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
- Closed tenderPublished 4 November 2016
Proc189 User Researcher (UX Design) x 4 Posts
- Closed tenderPublished 4 November 2016
Proc190 Designer (UI Designer) x 2 Posts
- Closed tenderPublished 4 November 2016
Consultancy to Create a Testbed for Technology Demonstrators
- Closed tenderPublished 4 November 2016
Proc189 User Researcher (UX Design) x 4 Posts
- Closed tenderPublished 3 November 2016
Software and Application Development Services for Growthplanner
- Awarded contract
Planning and building a new website for the School Games
- Closed tenderPublished 1 November 2016
PR-0209 Service & Interaction Designer
- Closed tenderPublished 1 November 2016
PR-0209 Service & Interaction Designer
- Closed tenderPublished 1 November 2016
Customer Contact Centre User Research
- Closed tenderPublished 1 November 2016
Customer Contact Centre User Research
- Closed tenderPublished 31 October 2016
Developer (Java) for NOMS Digital Studio
- Closed tenderPublished 31 October 2016
Developer (Java) for NOMS Digital Studio
- Closed tenderPublished 26 October 2016
East Sussex Heathcare NHS Trust Website and Extranet Content Management System (CMS) Partner
- Closed tenderPublished 26 October 2016
East Sussex Heathcare NHS Trust Website and Extranet Content Management System (CMS) Partner
- Closed tenderPublished 25 October 2016
PU-17/0189 Security Engineer for Survey Data Collection Platform
- Closed tenderPublished 25 October 2016
OR-0005 Research and Innovation Funding Service (RIFS) professional Scala back-end developers.
- Closed tenderPublished 25 October 2016
HO National Law Enforcement Data Programme (NLEDP) User Researcher (020a)
- Closed tenderPublished 25 October 2016
PU-17/0189 Security Engineer for Survey Data Collection Platform
- Closed tenderPublished 25 October 2016
OR-0005 Research and Innovation Funding Service (RIFS) professional Scala back-end developers.
- Closed tenderPublished 24 October 2016
HMCTS Civil, Family and Tribunals (CFT) Projects - Development and Technical Lead Capabilities
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 2,135 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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