021 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Negotiated without publication of a contract notice |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 14 Apr 2021 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 11 Apr 2021 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £3,800,000 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEFRA NETWORK ETENDERING PORTAL |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 3JR |
| 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 | RICARDO ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 90 - Sewage, refuse, cleaning and environmental services

### Codes

- 90731100 - Air quality management

## Release History

- 14 Apr 2021 at 21:55 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/007858-2021

## Notice URLs

- http://defra.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.html
- http://www.defra.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-h6vhtk-02a623. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-02a623.json.