---
title: "Online Harms Faced by Disabled, and Neurodiverse User"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-05fd68"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05fd68"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05fd68.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05fd68.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY"
published: "2025-12-24"
---

# Online Harms Faced by Disabled, and Neurodiverse User

Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05fd68

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[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05fd68.json)

## Summary

The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology is in the planning stage for a procurement process titled "Online Harms Faced by Disabled, and Neurodiverse User". This project aims to address the risks and harms encountered by disabled and neurodiverse individuals in digital environments. Located in the United Kingdom, the procurement, falling under the industry category of research and social consultancy services, is set to commence on 1 April 2026 and conclude on 1 August 2026. Interested suppliers are encouraged to engage prior to 24 January 2026 to discuss proposed methodologies and costs. The procurement is initiated under the legal basis of UKPGA 2023/54 and focuses on structuring a comprehensive literature review and user interviews to understand online harms more holistically.

This tender offers significant growth opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs) specialising in research consultancy and digital safety advisory services. Businesses with expertise in social research services, capable of analysing user experiences and advising on systemic protections, will find this project particularly relevant. Those experienced in addressing digital accessibility and online safety are well-positioned to provide substantial contributions to this initiative. By engaging with this tender, organisations can expand their footprint in the public sector and strengthen their credentials in tackling online harm issues.

## Notice

Despite the growing use on online services, understanding how disabled and neurodiverse individuals experience harms within these digital environments remains limited. Existing research, such as Ofcom's findings, highlights that more individuals with limiting conditions see harmful content compared to those without, but these insights are fragmented and fail to capture escalating risks across different disabilities and neurodiverse conditions. Current strategies for harm reduction are largely advisory and rely on user vigilance, leaving substantial gaps in effective, systemic protections. Thus this project will attempt to address these concerns through a literature review looking into the online experience of disabled and neurodiverse users, and optional functionality review which would look at the current state of mainly social media sites to see if features or functions present could be adversely affecting users. Ending with a selection of interviews with users or those who represent the target demographics to see understand if the lived experiences match up with what was found within the previous stages.

### Planning Information

If interested in this procurement please contact eleanor.woodfield@dsit.gov.uk, we would be interested to hear from suppliers in regard to proposed methodology and potential costs, as well as realistic timescales in order to complete the proposed project.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/086182-2025 |
| Notice type | UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Not specified |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 24 Dec 2025 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 31 Mar 2026 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 31 Mar 2026 - 1 Aug 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £40,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Planning |
| Lots status | Planning |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEPARTMENT FOR SCIENCE, INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1A 2EG |
| 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
- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

### Codes

- 73210000 - Research consultancy services
- 79315000 - Social research services
- 79417000 - Safety consultancy services

## Release History

- 24 Dec 2025 at 15:25 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/086182-2025

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/086182-2025
  24th December 2025 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-05fd68. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05fd68.json.