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 5 August 2021
Senior Product Manager
GBP/DAY 1,147
- Expired contractPublished 5 August 2021
CS21381 - UK Research and Innovation: User Researcher
£38,350
- Closed tenderPublished 4 August 2021
Safety Tech Innovation Network - Building in Good Governance
£31,666
- Closed tenderPublished 4 August 2021
Develop DiAGRAM prototype to meet accessibility standards and make improvements to user interface
£82,500
- Closed tenderPublished 3 August 2021
DDaT21189 Public beta of www.innovateukedge.ukri.org
£60,000
- Awarded contractPublished 2 August 2021
Open Regulation Platform - Alpha phase
£615,000
- Awarded contractPublished 2 August 2021
NHS Test and Trace Content Design Capability
£1,250,000
- Awarded contractPublished 2 August 2021
NHS Test and Trace User Research Capability
£1,250,000
- Awarded contractPublished 2 August 2021
PHP Developer for MOD Apply for a Deceased Person's Military Record Service
£143,000
- Awarded contractPublished 2 August 2021
NHS Test and Trace Service Design Capability
£1,250,000
- Awarded contractPublished 2 August 2021
Managing Supervision in the Community Beta
£652,000
- Awarded contractPublished 2 August 2021
Further development of common tools to support case work with residents
£500
- Awarded contractPublished 1 August 2021
Developing the digital social care workforce: Building the foundations
£77,700
- Awarded contractPublished 1 August 2021
Report on Mental Health Online Tool based on NHS User testing
£10,000
- Awarded contractPublished 1 August 2021
Nottinghamshire digital employment and skills brokerage platform
£75,000
- Closed tenderPublished 30 July 2021
PRO004373 Customer Market Research Services
£6,000,000
- Closed tenderPublished 30 July 2021
Transforming the National Genomics Informatics Service (NGIS) Strategic Software Dev Partner
£4,600,000
- Closed tenderPublished 29 July 2021
Request for Information (RFI) - Accelerated Patient Held Records
Value not stated
- Expired contractPublished 28 July 2021
Digital Outcome & Specialists - User Research Capability
£390,875
- Closed tenderPublished 28 July 2021
Search Alpha/Beta - Empowering users to search The National Archives catalogue and website
£100,000
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 2,117 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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