---
title: "Food Data Infrastructure and Governance"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0523ef"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0523ef"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0523ef.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0523ef.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Tender"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS"
published: "2025-12-19"
---

# Food Data Infrastructure and Governance

Buyer: DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS  
Current stage: Tender  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0523ef

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## Summary

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) initiated a public procurement process under the title "Food Data Infrastructure and Governance", focused on research and experimental development services within the UK agri-food sector. The procurement process, planned to span stages from preliminary engagement to a full tender, commenced with market engagement and was designed to last approximately 18 months. Originally planned for a contract period starting in September 2025, this opportunity was set to explore the development of a data sharing infrastructure to enhance data governance and transparency along food product supply chains. Although the procurement was initiated, it has been terminated as of December 2025 due to unforeseen circumstances, after reaching the tender stage.

This ambitious project aimed to foster significant opportunities for growth within the UK agri-food sector, emphasizing digital transformation through smart data ecosystems. Businesses with expertise in digital infrastructure, data sharing, and system architecture, as well as those familiar with the complexities of the agri-food system, were encouraged to submit proposals. With a foundation in multidisciplinary collaboration, this tender could have offered avenues for SMEs and VCSEs to contribute to a cutting-edge project, potentially leading to advancements in sustainable practices and resilience within the industry, had it proceeded past the tender phase. Defra's early involvement in this initiative highlighted a considerable focus on innovation and alignment with international data sharing standards, representing an ideal setting for enterprises aiming to leverage technological expertise for strategic development within the public sector.

## Notice

This project's aims are three-fold: to design and develop a data sharing infrastructure suitable for the UK agri-food system; advise on an optimal governance model for this infrastructure; and pilot data sharing across a selection of food product supply chains. The project will begin with a discovery phase that will form a picture of the current data sharing ecosystem in the agri-food sector and learn from current practice within and outside of the agri-food sector. Following this, a detailed design of a potential DSI system architecture will be developed alongside an optimal model of system governance. Data sharing pilots in specific agri-food supply chains will consider how data sharing can be operationalised and incentivised to inform this design, identifying and proposing solutions to scale-up participation. The outputs of this project should provide the evidence base for government and industry to invest in and deliver DSI that delivers public goods and promotes sustainable growth and resilience of the UK agri-food sector. Support the work of UK government to create a smart data ecosystem with in the Agri-Food Sector. It should take into account major international data sharing infrastructure in development such as the EU 'digital product passports' and the UN CEFACT 'Transparency Protocol' and align with any UK data sharing policy that emerges between project procurement and inception. This project should use the Digital Twin Hub's Gemini Principles (Figure 2), Smart Data initiatives such as Open Banking, and the FDTP Key Principles as a basis for the aims and outcomes of the DSI and governance design work.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Options: Break Clause The contract term is 18 months with a break clause 6 months into the project; upon receipt of the Work Package 2 Technical Report.

Renewal: There is an option of a 6-month extension to the project contingent on satisfactory delivery and the needs of the Authority (Defra). Due to unknown situations any extension must be agreed with the Authority (Defra) and will be processed via a Variation/ Contract Change Note (CCN) issued by DGC. (Should an extension request arise at a cost and agreed on, then an additional invoice will need to be sent to cover the period between the interim payment and the original project end date).

### Planning Information

NOTICE OF INTENTION TO HOLD PRELIMINARY ENGAGEMENT Food Data Infrastructure and Governance (FIG) Project In collaboration with the Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP), Defra’s Agri-Food Science team are tendering for a new R&D project on Agri-food system data sharing infrastructure and governance. This project has the following aims: 1. To identify the breadth of data and data sharing initiatives, currently within the agri-food system. 2. To provide detailed recommendation for the design and development of a data sharing infrastructure suitable for the UK agri-food system. 3. To explore the feasibility of operationalising product level environmental impact data sharing across a selection of food product supply chains, through piloting the proposed data sharing infrastructure. The work will build on the work of the FDTP and associated R&D projects commissioned by the Defra Agri-Food science team. More information can be found at the following links: • https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/food-data-transparency-partnership • https://www.wrap.ngo/resources/report/led-4-food-project Bidders should be able to demonstrate good technical understanding of the key themes of the project: digital infrastructure, data sharing infrastructure, date system architecture, and governance structures. They should also have a good understanding of the complexity of the agri-food system. Bidders are encouraged to submit joint bids to ensure that multi-disciplinary requirements across the themes can be satisfied. The project is to be contracted through an open tender competition. It is expected to commence in September 2025 and will last for approximately 18 months. Supplier Engagement Event Please note that the Authority (Defra); will be holding a supplier event in w/c 9th June 2025 (exact time and date TBD). If you and or your organisation is interested in attending this event, please respond using the email address below: FoodDataTransparencyPartnership@defra.gov.uk on or before Monday 2nd June by 12:00pm. Please include the name and email address of who to invite. An invite will be shared via teams. Regards Defra

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/084789-2025 |
| Notice type | UK12 - Procurement Termination Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - open competition |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning, Tender |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 19 Dec 2025 |
| Submission deadline | 3 Nov 2025 |
| Future notice date | 2 Jun 2025 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 12 Jan 2026 - 12 Jul 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS |
| Additional buyers | Missing |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 4DF |
| 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 |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73100000 - Research and experimental development services

## Release History

- 19 Dec 2025 at 11:08 - TenderCancellation - UK12 - Procurement Termination Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/084789-2025
- 2 Oct 2025 at 12:55 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/061730-2025
- 23 May 2025 at 14:36 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/026775-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/084789-2025
  19th December 2025 - Procurement termination notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/061730-2025
  2nd October 2025 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/026775-2025
  23rd May 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://atamis-9529.my.site.com/s/Welcome
- https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://www.gov.uk/find-tender
- https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/food-data-transparency-partnership
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.wrap.ngo/resources/report/led-4-food-project

## 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-0523ef. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0523ef.json.