---
title: "Scottish Election Study (SES)"
ocid: "ocds-r6ebe6-0000825507"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-r6ebe6-0000825507"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000825507.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000825507.json"
source: "Public Contracts Scotland"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH"
published: "2026-04-13"
---

# Scottish Election Study (SES)

Buyer: UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-r6ebe6-0000825507

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## Summary

The University Of Edinburgh has recently completed a procurement process titled "Scottish Election Study (SES)" under the industry category of Education services. The procurement aimed to provide pre/post-election services and was conducted for the region of UKM75, Edinburgh. This process is in the award stage, with a contract signed on 4th March 2026 for an amount of GBP 165,150. The SES has been supported by the ESRC, with a significant financial commitment of GBP 1.5 million, designated for its 2026-2030 iteration. The University chose a limited procurement method due to the technical necessity of contracting YouGov PLC, a supplier uniquely positioned to ensure data continuity and valuable trend data owing to their extensive prior involvement in similar projects. Key dates in this context include the initiation of fieldwork within weeks of the 2026 Scottish Elections and subsequent UK General Election.

This tender presents specialised opportunities for businesses like YouGov PLC, which competes on the basis of its technical capabilities and historic involvement rather than an open competition. Firms with similar niche offerings, particularly those capable of providing comprehensive trend analysis and data continuity in research services, may find growth opportunities by aligning their capabilities with the unique and required services, like those provided in educational and election-related data collection. The reliance on unique data offerings underlines the importance of developing specialised talents and databases that offer distinct advantages in bidding for such targeted procurements.

## Notice

Pre/Post Election Services

### Lot Information

Lot 1

The Scottish Election Study (SES), headquartered at the University of Edinburgh, has been awarded 1.5 Million GBP by the ESRC to conduct the 2026-2030 SES. It has been based at the University of Edinburgh since 2016. The SES includes two main forms of data collection: a 15 wave SCOOP survey and a pre/post-election study before and after the 2026 Scottish Elections and before and after the next UK General Election. The fieldwork will include a rolling cross section wave conducted four weeks before the election, and a static post, with fieldwork beginning within one week of the election. This will occur in April/May 2026. In addition, YouGov will provide fieldwork for a two-wave pre/post data collection the month before and immediately after the next UK General Election (the timing of which is set by the UK government but which will fall within the lifetime of the SES 2026 grant). YouGov has been identified as the sole supplier for this requirement on the basis of completing prior work for UoE ensuring data continuity which is a crucial component of this research: 1. The use of YouGov in previous SES fieldwork since 2007 means that respondents can be linked across multiple elections, providing trend data within individuals. This cannot be replicated by alternative suppliers without compromising the integrity of the data set. 2. Unlike any other provider in the UK, YouGov is able to offer us web tracker data enabling us to capture politically relevant news consumption during the campaign as well as the relationship between news habits and attitudes, and the impact of external political events (eg debates) on media habits. 3. The use of YouGov as the supplier for the British Election Study Internet Panel also facilitates data linkage between the SES and the larger BES, effectively ensuring there is greater value for ESRC spend.

### Procurement Information

YouGov has been identified as the sole supplier for this requirement, due to their unique position in the market and on the basis of completing prior work for UoE ensuring data continuity which is a crucial component of this research: 1. The use of YouGov in previous SES fieldwork since 2007 means that respondents can be linked across multiple elections, providing trend data within individuals. This cannot be replicated by alternative suppliers without compromising the integrity of the data set. 2. Unlike any other provider in the UK, YouGov is able to offer us web tracker data enabling us to capture politically relevant news consumption during the campaign as well as the relationship between news habits and attitudes, and the impact of external political events (eg debates) on media habits. 3. The use of YouGov as the supplier for the British Election Study Internet Panel also facilitates data linkage between the SES and the larger BES, effectively ensuring there is greater value for ESRC spend.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Public Contracts Scotland |
| Latest notice | https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=APR553723 |
| Notice type | PCS Notice - Website Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | SME |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 13 Apr 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 4 Mar 2026 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £165,150 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH |
| Locality | EDINBURGH |
| Post town | Edinburgh |
| Postcode | EH1 1HT |
| 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 | City Centre |
| Westminster constituency | Edinburgh East and Musselburgh |
| Delivery location | TLM75 City of Edinburgh |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | YOUGOV |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services
- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

### Codes

- 73110000 - Research services
- 79300000 - Market and economic research; polling and statistics
- 79320000 - Public-opinion polling services

## Release History

- 13 Apr 2026 at 00:00 - Award - PCS Notice - Website Contract Award Notice - https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=APR553723

## Documents

- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=APR553723
  Scottish Election Study (SES) - Pre/Post Election Services

## Notice URLs

- http://
- http://www.ed.ac.uk
- https://api.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/v1/Notice?id=ocds-r6ebe6-0000825507

## 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-r6ebe6-0000825507. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-r6ebe6-0000825507.json.