Digital Outcomes and Specialists 7

A Government Commercial Agency framework (RM1043.9) for buying digital, data and technology services across the agile lifecycle. Public sector bodies use it to buy outcome-based delivery, capability partners, individual specialists, and user research studios or participants. It replaces and combines Digital Outcomes 6 and Digital Specialists and Programmes.

Four. Lot 1 Digital Outcomes (build or rebuild agile digital services), Lot 2 Digital Capability and Delivery Partners (long-term transformation and capability building), Lot 3 Digital Specialists (individual roles on day rates), and Lot 4 User Research Studios and Participants. All four are bought through competitive selection, not direct award.

It went live on 30 January 2026. It is a six-year open framework that reopens to new suppliers roughly every 18 months, with the current window running to 29 July 2027. Call-offs awarded during a window continue to run under their own terms after the window closes.

Maximum call-off length depends on the lot: 48 months on Lot 1, 72 months on Lot 2, 24 months on Lot 3 and 36 months on Lot 4, including any extensions.

Around 1,700 suppliers were awarded places at launch, and the number changes over the framework's life as it reopens. The official supplier list sits on the GCA RM1043.9 agreement page. Use it to scope competitors and shortlist partners.

Buyers run single, two or multistage competitions, mostly through the Contract Award Service with responses via eSourcing. They can use a filtering tool (Search and Save) to invite relevant suppliers: optional for Lots 1, 2 and 4, mandatory for Lot 3. Keeping your filter selections current matters, especially the new Product filter, because it decides which competitions you get invited to.

DOS 7 merges Digital Outcomes 6 and Digital Specialists and Programmes into one framework. It does not absorb Digital and IT Professional Services (DIPS). The biggest practical change for suppliers is the new Product filter, which maps capabilities across 18 technology categories, from AI and Automation to Security and Web, and feeds the buyer's filtering tool.

Yes. Subcontracting needs prior written consent from GCA and the buyer, with key subcontractors declared under Joint Schedule 6. Lot 2 in particular is used by consortia; note that tender invitations and notifications go only to the prime supplier's eSourcing account.

The framework is new, so award volumes are still building and there is no established top-buyer ranking yet. Crown Commercial Service / GCA is the framework provider. As buyers start running competitions, the live buyer and supplier rankings will populate.