---
title: "ES RDE 007 Economic assessment for UK environmental DNA strategy"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-07781b"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-07781b"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07781b.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07781b.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & RURAL AFFAIRS"
published: "2026-09-23"
---

# ES RDE 007 Economic assessment for UK environmental DNA strategy

Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & RURAL AFFAIRS  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-07781b

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## Summary

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) commissioned an economic assessment to support a UK strategy for environmental DNA (eDNA). The work examines the costs and benefits of using eDNA-based environmental monitoring in public sector institutes, to inform the case for adopting the technology across Defra and beyond. This is research and development and related consultancy work. The buyer is Defra, a central government department. The procurement covers a single requirement rather than separate lots, and the named supplier is the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, based in Wallingford. Its subject is the economic value of eDNA research and environmental monitoring, rather than the supply of monitoring equipment or the delivery of field monitoring services.

The procurement is complete and the contract is active. Defra used a selective, below-threshold direct award under a framework; the process was non-competitive. The contract was signed on 29 July 2026 and runs from 3 August 2026 to 31 March 2027. Its value is £59,931.58 excluding VAT (£71,917.90 including VAT). The contract was awarded to the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. The scope is an economic assessment of costs and benefits of eDNA monitoring for public sector institutes, to make the case for support of the technology in Defra and beyond. The procurement comprised one lot. The published data does not state award scoring criteria or supplier eligibility conditions.

This award demonstrates demand from Defra for specialist economic research that can assess environmental monitoring technologies and inform strategy across public sector bodies. A credible competitor for a comparable requirement would need expertise in environmental DNA and environmental monitoring, alongside the ability to analyse costs and benefits for public sector institutes and present findings that support policy and investment decisions. The successful supplier is the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, indicating that a research organisation with relevant environmental science capability was selected. The work was placed through a non-competitive award under a framework, so suppliers seeking similar work should consider whether they can qualify for the relevant framework route as well as demonstrate the required research and economic assessment capability.

## Notice

DEFRA Self-Serve Direct Award This project will set out the economic case for support of eDNA as an environmental monitoring technology in Defra group and beyond. It focuses on the costs and benefits of eDNA based environmental monitoring for public sector institutes

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/089916-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - award under framework |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 23 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 3 Aug 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £59,931 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & RURAL AFFAIRS |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Postcode area | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 4DF |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

## Release History

- 23 Sep 2026 at 09:15 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/089916-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/089916-2026
  23rd September 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/api/1.0/ocdsReleasePackages/ocds-h6vhtk-04ef64
- 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-07781b. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07781b.json.