Find a TenderPlanned procurementPlanned procurement notice
Published 8 Oct 2026, 15:16 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Community Impact Fund - Evaluation Partner

Authority: North East Combined Authority (Local council)

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitableVCSE suitable
Planned pipeline value£300,000pipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 17 Oct 2026from the planned procurement notice
Contract term 2 yrs 2 moends 1 Apr 2029 · up to 1 Oct 2029 with extensions · starts 18 Jan 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

The North East Mayoral Strategic Authority is seeking to appoint an independent Evaluation Partner to undertake a programme-level evaluation of the £12 million North East Community Impact Fund (CIF). CIF aims to improve outcomes for children and families experiencing poverty by strengthening the capacity, capability and sustainability of the VCSE sector and enabling more preventative and outcomes-based approaches to service delivery.

The evaluation will assess CIF’s implementation, emerging outcomes and value for money across its different components, including its support to strengthen VCSE capability and commissioning readiness and the development and delivery of preventative and outcomes-based services. It will draw together evidence from across CIF-supported activity and establish the foundations for assessing CIF’s longer-term contribution to outcomes for children and families.

The Evaluation Partner will also support continuous learning and improvement throughout delivery, providing practical findings and recommendations to inform future commissioning, investment and VCSE support across the North East.

CPV: Evaluation consultancy services · Research consultancy services · Social research services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1PlannedRenewal 2 yrs 2 moSMEVCSEPublished value£300,000
Contract period: 18 Jan 2027 – 1 Apr 2029 (2 yrs 2 mo) · up to 1 Oct 2029 with extensionsValue: £300,000 exc. VAT · £300,000 inc. VAT
Delivery: North EastEligibility: SME eligibleVCSE eligible
Extensions: 1 X 6 MONTH OPTION TO EXTEND

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

What it takes to win
i

How this buyer will score bids.

The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).

Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add more
How bids were scored
Quality: 80%Price: 20%
Published award criteria (2)
  • Quality
  • Price
What this means for your bid
  • Price carries 20 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 2 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.

Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published

How North East Combined Authority buys Business and management consultancy services (CPV 7941), and who usually turns up

North East Combined Authority’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Business and management consultancy services (CPV 7941) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerNorth East Combined Authority · division 79
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
i

How often small and medium firms win.

Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.

The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 3 of 6 known-size awards · market: CPV 7941 · North East England, n=92
50%68%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
i

How often local firms win similar work.

Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.

Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in North East England.

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 7 of 11 known-location awards · market: CPV 7941 · North East England, n=130
64%22%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.

How long to a decision?
i

How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.

Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: no decision dates published · market: CPV 7941 · North East England, n=18
—37 days

Half of these awards have an award date within 37 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
i

How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.

Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.

Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.

Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: at least 7 of 10 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 7941 · North East England, n=125
70%49%

Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.

How many bids did past lots attract?

i

How many bids past lots received.

Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.

Past bids do not predict this tender.

Last 36 months.

This buyerToo few to chart: 4 lots with bid counts, 5 needed · all categories
The market19 lots with bid counts · CPV 7941 · North East England
11% had one bid
Market · select a colour for counts
1 bid11%
Market: 2 of 19 lots with published bid counts.
2–326%
Market: 5 of 19 lots with published bid counts.
4–626%
Market: 5 of 19 lots with published bid counts.
7+37%
Market: 7 of 19 lots with published bid counts.

How did awards compare with estimates?

i

Where winning prices landed against estimates.

Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.

Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.

Last 36 months.

This buyerToo few to chart: 1 lot with estimate and award, 5 needed · broad CPV 79
The market14 lots with estimate and award · CPV 7941 · North East England
29% below estimate
Market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate29%
Market: 4 of 14 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%50%
Market: 7 of 14 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate21%
Market: 3 of 14 lots with an estimate and award.
2

Assess each lot
i

What past awards tell you about each lot.

See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.

No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1CPV 793126 monthsSME suitablePublished estimate£300k

This lot is listed as CPV 7931. The table above uses the notice category.

Expected competition
i

How many bids this lot may attract.

The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.

Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 16 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet0% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 16 similar lots
1 bid0%
0 of 16 similar past lots received 1 bid (0%).
2–325%
4 of 16 similar past lots received 2–3 (25%).
4–625%
4 of 16 similar past lots received 4–6 (25%).
7+50%
8 of 16 similar past lots received 7+ (50%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 6.5 bids.
Commercial price forecast
i

Where the award price may land.

The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.

No comparable awards for this lot yet.

A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.

—No model forecast yet
No comparable awards on record for this lot’s category yet. The published estimate is £300k, and the forecast stays empty until the market has a record to read.

Who has supplied this buyer on similar work?
i

Who has done similar work for this buyer.

Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.

A past supplier may not bid again.

SupplierThis buyer’s earlier contractLotAward valueWhy listed
Social Finance LtdEarlier contractCommunity Impact Fund: Programme Mobilisationstarted Sept 2026—£91kMatched as the earlier contract

Who could compete for this lot?
i

Who could compete for this lot?

Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.

None is confirmed as a bidder.

Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.

About this data
  • Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
  • Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
  • Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
  • Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.

What this replaces
i

Who has done similar work for this buyer.

Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.

46% title match.

A past supplier may not bid again.

The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (46% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid

Community Impact Fund: Programme Mobilisation — held by Social Finance Ltd; no contract end date published.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record
Procedure method
Open procedure
Legal basis
UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
8 Oct 2026, 15:16 BST
Last source update
8 Oct 2026, 15:16 BST
Award evaluation window
Submission end – 22 Dec 2026
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-095314
Latest notice
Planned procurement notice (UK3)
Classification (CPV)
Evaluation consultancy servicesResearch consultancy servicesSocial research services
Delivery area
North East (UKC14)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0783fb Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: OPEN-UK
Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free
Submission deadline
10 Nov 2026
Clarification deadline
5 Nov 2026
Submission channel
Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission
Allowed
Accepted languages
en
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Tender submissions must be submitted electronically via the OPEN e-Procurement Portal. Suppliers wishing to participate in this opportunity must register (if not already registered) and submit their completed tender response through the portal by the stated deadline.

Tender documents can be accessed and submitted via the following link:

www.open-uk.org ↗

Submissions sent by email or any method other than the OPEN e-Procurement Portal will not be accepted. Suppliers are responsible for ensuring that their tender is successfully submitted before the deadline. No electronic auction will be used as part of this procurement process. Expressions of interest should also be submitted through the OPEN e-Procurement Portal.

Timeline

8 Oct 2026 → 18 Jan 2027 · 6 dates
  1. Planning notice published18 days ago
    8 Oct 2026, 15:16 BST
  2. Tender notice expected10 days ago
    17 Oct 2026, 00:59 BST
  3. Today
    26 Oct 2026
  4. Clarification questions byin 9 days
    5 Nov 2026
  5. Submission deadlinein 14 days
    10 Nov 2026
  6. Award decision expected byin 57 days
    22 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
  7. Contract startsin 83 days
    18 Jan 2027

Notice history

1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender
  1. Planned procurement notice published
    8 Oct 2026, 15:16 BST
    UK3

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Pipeline notice
Awards (0)
No award published
Contracts (0)
No contract published
Bid statistics
No aggregate bid statistics published

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

North East Combined Authority

Contracting authorityPublic authority - sub-central government GB-PPON: PJMR-6594-BRGH The Lumen, St James' Boulevard, Newcastle Upon Tyne, North East, NE4 5BZContact email

Official documents & specifications (1)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure