Official UK procurement notice
Strategic Affairs Programme of Expertise
Authority: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) seeks to raise awareness ahead of a proposed procurement for a successor Strategic Affairs Training requirement.
See Section VI: "Complementary information" to this notice.
CPV: Education and training services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1See Section VI: "Complementary information" to this noticePlanned
See Section VI: "Complementary information" to this notice. Additional information: See Section VI: "Complementary information" to this notice.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office buys Education and training services (CPV 80), and who usually turns up
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’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: Education and training services (CPV 80) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
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.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning. Small firms win less of this buyer’s work than the market’s: 14% against 56%, n=7.
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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.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
No winner locations published for this authority. Local means a registered address in the region where that award was delivered.
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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.
Half of these awards have an award date within 37 days of the bid deadline.
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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.
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?
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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.
1 bid14% / 22%
2–354% / 30%
4–625% / 24%
7+7% / 24%
How did awards compare with estimates?
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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.
Below estimate31% / 31%
Within ±2%40% / 56%
Above estimate29% / 13%
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.
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 #1See Section VI: "Complementary information" to this noticeCPV 80Published estimate£750k
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 80. The comparison uses that group.
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 784 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid22%
2–330%
4–624%
7+24%
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.
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.
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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.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
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.
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.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- 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
- 20 Aug 2026, 15:16 BST
- Last source update
- 20 Aug 2026, 15:16 BST
- Authority reference
project_14433- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-079548- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e8d2Find a Tender
Publisher note: About: The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) leads the UK Government’s diplomatic, development and consular work worldwide. It work to protect and promote UK interests, support British nationals overseas, tackle global challenges and strengthen international partnerships. www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office. Strategic Affairs Training: The Authority intends to procure a successor Strategic Affairs Training contract to provide international security and strategic affairs training for UK civil servants, military officials and selected representatives from allied NATO countries. The requirement will support capability development in great power competition, grand strategy, deterrence, escalation management, strategic stability, arms control and non-proliferation. The anticipated contract will cover the design, development and delivery of a bespoke syllabus, including lectures, seminars, interactive exercises, roleplays, simulations, case studies, preparation materials and participant assessments. The course is expected to be delivered in person over two weeks for approximately 40 participants per cohort, with a pilot course in early 2027 followed by repeated course delivery over the contract term. Some delivery may take place overseas with allies, including potential locations in Berlin, Paris and Brussels. Indicative contract value is £750,000 excluding VAT, with an anticipated duration of 36 months. The final procurement documents will confirm the full requirements, evaluation approach, timetable, contract terms and any options for extension. Procurement Route: Should this project proceed to procurement it is proposed to tender through the Government Commercial Agency's RM6219 Learning and Training Services Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS): www.gca.gov.uk/agreements/RM6219. Suppliers will need to be pre-registered to it and be identifiable against the following DPS filters in order to be invited to the tender exercise: Service: Bespoke training. Niche / Specialist. FCDO is not responsible for supplier registration. Suppliers will need to contact the Government Commercial Agency and follow its guidance. Next Steps: The Authority is developing its requirements specification with view to commencing procurement activities towards November 2026. The authority plans to undertake an online market engagement event to further present its requirements however this may only be open to those suppliers already registered to the the DPS against the above specified filters.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
20 Aug 2026 → 2 Nov 2026 · 2 dates- Notice published68 days ago20 Aug 2026, 15:16 BST
- Today27 Oct 2026
- Tender notice expectedin 5 days2 Nov 2026
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
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.