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
- Expired contract
ITEP0993 - Human Centered Design Delivery RIS3
- Stale Pre-tenderPublished 8 July 2025
National Public Transport Access Nodes (NaPTAN) Development and Support
- Expired contract
UserZoom - Remote Experience Testing Software and Services
- Closed tenderPublished 3 July 2025
RM1043.8 - Family Hub and Start for Life Data Portal
- Expired contract
Ocean Country Partnership Programme: Senegal Development of the DAMCP Data Management System
- Closed tenderPublished 27 June 2025
Apprenticeships Digital Development, Testing and Architecture - DfE
- Closed tenderPublished 26 June 2025
HMLR701130 - User Research
- Stale Pre-tenderPublished 20 June 2025
Digital & IT Opportunities at The National Archives
- Closed tenderPublished 16 June 2025
Department for Transport Connectivity Tool
- Awarded contract
Department for Transport Connectivity Tool
- Awarded contract
Award of Interim IT Staff Services Framework - Senior User Researcher
- Closed tenderPublished 11 June 2025
Prj_14257 - HMCTS User Research Participants.
- Expired contract
Project 4718- OPSS Digital - Specalist Resource
- Expired contract
IBCA Medium-Long Term Strategic Design
- Closed tenderPublished 29 May 2025
British Army Website Support - Project Digital Forge
- Awarded contract
British Army Website Support - Project Digital Forge
- Closed tenderPublished 22 May 2025
RM1043.8-1-Department For Education-Sector Data Capability Pilot
- Awarded contract
RM1043.8 - MOJ Community Payback (Unpaid Work) Beta
- Closed tenderPublished 21 May 2025
RM1043.8 - MOJ Community Payback (Unpaid Work) Beta
- Closed tenderPublished 16 May 2025
Ocean Country Partnership Programme: Senegal Development of the DAMCP Data Management System
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, 2 notices were added in the last seven days and 2,146 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, 2 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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