Official UK procurement notice
Food Data Infrastructure and Governance
Authority: DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThis project’s aims are three-fold: to design and develop a data sharing infrastructure suitable for the UK agri-food system; advise on an optimal governance model for this infrastructure; and pilot data sharing across a selection of food product supply chains. The project will begin with a discovery phase that will form a picture of the current data sharing ecosystem in the agri-food sector and learn from current practice within and outside of the agri-food sector. Following this, a detailed design of a potential DSI system architecture will be developed alongside an optimal model of system governance. Data sharing pilots in specific agri-food supply chains will consider how data sharing can be operationalised and incentivised to inform this design, identifying and proposing solutions to scale-up participation.
The outputs of this project should provide the evidence base for government and industry to invest in and deliver DSI that delivers public goods and promotes sustainable growth and resilience of the UK agri-food sector. Support the work of UK government to create a smart data ecosystem with in the Agri-Food Sector. It should take into account major international data sharing infrastructure in development such as the EU ‘digital product passports’ and the UN CEFACT ‘Transparency Protocol’ and align with any UK data sharing policy that emerges between project procurement and inception. This project should use the Digital Twin Hub’s Gemini Principles (Figure 2), Smart Data initiatives such as Open Banking, and the FDTP Key Principles as a basis for the aims and outcomes of the DSI and governance design work.
CPV: Research and experimental development services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£0
- Condition of participation
Part 1 - confirmation of core supplier information: suppliers participating in procurements will now be expected to register on a central digital platform (CDP). Suppliers can submit their core supplier information and, where a procurement opportunity arises, share this information with the contracting authority via the CDP. It is free to use and will mean suppliers should no longer have to re-enter this information for each public procurement but simply ensure it is up to date and subsequently shared. The CDP is available at www.gov.uk/find-tender ↗. Part 1 provides confirmation that suppliers have taken these steps.
Part 2 - additional exclusions information: procurement legislation provides for an ‘exclusion regime’ and a published ‘debarment’ list to safeguard procurement from suppliers who may pose a risk (for example, due to misconduct or poor performance). Suppliers must submit their own (and their connected persons ) exclusions information via the CDP. This includes self-declarations as to whether any exclusion grounds apply to them and, if so, details about the event or conviction and what steps have been taken to prevent such circumstances from occurring again.
What it takes to wini
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 morei
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).
Published sub-criteria (2)
- Technical: 70%
- Commercial: 30%
Published award criteria (2)
- Technical: E01: Approach and methodology – 30% E02: Project management (including project plan) – 20% E03: Proposed staff and contractor/sub-contractor expertise – 25% E04 Risk – 10% E05 Social Value – 15%
- Commercial: Total Cost
- Condition of participation
Part 1 - confirmation of core supplier information: suppliers participating in procurements will now be expected to register on a central digital platform (CDP). Suppliers can submit their core supplier information and, where a procurement opportunity arises, share this information with the contracting authority via the CDP. It is free to use and will mean suppliers should no longer have to re-enter this information for each public procurement but simply ensure it is up to date and subsequently shared. The CDP is available at www.gov.uk/find-tender ↗. Part 1 provides confirmation that suppliers have taken these steps.
Part 2 - additional exclusions information: procurement legislation provides for an ‘exclusion regime’ and a published ‘debarment’ list to safeguard procurement from suppliers who may pose a risk (for example, due to misconduct or poor performance). Suppliers must submit their own (and their connected persons ) exclusions information via the CDP. This includes self-declarations as to whether any exclusion grounds apply to them and, if so, details about the event or conviction and what steps have been taken to prevent such circumstances from occurring again.
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Below threshold - open competition
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Cancelled
- Procurement threshold
- Below threshold
- Regulatory regime
- Concession
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 23 May 2025, 15:36 BST
- Last source update
- 19 Dec 2025, 11:08 GMT
- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-061730- Latest notice
- Procurement termination notice (UK12)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0523efFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 3 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 20 Oct 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
Timeline
23 May 2025 → 12 Jan 2026 · 7 dates- Planning notice published23 May 2025, 15:36 BST
- Market engagement2 Jun 2025, 23:59 BST
NOTICE OF INTENTION TO HOLD PRELIMINARY ENGAGEMENT Food Data Infrastructure and Governance (FIG) Project In collaboration with the Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP), Defra’s Agri-Food Science team are tendering for a new R&D project on Agri-food system data sharing infrastructure and governance. This project has the following aims: 1. To identify the breadth of data and data sharing initiatives, currently within the agri-food system. 2. To provide detailed recommendation for the design and development of a data sharing infrastructure suitable for the UK agri-food system. 3. To explore the feasibility of operationalising product level environmental impact data sharing across a selection of food product supply chains, through piloting the proposed data sharing infrastructure. The work will build on the work of the FDTP and associated R&D projects commissioned by the Defra Agri-Food science team. More information can be found at the following links:
- www.gov.uk/government/groups/fo… ↗
- www.wrap.ngo/resources/report/led… ↗ Bidders should be able to demonstrate good technical understanding of the key themes of the project: digital infrastructure, data sharing infrastructure, date system architecture, and governance structures. They should also have a good understanding of the complexity of the agri-food system. Bidders are encouraged to submit joint bids to ensure that multi-disciplinary requirements across the themes can be satisfied. The project is to be contracted through an open tender competition. It is expected to commence in September 2025 and will last for approximately 18 months. Supplier Engagement Event Please note that the Authority (Defra); will be holding a supplier event in w/c 9th June 2025 (exact time and date TBD). If you and or your organisation is interested in attending this event, please respond using the email address below: FoodDataTransparencyPartnership@defra.gov.uk on or before Monday 2nd June by 12:00pm. Please include the name and email address of who to invite. An invite will be shared via teams. Regards Defra
- Tender notice published390 days ago2 Oct 2025, 13:55 BST
- Clarification questions by372 days ago20 Oct 2025, 12:00 BST
- Submission deadline358 days ago3 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Latest notice published312 days ago19 Dec 2025, 11:08 GMT
- Contract starts288 days ago12 Jan 2026
Notice history
8 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 23 May 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published23 May 2025, 15:36 BSTUK2
- Tender notice published2 Oct 2025, 13:55 BSTUK4
- Published value updated to £02 Oct 2025, 13:55 BSTwas £1
- Status changed to active2 Oct 2025, 13:55 BST
- Procurement method changed2 Oct 2025, 13:55 BST
- Deadline published: 3 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT2 Oct 2025, 13:55 BST
- Procurement termination notice published19 Dec 2025, 11:08 GMTUK12
- Status changed to complete19 Dec 2025, 11:08 GMT
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| supplier not published | — | 18 Dec 2025 | CancelledThe Procurement has been terminated due to unforeseen circumstances. |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Procurement termination notice Procurement termination notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender