Researcher Tenders
See open user research tenders and awarded contracts for the UK public sector.
User research reaches the market two ways: as a standalone commission for research, usability testing or participant recruitment, and as a named workstream inside a larger digital delivery contract. Stotles tracks 4,691 notices on this topic, 1,959 of them awarded and 76 sitting at pre-tender.
Departments, councils, NHS bodies and public broadcasters all buy it, usually to meet the GDS service standard. Volume is thin: expect a couple of notices a week, so the awarded records are where the pattern shows.
4,672 results
- Awarded contract
CMA Market and Behavioural Research under Lot 2 (Random Probability Online Panel Research Services), Lot 3 (Quantitative Research), Lot 5 (Behavioural Research) and Lot 6 (User Experience Research) only
- Closed tenderPublished 11 December 2024
User Experience and User Insight Platform
- Awarded contract
CMA Market and Behavioural Research under Lot 1 (Qualitative Research), Lot 4 (Secondary Research), Lot 5 (Behavioural Research), and Lot 6 (User Experience Research) only
- Closed tenderPublished 11 December 2024
User Experience (Ux) and User Insight Platform
- Awarded contract
CMA Market and Behavioural Research under Lot 1 (Qualitative research) and Lot 6 (User Experience Research) only
- Expired contract
Homes England - User Testing
- Awarded contract
Participant recruitment and incentive payments
- Closed tenderPublished 9 December 2024
IfATE - Occupational Maps - hosting, maintenance and minor developments (63739)
- Expired contract
Web Development Service/Resources
- Awarded contract
PHW-MIN-57836 - Digital Diabetes Discovery
- Closed tenderPublished 25 November 2024
PHW-MIN-57836 - Digital Diabetes Discovery
- Awarded contract
EHRC 2324-16 Intranet Development
- Closed tenderPublished 21 November 2024
DDaT24503 The Funding Service (TFS) Optimisation & Early Life Support (ELS)
- Awarded contract
Award of Senior User Researcher
- Awarded contract
Children's Online Research Panel
- Closed tenderPublished 6 November 2024
RM1043.8-1-Department for Business and Trade - Project 4184 Provision of Digital Skills for Technology
- Closed tenderPublished 4 November 2024
Apprenticeships Service - User Centred Design
- Closed tenderPublished 31 October 2024
WP2249 Recruitment of User Research Participants for GOV.UK Programme - RM1043.8-3-Cabinet Office
- Awarded contract
UK_2024_Conversion Rate Optimisation Agency - AWARD
- Expired contract
Multi-model research methods platform for User Research
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about user research, usability testing, design research, user insight, user experience research, ux research, research participant recruitment in the UK public sector.
How do I find user research contracts in the UK public sector?
Two routes. Watch the portals for live notices, or get in earlier by following the buyers who keep commissioning this work. Stotles pulls notices from 100+ portals into one feed, so a research brief published on a Welsh or Scottish portal sits next to a Find a Tender notice. Platform-wide, 0 notices were added in the last seven days and 2,140 are open across every topic.
What sort of user research work do public sector buyers tender for?
Four recognisable shapes in the recent sample: participant recruitment agencies, usability testing on a service being rebuilt, research and design people supplied into a multidisciplinary team, and licences for a user research platform. Recruitment is the most self-contained of them, and the one most often let as a contract of its own.
What CPV codes are used for user research tenders?
There is no dedicated code, which is why this page filters on keywords rather than classifications. The three that come up most alongside the filter are 73110000 (Research services) with 125 matching notices, 79315000 (Social research services) with 43, and 72000000 (IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support) with 257. That last one is the tell: plenty of this work is procured as digital delivery rather than as research.
How many user research tenders are open right now?
Six, against 4,691 notices on record and 1,959 already awarded. That is the honest shape of the topic: a small live pipeline and a long award history. Read the awarded notices anyway. They carry the buyer, the incumbent and the contract dates you would need to time a bid for the retender. Platform-wide, 0 award notices were published in the last seven days.
Is user research bought through frameworks?
Often. The recent sample includes call-offs under the Crown Commercial Service RM6126 Research & Insights agreement and briefs run through the Digital Outcomes route, alongside notices published straight to a portal. Stotles' 2026 Supplier Benchmark Report found 44% of suppliers treat frameworks as their main route to market, so check which agreements a buyer already holds before chasing an open notice.
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