---
title: "Digital Development Partner"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06f055"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06f055"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f055.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f055.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "The Arts Council of England"
published: "2026-09-02"
---

# Digital Development Partner

Buyer: The Arts Council of England  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06f055

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06f055)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f055.json)

## Summary

Arts Council of England appointed a specialist digital development partner for its significant digital and data transformation programme. The services are intended to accelerate delivery, strengthen engineering and governance standards, and build sustainable internal capability in support of the Arts Council’s long-term digital objectives. The requirement covers information systems and technology strategic review and planning services, alongside broader external support for digital transformation. This is a professional technology services opportunity for organisations able to work with a public-sector arts and cultural body. The buying organisation is Arts Council of England, based in Manchester, and the procurement concerns delivery of its organisational transformation programme rather than a construction or physical supply requirement.

The procurement is complete and was awarded through a competitive selective procedure under a framework agreement. One completed lot was awarded to Mphasis UK Limited. The award was made on 1 September 2026 for £5,000,000,000 excluding VAT, or £6,000,000,000 including VAT. The contract period runs from 29 September 2026 to 28 September 2029, with an option for a two-year renewal extending the maximum period to 27 September 2031. The award is above the applicable threshold. A future contract signature was scheduled for 28 September 2026. Evaluation selected the most suitable partner to support digital delivery, engineering, governance and internal capability objectives.

For a supplier that did not win this award, the outcome demonstrates that Arts Council of England buys substantial, strategic digital transformation support through a competitive framework route. A credible future competitor would need to show strong information systems and technology strategy capability, experience accelerating digital and data programmes, and the ability to improve engineering and governance standards. It would also need to demonstrate that it can transfer knowledge and build sustainable internal capability, rather than provide only short-term delivery resources. The successful supplier was an SME, showing that scale alone is not the defining profile. Firms combining transformation leadership, technical delivery and public-sector governance capability are best placed for this buyer’s requirement.

## Notice

Arts Council England is progressing a significant digital and data transformation programme and requires specialist external support to accelerate delivery, strengthen engineering and governance standards, and build sustainable internal capability, therefore, it was decided to run a competitive tender to choose the most suitable partner to help Arts Council achieve its long-term digital objectives.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083036-2026 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Award under framework |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 2 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 1 Sep 2026 |
| Contract period | 29 Sep 2026 - 28 Sep 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £5,000,000,000 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | The Arts Council of England |
| Locality | MANCHESTER |
| Postcode area | Manchester |
| Postcode | M1 1FN |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLD North West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLD3 Greater Manchester |
| ITL 3 | TLD33 Manchester |
| Local authority | Manchester |
| Electoral ward | Piccadilly |
| Westminster constituency | Manchester Central |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | Mphasis |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

### Codes

- 72222000 - Information systems or technology strategic review and planning services

## Release History

- 2 Sep 2026 at 12:38 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083036-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083036-2026
  2nd September 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/api/1.0/ocdsReleasePackages/ocds-h6vhtk-04fb0d
- 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-06f055. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f055.json.