---
title: "Digital Development Partner"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06f05e"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06f05e"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f05e.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f05e.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-06f05e

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06f05e)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f05e.json)

## Summary

Arts Council of England appointed a digital development partner for its digital and data transformation programme. The requirement covers specialist external support to accelerate delivery, strengthen engineering and governance standards, and build sustainable internal capability supporting the Council’s long-term digital objectives. This is a digital transformation and information technology consultancy service, including strategic review and planning of information systems or technology (CPV 72222000). The buying organisation is Arts Council of England, a public authority based in Manchester. The work concerns the Council’s internal digital, data, engineering and governance environment, with delivery for the organisation rather than a construction, supply or venue-based requirement. It is a single service requirement delivered through one completed lot.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded. Arts Council of England used a competitive selective procedure, with the award made under a framework agreement. Mphasis UK Limited was selected on 1 September 2026 for £5,000,000 excluding VAT, or £6,000,000 including VAT. The contract period is 29 September 2026 to 28 September 2029, with a possible two-year renewal extending the maximum period to 27 September 2031. The award is active and above the relevant threshold. There was one completed lot, covering the full digital development partner requirement. The opportunity was evaluated through the competitive framework route; the published data does not provide a more detailed weighting or scoring basis.

This award shows that Arts Council of England buys substantial, integrated digital transformation support through a competitive framework route. Suppliers best placed for a future requirement would combine digital strategy with hands-on software engineering, data transformation, technology planning, governance and delivery improvement. Credible providers would need to demonstrate that they can accelerate complex programmes while raising engineering and governance standards, transfer knowledge and capability to internal teams, and support sustainable delivery rather than provide short-term consultancy alone. The buyer’s selection of Mphasis UK Limited, an SME, indicates that this scale of work can be delivered by a focused specialist rather than only by a very large systems integrator. Relevant firms should therefore be able to evidence comparable public-sector or complex organisational transformation work and operate effectively within framework competitions.

## 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/083052-2026 |
| 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 |
| 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 13:20 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083052-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083052-2026
  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-06f05e. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f05e.json.