--- title: "DHSC: CSA: NIHR Research Commissioning and Management Services" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-048940" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-048940" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-048940.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-048940.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Tender" buyer: "DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE" published: "2025-02-06" --- # DHSC: CSA: NIHR Research Commissioning and Management Services Buyer: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE Current stage: Tender OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-048940 [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-048940) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-048940.json) ## Summary The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is procuring research commissioning and management services for the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) under the title “DHSC: CSA: NIHR Research Commissioning and Management Services (2027-2032)”. This process, covering the industry category of research services, is being managed under the Competitive Dialogue Procedure and seeks to ensure continuity of operational services for NIHR from 1st April 2027. The procurement is structured across six lots, with the new contracts to be in place by May 2026. Key milestones include the tender period ending on 5th March 2025 and the invitation date for the second stage on 17th March 2025. The estimated value for the initial 5-year term is £364,000,000, with an optional 4-year extension. This tender presents significant business opportunities for organisations specialising in research services, general management consultancy, and contract administration. The structured lots allow for diverse specialisations, ranging from strategic business services and research commissioning to infrastructure commissioning and career development. Businesses that can demonstrate robust expertise and innovation in these areas will find this tender particularly advantageous. The DHSC's effort to implement best practices and bring resilience across NIHR suggests that organisations with proven track records in these domains stand a strong chance to contribute to the nation's largest funder of health research. ## Notice NIHR's mission is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. Today, NIHR is the nation's largest funder of health and care research and it invests over PS1.5bn annually in domestic and international research. NIHR's core workstreams, operating principles and areas of strategic focus are set out in the document Best Research for Best Health: The Next Chapter (2021). The day-to-day operations of the NIHR are carried out by the NIHR Coordinating Centre (NIHRCC). The NIHRCC is currently made up of the following six DHSC contracts and one Service Level Agreement (SLA): * NIHR Evaluations, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre (NETSCC) * Central Commissioning Facility (CCF) * NIHR Office for Clinical Research Infrastructure (NOCRI) * NIHR Academy * NIHR Centre for Engagement and Dissemination (CED) * NIHR Research Delivery Network Coordinating Centre (RDNCC) The NETSCC, CCF, NOCRI and NIHR Academy contracts will end on 31st March 2027. Through this procurement, the Authority will put in place contracts in May 2026, with Operational Services under those contracts due to commence on 1st April 2027, in order to ensure continuity of operational services for the NIHRCC. This procurement will however seek to reconfigure the services provided by the NETSCC, CCF, NOCRI and NIHR Academy contracts when they come to an end on 31st March 2027 into a new NIHRCC structure comprised of contracts procured across six Lots. The Services going forward are divided into the following lots: Lot 1 - Strategic Business Services and One NIHR hub Lot 2 - Research Commissioning: Individual Level and Global Health Programmes Lot 3 - Research Commissioning: Population and Policy Level Programmes Lot 4 - Research Infrastructure Commissioning: Translational and Delivery Lot 5 - Research Infrastructure Commissioning: Applied, Public Health and Social Care Lot 6 - Research Commissioning: Career Development and Capacity Building The Authority is seeking to appoint a range of suppliers to ensure that it maximises resilience across NIHR and brings to NIHR the benefits of implementing ways of working and best practice from multiple organisations. Therefore, whilst there is no limitation on a single Tenderer submitting a bid for multiple Lots, the Authority is placing restrictions on the number of Lots any single Tenderer can win, and the Authority will only allow an entity to be involved in one bid submission per Lot. More information on this is set out in the procurement documents. ### Lot Information Lot 1 - Strategic Business Services and One NIHR hub Deliver the following Strategic Business Services: * Communications and partner engagement * Impact monitoring and evaluation * Programme Management and Assurance * Intellectual property (IP) and Contracting * Open research and publication * Research Inclusion * Climate, health and sustainability * Business development * Commission and manage the NIHR Horizon Scanning Centre Options: Optional 4 year extension Renewal: Optional 4 year extension Lot 2 - Research Commissioning: Individual Level & Global Health Programmes * End-to-end commissioning, management and oversight of domestic research programmes, with an expected annual budget of approximately PS300 million; * End-to-end commissioning, management and oversight of the global health research (GHR) programme, with an expected annual budget of approximately PS170 million; and, * Coordination and management of the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST) and UK Vaccine Network. Options: Optional 4 year extension Renewal: Optional 4 year extension Lot 3 - Research Commissioning: Population and Policy Level Programmes * End-to-end commissioning, management and oversight of domestic research programmes, with an expected annual budget of approximately PS170 million; and * Coordination and management of the following functions on behalf of NIHR: o James Lind Alliance o Liaison with NHSE, ALBs and the devolved administrations, ensuring their contributions are effectively managed. Options: Optional 4 year extension Renewal: Optional 4 year extension Lot 4 - Research Infrastructure Commissioning: Translational and Delivery * End-to-end commissioning and monitoring of infrastructure and infrastructure-like schemes, focussed on individual level interventions, with an expected annual budget of approximately PS350 million; and, * Provide the Research Capability Funding (RCF) function on behalf of NIHR. Options: Optional 4 year extension Renewal: Optional 4 year extension Lot 5 - Research Infrastructure Commissioning: Applied, Public Health and SC End-to-end commissioning and monitoring of infrastructure and infrastructure-like schemes, focussed on population, policy, service and public health investments, with an expected annual budget of approximately PS170 million. Options: Optional 4 year extension Renewal: Optional 4 year extension Lot 6 - Research Commissioning: Career Development and Capacity Building * End-to-end administration and monitoring of domestic academic training schemes, with an expected annual budget of almost PS300 million; * End-to-end administration and monitoring of global research academic training schemes; and, * Deliver NIHR research capacity building services. Options: Optional 4 year extension Renewal: Optional 4 year extension ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/004061-2025 | | Notice type | Planning Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Selective | | Procurement method details | Competitive dialogue | | Tender suitability | Not specified | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning, Tender | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 6 Feb 2025 | | Submission deadline | 5 Mar 2025 | | Future notice date | 2 Dec 2024 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 30 Apr 2026 - 31 Mar 2032 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £364,000,000 | | Lots value | £363,840,000 | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Active | | Lots status | Active | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE | | Locality | LONDON | | Post town | South West London | | Postcode | SW1H 0EU | | 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 | TLI32 Westminster | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services - 75 - Administration, defence and social security services - 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security ### Codes - 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services - 73110000 - Research services - 73210000 - Research consultancy services - 75120000 - Administrative services of agencies - 79315000 - Social research services - 79410000 - Business and management consultancy services - 79411000 - General management consultancy services - 79990000 - Miscellaneous business-related services - 79994000 - Contract administration services ## Release History - 6 Feb 2025 at 18:09 - TenderUpdate - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/004061-2025 - 3 Feb 2025 at 16:21 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/003525-2025 - 9 Aug 2024 at 09:42 - TenderUpdate - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025178-2024 - 9 Aug 2024 at 08:53 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025160-2024 ## Notice URLs - https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/a97ca1ee-d612-4a09-b459-1906bca26227 - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025178-2024 - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health-and-social-care - https://www.judiciary.uk/courts-and-tribunals/high-court/ ## 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-048940. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-048940.json.