---
title: "R2O Maintenance - University of Surrey"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06d58e"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06d58e"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06d58e.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06d58e.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "MET OFFICE"
published: "2026-07-29"
---

# R2O Maintenance - University of Surrey

Buyer: MET OFFICE  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06d58e

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## Summary

The procurement process led by the Met Office, a central government public authority based in Exeter, focuses on the "R2O Maintenance - University of Surrey" contract within the services industry category, specifically research and experimental development services. The procurement is tied to the space weather programme, with the aim of maintaining and enhancing the operational use of scientific models for forecast capabilities at the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre. This direct award contract, totalling £299,889, was awarded to the University of Surrey. Key dates include the contract start on 1st September 2026, with the end date set for 31st March 2027, and potential annual extensions up to 2030. The procurement stage is currently at the award stage with relevant milestones scheduled for completion by 10th August 2026. The project location primarily focuses on the UKJ region, reflecting the operation's geographical scope.

This tender presents significant growth opportunities for businesses involved in scientific modelling, software maintenance and development, particularly those with expertise in space weather modelling and scientific collaborations. Companies possessing proprietary scientific models and the capability to provide technical maintenance, as well as having a robust understanding of complex model architectures, would be well-suited to compete in this sector. By aligning with such contracts, businesses can expand their service offerings, enhance their profile in the government contracting space, and potentially unlock avenues for long-term relationships with central government bodies like the Met Office. The unique requirements, such as intellectual property rights and technical expertise exclusively held by the existing partner, indicate the high value placed on domain-specific knowledge and proprietary innovations within these collaborations.

## 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.

### 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 Surrey. Continued support of the models is dependent on access to both the proprietary codebase and the specialist expertise held by Reading. Replicating this capability with an alternative supplier would require significant time, cost and risk, and would introduce unacceptable impacts to operational continuity and model performance. In summary, due to the proprietary nature of the model code and the reliance on expert knowledge held by Surrey, there is no alternative supplier capable of delivering these services. The Met Office therefore requires access to the code and expertise that are solely held by Surrey to ensure the ongoing operation and reliability of the service.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/071921-2026 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award 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 | 29 Jul 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 28 Jul 2026 |
| Contract period | 31 Aug 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £249,908 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## 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 | UNIVERSITY OF SURREY(THE |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73100000 - Research and experimental development services

## Release History

- 29 Jul 2026 at 16:43 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/071921-2026
- 28 Jul 2026 at 14:34 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/071338-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/071921-2026
  29th July 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/071338-2026
  28th July 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://www.surrey.ac.uk
- 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-06d58e. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06d58e.json.