---
title: "Evaluation of Officer Initiated Facial Recognition Tools"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-078514"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078514"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078514.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078514.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "COLLEGE OF POLICING LIMITED"
published: "2026-10-09"
---

# Evaluation of Officer Initiated Facial Recognition Tools

Buyer: COLLEGE OF POLICING LIMITED  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-078514

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## Summary

The College of Policing appointed a provider to evaluate officer-initiated facial recognition (OIFR) software used by South Wales Police. The work is research and evaluation focused primarily on the software’s productivity outcomes for policing. The named delivery force is South Wales Police; the award records the delivery location as the United Kingdom. The buyer is the College of Policing, a public authority. This is a specialist evidence-gathering assignment concerned with assessing a policing technology in operational use, rather than supplying or developing facial recognition software. Its relevance is therefore to research organisations and consultants able to design and deliver a focused evaluation of OIFR and its effect on police productivity.

The procurement is complete and the contract was awarded to the University of Birmingham on 6 October 2026. The award value is £64,200 excluding VAT (£77,040 including VAT). The contract period runs from 12 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. The procurement was conducted below the applicable threshold; the recorded procedure detail is “below threshold - unknown”. It was arranged as one lot, covering the evaluation of OIFR. The tender description identifies an experienced research and evaluation provider as the requirement and says the evaluation is focused primarily on policing productivity outcomes. No separate scored evaluation criteria are recorded in the process data.

The award shows demand from the College of Policing for independent, specialist evaluation of officer-initiated facial recognition in police use, with particular attention to operational productivity. A credible competitor for a similar requirement would need established research and evaluation capability, experience assessing software or technology in a policing context, and the ability to produce useful evidence about productivity outcomes. The selected supplier was a large university, indicating that a research-led organisation with the capacity to undertake a focused public-sector evaluation was suitable for this assignment. This is a narrow opportunity area: suppliers whose strengths are limited to software supply, general policing services or facial recognition development would need relevant evaluation expertise to compete effectively.

## Notice

The Authority seeks to appoint an experienced research and evaluation provider to support the evaluation of OIFR software used in South Wales Police. The evaluation is focused primarily on productivity outcomes for policing.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/095808-2026 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - unknown |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 9 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 6 Oct 2026 |
| Contract period | 12 Oct 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £64,200 |
| 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 | COLLEGE OF POLICING LIMITED |
| Locality | COVENTRY |
| Postcode area | Coventry |
| Postcode | CV8 3EN |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLG West Midlands (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLG1 Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire |
| ITL 3 | TLG13 Warwickshire CC |
| Local authority | Rugby |
| Electoral ward | Dunsmore |
| Westminster constituency | Kenilworth and Southam |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | University of Birmingham |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73110000 - Research services

## Release History

- 9 Oct 2026 at 16:21 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/095808-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/095808-2026
  9th October 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://www.birmingham.ac.uk
- https://www.college.police.uk/
- 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-078514. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078514.json.