---
title: "Space Weather R2O Maintenance - BGS (UKRI)"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06c29f"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06c29f"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06c29f.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06c29f.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "MET OFFICE"
published: "2026-07-08"
---

# Space Weather R2O Maintenance - BGS (UKRI)

Buyer: MET OFFICE  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06c29f

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## Summary

The procurement process led by the Met Office in Exeter, United Kingdom, revolves around a contract titled "Space Weather R2O Maintenance - BGS (UKRI)" in the public authority central government industry category. Located in the region of UKK43, the process has reached the Award stage, with activity to commence from 17th July 2026 and extend potentially until 2030. This contract, awarded directly due to the specific intellectual property and technical expertise required, focuses on the continual enhancement and maintenance of space weather modelling systems, initially supported under the SWIMMR Programme, with the British Geological Survey as a partner. The work aims at operational readiness by September 2026, with significant institutional backing from the Department for Science and Technology.

This tender presents opportunities for large research and development organisations specialising in space weather models and geomagnetic studies. Such businesses, well-versed in experimental development services, can leverage the contract’s emphasis on the British Geological Survey's SPIDER model, which deals with Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GIC) impacting key infrastructure across Great Britain. Companies possessing proprietary technological systems and a capacity for sustained model performance improvements find themselves aptly positioned to participate and influence the UK's space weather forecasting capabilities, enhancing both their market presence and expertise in this niche domain.

## Notice

'Space Weather Implementation, Measurement, Modelling and Risk' (SWIMMR), was a PS19.9m UKRI SPF funded programme led by STFC from 2019, and which largely concluded in 2023. Several of the projects were targeted at space weather scientific modelling gaps, with the aim of bringing them into operation for forecast capabilities in the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre (MOSWOC). The project 'S3' stood up systems and enabled collaboration between academic partners and the Met Office space weather programme, bringing a platform 'sandbox environment' and portal for monitoring outputs into use at the Met Office (MO) where our scientists worked with several academic partners to bring their models into use. Whilst the original SWIMMR programme made this collaboration possible, there is much work remaining to bring the models into working operational use by the target date of September 2026, the Research to Operations to Research (R2O2R) project is the next stage in this Programme. The Space Weather CSA with the Department for Science and Technology (DSIT) sets out a required output for the Met Office to Support the validation, integration and exploitation of new capabilities and data delivered through the SPF SWIMMR Programme. Met Office Space Weather (MOSW) has agreed with funding partner DSIT to deliver several targets for the next phase of work: Evidence of user need and user requirement to shape model use and output (MOSWOC being the primary user, with several end-users being the recipients of forecasting products). Technical and scientific requirements within MOSW for fully onboarding, working with and supporting the models and/or their outputs in operational settings. (Whilst the 'S3' platform and portal were helpful for the early stages of model collaboration, they are not able to support long term model and output development and operation). In terms of the projects to achieve modelling capability, we have agreed a number of these and their priority levels with the academic institutions who own the models. The partner, British Geological Survey ("BGS"), led the 'SAGE' (ground effects) project within the SWIMMR Programme. Through this work, BGS developed the SPIDER model - an integrated nowcast and forecasting capability for modelling the effects of Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GIC) across the Great Britain high-voltage power network, pipelines and railways in near real-time. Under the R2O Maintenance contract, BGS will provide ongoing support, maintenance and incremental improvement of the SAGE system and its SPIDER model component, ensuring it continues to operate effectively within the Met Office operational environment. This includes sustaining model performance, addressing defects, implementing updates where required, and supporting the interpretation and application of model outputs within the Space Weather service.

### Procurement Information

The deliverables within this contract are directly associated with models and code that have been developed and are owned by the partner (supplier) to a defined level of maturity under the SWIMMR Programme. The partner retains the intellectual property rights (IPR) for the model code and provides access to the Met Office under licence. As such, the partner is uniquely positioned to deliver the required maintenance, support and enhancement services. The purpose of the contract is to ensure the continued operation, maintenance and incremental improvement of the models within the Met Office Space Weather service. This work requires detailed technical understanding of the model architecture, development history and underlying scientific methodologies, all of which reside with the original developers at BGS.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064100-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 8 Jul 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 1 Mar 2026 |
| Contract period | 16 Jul 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £242,000 |
| Contracts value | £242,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | MET OFFICE |
| Locality | EXETER |
| Post town | Exeter |
| Postcode | EX1 3PB |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLK4 Devon |
| ITL 3 | TLK43 Devon CC |
| Local authority | Exeter |
| Electoral ward | Pinhoe |
| Westminster constituency | Exmouth and Exeter East |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | BRITISH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73100000 - Research and experimental development services

## Release History

- 8 Jul 2026 at 10:38 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064100-2026
- 2 Jul 2026 at 14:23 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/062383-2026
- 2 Jul 2026 at 14:19 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/062376-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/064100-2026
  8th July 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/062383-2026
  2nd July 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/062376-2026
  2nd July 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.metoffice.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-06c29f. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06c29f.json.