---
title: "Towards A National Collection - Digitisation Capability Pilot for N-RICH Prototype"
ocid: "ocds-r6ebe6-0000820927"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-r6ebe6-0000820927"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000820927.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000820927.json"
source: "Public Contracts Scotland"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT SCOTLAND"
published: "2026-05-29"
---

# Towards A National Collection - Digitisation Capability Pilot for N-RICH Prototype

Buyer: HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT SCOTLAND  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-r6ebe6-0000820927

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## Summary

The procurement process for the "Towards A National Collection – Digitisation Capability Pilot for N-RICH Prototype" is being managed by Historic Environment Scotland, a central purchasing body located in Edinburgh. This contract, categorised under services with a focus on heritage, tourism, conservation, and the built environment, has reached the award stage as of May 2026. The project involves creating digital collections data to support cultural heritage research, with Oxford University Innovation Limited being awarded the contract. The open procedure used for this procurement indicates a transparent selection process. The contract was signed on 21 May 2026, valued at £265,275, and targets delivery within the UKM75 region of Edinburgh.

This tender presents numerous opportunities for businesses involved in digitisation, data analysis, and heritage conservation sectors. It seeks to develop computation-ready digital collections, creating a market for firms with innovative solutions for digital data structuring and advanced computational access. Companies with strong capabilities in creating interoperable data for large-scale analysis and AI-enabled research can greatly benefit. The open procurement process used, with a significant 60% weight on technical quality and 10% on price, is ideal for established businesses looking to showcase technical expertise and innovative approaches. Additionally, the involvement of a well-respected academic institution as a supplier could provide significant networking and collaboration opportunities for partnering businesses.

## Notice

Towards A National Collection - Digitisation Capability Pilot for N-RICH Prototype

### Lot Information

Lot 1

The Digitisation Capability Pilot is one of the two core work packages delivered through the N-RICH Prototype, alongside the Digital Research Infrastructure Prototype. Its role is to address the supply-side constraints that currently limit the use of cultural heritage collections in computational and data-driven research. While digitisation activity across the UK GLAM sector has expanded access to collections, it has not consistently produced data that is structured, documented and interoperable enough to support large-scale analysis, AI-enabled methods or cross-collection research. The Pilot responds to this gap by focusing on the creation of computation-ready digital collections data, providing a foundation for subsequent infrastructure development and research use. The objectives of the Digitisation Capability Pilot are to: - Define a shared, open and scalable digitisation standard for priority GLAM collection types, specifying baseline, enhanced and aspirational levels of practice; - Ensure the standard is oriented towards interoperability, computational access and reuse, embedding FAIR and CARE principles; - Support data creation, augmentation and computational readiness, including standards for rapid, rich and non-destructive digitisation appropriate to different collection types and research purposes; - Design the standard to be modular and incrementally adoptable by institutions of differing scale, capacity and resource; - Test and refine the standard through limited application with partner GLAM institutions; - Generate evidence on cost, skills and organisational implications to inform future investment decisions; - Publish the standard openly and propose an appropriate model for its future stewardship and evolution.

Options: Historic Environment Scotland reserves the right to request additional deliveries by the Successful Tenderer, either intended as partial replacement of services or as extensions of existing services. Historic Environment Scotland may at it's sole discretion exercise this option.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Public Contracts Scotland |
| Latest notice | https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAY556829 |
| Notice type | OJEU - F3 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 29 May 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 27 Feb 2026 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 21 May 2026 |
| Contract period | 11 May 2026 - 27 Nov 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £225,000 |
| Lots value | £225,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £265,275 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT SCOTLAND |
| Locality | EDINBURGH |
| Post town | Edinburgh |
| Postcode | EH9 1SH |
| Country | Scotland |
| ITL 1 | TLM Scotland |
| ITL 2 | TLM1 East Central Scotland |
| ITL 3 | TLM13 City of Edinburgh |
| Local authority | City of Edinburgh |
| Electoral ward | Southside/Newington |
| Westminster constituency | Edinburgh South |
| Delivery location | TLM75 City of Edinburgh |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | OXFORD UNIVERSITY INNOVATION |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

## Release History

- 29 May 2026 at 00:00 - Award - OJEU - F3 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAY556829
- 16 Jan 2026 at 00:00 - Tender - OJEU - F2 - Contract Notice - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JAN547461

## Documents

- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/NoticeDownload/DownloadDocument.aspx?id=JAN547461&idx=8
  16th January 2026 - Document 8 - Prompt Payment Form
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/NoticeDownload/DownloadDocument.aspx?id=JAN547461&idx=9
  16th January 2026 - Document 9 - HES Suppliers Privacy Notice
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/NoticeDownload/DownloadDocument.aspx?id=JAN547461&idx=1
  16th January 2026 - Document 1 - Instructions For Tenderers
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/NoticeDownload/DownloadDocument.aspx?id=JAN547461&idx=2
  16th January 2026 - Document 2 - Specification of Requirements
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/NoticeDownload/DownloadDocument.aspx?id=JAN547461&idx=3
  16th January 2026 - Document 3 - Quality Schedule
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/NoticeDownload/DownloadDocument.aspx?id=JAN547461&idx=4
  16th January 2026 - Document 4 - Pricing Schedule
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/NoticeDownload/DownloadDocument.aspx?id=JAN547461&idx=5
  16th January 2026 - Document 5 - HES Terms and Conditions
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/NoticeDownload/DownloadDocument.aspx?id=JAN547461&idx=6
  16th January 2026 - Document 6 - Form of Tender
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/NoticeDownload/DownloadDocument.aspx?id=JAN547461&idx=7
  16th January 2026 - Document 7 - Self Declaration Form on Russian & Belarusian Links
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JAN547461
  Towards A National Collection - Digitisation Capability Pilot for N-RICH Prototype - Towards A National Collection - Digitisation Capability Pilot for N-RICH Prototype
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAY556829
  Towards A National Collection - Digitisation Capability Pilot for N-RICH Prototype - Towards A National Collection - Digitisation Capability Pilot for N-RICH Prototype

## Notice URLs

- http://
- http://historicenvironment.scot
- http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk
- https://api.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/v1/Notice?id=ocds-r6ebe6-0000820927
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/

## 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-r6ebe6-0000820927. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000820927.json.