---
title: "UKRI-6363 REF 2029 Submissions"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06f609"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06f609"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f609.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f609.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "UK RESEARCH & INNOVATION"
published: "2026-09-11"
---

# UKRI-6363 REF 2029 Submissions

Buyer: UK RESEARCH & INNOVATION  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06f609

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## Summary

UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) is procuring services for the Submissions Layer of its REF 2029 platform. The requirement is classified as technical computer support services and relates to the technical delivery of this phase of the Research Excellence Framework 2029 programme. UKRI is a central government public authority based in Swindon, Wiltshire. The procurement is structured as one lot and is suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. The work concerns a specialist digital platform and programme environment, so relevant suppliers are likely to be technology consultancies, platform support providers or delivery partners with experience of complex public-sector systems and research or higher-education programmes. The selected supplier is Scout Consultancy Ltd, an SME based in Pontypool.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded by direct award to Scout Consultancy Ltd. The award date was 11 September 2026. UKRI selected the supplier on the stated basis that it has the programme knowledge and technical capability needed to deliver the REF 2029 Submissions Layer; the rationale is classified as single-supplier technical reasons. The award value is £780,000 excluding VAT and £936,000 including VAT. The contract period runs from 1 October 2026 to 31 October 2027. One supplier was selected for the single lot. A contract signature milestone was scheduled for 28 September 2026, and the standstill period ended on 22 September 2026. The procurement was above the relevant threshold and used a direct-award route under the Procurement Act 2023.

This award indicates demand from UKRI for specialist technical support around a national research assessment platform, rather than general IT support. A credible future competitor would need demonstrable capability in designing, developing, integrating or supporting submission platforms and other complex digital services, together with strong programme knowledge and the capacity to deliver a defined platform phase. Experience of public-sector, research, higher-education or similarly governed data-intensive programmes would help establish relevance. Suppliers should also be able to explain how they manage technical delivery, service reliability, user needs, information governance and delivery risk in a high-profile programme. The direct-award rationale shows that UKRI placed particular weight on existing programme understanding and technical capability, so competitors would need evidence that they can provide both, whether independently or through a clearly managed specialist team.

## Notice

REF platform 2029: The Submissions Layer

### Procurement Information

To ensure the successful delivery of the REF2029 programme, UKRI wish to appoint Scout Consultancy Ltd, who has the necessary programme knowledge and technical capability to deliver the Submissions Layer phase of the project.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/086222-2026 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 11 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 11 Sep 2026 |
| Contract period | 1 Oct 2026 - 31 Oct 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £780,000 |
| 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 | UK RESEARCH & INNOVATION |
| Locality | SWINDON, WILTSHIRE |
| Postcode area | Swindon |
| Postcode | SN2 1FL |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLK7 Gloucestershire and Wiltshire |
| ITL 3 | TLK71 Swindon |
| Local authority | Swindon |
| Electoral ward | Rodbourne Cheney |
| Westminster constituency | Swindon North |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | SCOUT CONSULTANCY LTD |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 72611000 - Technical computer support services

## Release History

- 11 Sep 2026 at 09:38 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/086222-2026
- 9 Sep 2026 at 17:31 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/085566-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/086222-2026
  11th September 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/085566-2026
  9th September 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

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

## 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-06f609. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06f609.json.