Research and development services and related consultancy services

Tender description

The Strategic Priorities Fund (SPF) is a new competitive funding scheme that funds: multi- and inter-disciplinary research and innovation (MIDRI); research and innovation that crosses the boundaries between the nine UKRI Councils and Other Governmental Departments (OGDs) to address Government research and innovation priorities; and strategically important research and innovation that cannot be supported through other mechanisms. UK Research and Innovation have a requirement for an evaluation of the SPF. The aim of the evaluation is to inform ongoing and future improvements of the fund, to maximise the value of public funding (in particular, the possibility of future growth of the SPF), to demonstrate what the fund delivered for taxpayers, and to help UKRI build the evidence base on ‘what works’ in successfully supporting high quality MIDRI and ensuring R&I responds to strategic opportunities and priorities. UKRI is committed to rigorous evaluation of all our key programmes, including the SPF. UKRI would like to commission an independent evaluation of our investments in the SPF Waves 1 and 2 portfolio. The aim of the evaluation is to inform ongoing and future improvements of the fund, to maximise the value of public funding (in particular, the possibility of future growth of the SPF), to demonstrate what the fund delivered for taxpayers, and to help UKRI build the evidence base on ‘what works’ in successfully supporting high-quality MIDRI (R&I) and ensuring R&I responds to strategic opportunities and priorities. The SPF is a diverse portfolio of programmes with different themes and funding bodies. A full list of the programmes across Waves 1 and 2 can be found in the tender document. More details on the fund can be found on UKRI’s website using the following link: https://www.ukri.org/research/themes-and-programmes/strategic-priorities-fund/ The evaluation is expected to be delivered over 4 phases with discrete deliverables which are outlined within the tender document. The expected completion date of the final deliverable is in December 2025. We have staggered the delivery of the evaluation reports to effectively capture evidence as we go along. Accordingly, we expect each subsequent report to add to the overall evidence base. We welcome bidders to set out their proposed approaches, in line with the guidance set out in the tender document.