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 contractPublished 14 June 2021
Cyber Innovation Factory Partner (CSIF)
£4,000,000
- Closed tenderPublished 11 June 2021
Report on Mental Health Online Tool based on NHS User testing
Value not stated
- Closed tenderPublished 11 June 2021
PHP Developer for MOD Apply for a Deceased Person's Military Record Service
Value not stated
- Closed tenderPublished 11 June 2021
Investment Security Unit - build of a digital service Beta phase, and provision of ongoing support
£2,250,000
- Closed tenderPublished 11 June 2021
Product Manager - Centre for Digital Public Services Wales - Role 2
GBP/DAY 700
- Expired contractPublished 10 June 2021
User Research - COVID Research Environment
£123,316
- Closed tenderPublished 9 June 2021
Open Regulation Platform - Alpha phase
£670,000
- Awarded contractPublished 9 June 2021
Digital Service Programme Partner: Command and Support
£8,333,000
- Awarded contractPublished 7 June 2021
Discovery to beta phases related to the recall of people subject to probation orders
£1,783,375
- Closed tenderPublished 7 June 2021
NHSX Identity and Profile - patient-facing account wrapper and associated proxy service
£875,000
- Awarded contractPublished 5 June 2021
Product Manager - Centre for Digital Public Services Wales - Role 2
£84,500
- Expired contractPublished 4 June 2021
Passenger Assist User Experience Research
£43,825
- Expired contractPublished 4 June 2021
Disabled Non-Users Research
£76,892.5
- Expired contractPublished 4 June 2021
Passenger Assist User Experience Research
£52,000
- Closed tenderPublished 4 June 2021
HMCTS Reform - Civil, Family and Tribunal Services – Tribunals Jurisdiction
£5,250,000
- Expired contractPublished 2 June 2021
User Research Capability
£364,000
- Closed tenderPublished 2 June 2021
User Researcher - Centre for Digital Public Services Wales
GBP/DAY 600
- Expired contractPublished 2 June 2021
Future Leaders Programme for Directors of Children's Services
£3,200,000
- Closed tenderPublished 2 June 2021
Product Manager - Centre for Digital Public Services Wales
GBP/DAY 700
- Closed tenderPublished 1 June 2021
IPA Benchmarking Hub Service (Beta)
£400,000
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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