Sector · CPV division 73

Research & development: UK public contracts

737 UK public research & development contracts in the last 12 months, worth £1.79bn. Who is buying, who is winning, and 11% without competition.

Covers CPV division 73, “Research and development services and related consultancy services”. The busiest buyers recently were National Highways and Dsit.

Contracts (last 12 months)
737
Published value
£1.79bnwhere stated
Without competition
11%84 contracts
Won by SMEs
33%of 626 with size known
Contracts awarded per month 2,037 contracts · busiest month January 2025

Biggest buyers

By number of contracts, last 12 months.

  1. National Highways 110 contracts · £74.9m
  2. Dsit 37 contracts · £14.6m
  3. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority 32 contracts · £7.49m
  4. Department for Education 29 contracts · £61.5m
  5. DfTc - Department for Transport 28 contracts · £23.5m
  6. UK Shared Business Services Limited 26 contracts · £2.81m
  7. Desnz 24 contracts · £5.37m
  8. Environment Agency 24 contracts · £1.18m
  9. Department for Business and Trade 22 contracts · £28.1m

Top suppliers

By number of contracts, last 12 months.

  1. Ipsos (Market Research) Ltd 28 contracts · £44.5m
  2. IFF Research 22 contracts · £32.3m
  3. WSP UK Limited 22 contracts · £20.9m
  4. Ove Arup 21 contracts · £17.5m
  5. Ove Arup & Partners Limited 14 contracts · £60.2m
  6. Tuv Sud Limited SME 12 contracts · £1.53m
  7. Verian Group UK Limited 11 contracts · £6.64m
  8. National Nuclear Laboratory 10 contracts · £4.73m
  9. Technopolis 10 contracts · £2.48m
  10. AtkinsRéalis Jacobs Joint Venture 10 contracts · £2.4m

By region

Latest contracts

Date Contract Buyer Supplier Value
30 Oct 2026 Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Ipsos (market research) Limited £225k
26 Oct 2026 University Of Edinburgh Future Bio Consulting Ltd SME £286k
26 Oct 2026 DfTc - Department for Transport Coventry University £330k
22 Oct 2026 Dsit Economic Research Services Limited £140k
21 Oct 2026 National Highways Limited Ove Arup & Partners Limited £80,990
21 Oct 2026 Ministry of Justice Verian Group Ltd £215k
20 Oct 2026 DfTc - Department for Transport Public Group International Limited SME £135k
20 Oct 2026 UK Shared Business Services Limited Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP £30,000
20 Oct 2026 North London Foundation Trust Nous Group UK Ltd SME £118k
19 Oct 2026 National Highways Limited Ove Arup £2.15m
19 Oct 2026 Department for Education ICF Consulting Services Limited SME £328k
19 Oct 2026 Sellafield Limited AtkinsAltrad £398k
19 Oct 2026 Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science University of Portsmouth £49,125
14 Oct 2026 University of Essex Naomi Korn Associates SME £112k
14 Oct 2026 Cyngor Sir Ceredigion County Council Opinion Research Services Limited SME £31,175
13 Oct 2026 National Highways Limited Ove Arup £2.25m
13 Oct 2026 National Highways Limited Amey OW Ltd £222k
13 Oct 2026 Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington Arcadis Consulting (UK) Ltd £79,246
13 Oct 2026 National Highways Limited Arcadis Consulting (UK) Ltd £11.4m
13 Oct 2026 DfTc - Department for Transport Apollo Vehicle Safety Limited SME £395k
12 Oct 2026 National Highways Limited Arcadis Consulting (UK) Ltd £140k
9 Oct 2026 Ministry of Justice ZK Analytics Ltd SME £146k
9 Oct 2026 Historic England ButCH Bureau £27,525
9 Oct 2026 DfTc - Department for Transport Ecorys UK Limited £183k
8 Oct 2026 Dsit Frontier Economics Limited SME £200k
7 Oct 2026 National Highways Limited Ove Arup & Partners Limited £95,463
7 Oct 2026 National Highways Limited AtkinsRéalis Jacobs Joint Venture £160k
7 Oct 2026 Care Quality Commission TONIC Consultants Limited SME £66,160
7 Oct 2026 UK Shared Business Services Limited MLC Partners Limited SME £28,400
6 Oct 2026 National Highways Limited Ove Arup £149k
6 Oct 2026 UK Health Security Agency Capricorn Ventis Limited SME £92,650
5 Oct 2026 Dsit Blue Bow Research & Consultancy Ltd SME £78,000
2 Oct 2026 UK Shared Business Services Limited Economic Research Services Limited £141k
1 Oct 2026 Nuclear Restoration Services Ltd National Nuclear Laboratory £344k
1 Oct 2026 UK Shared Business Services Limited London Economics Ltd £110k
1 Oct 2026 Department for Education IFF Research Ltd £189k
30 Sep 2026 National Highways Limited Ove Arup £230k
30 Sep 2026 Scottish Government Ocean Scientific International Ltd SME £56,835
29 Sep 2026 Ministry of Defence Not named £918k
29 Sep 2026 National Highways Limited AtkinsRéalis Jacobs Joint Venture £425k
29 Sep 2026 Historic Environment Scotland Boreas Ecology SME £81,100
29 Sep 2026 Department for Business & Trade I.F.F Research Limited SME £750k
29 Sep 2026 Department for Business & Trade I.F.F Research Limited SME £900k
28 Sep 2026 National Highways Limited Arcadis. £177k
25 Sep 2026 Department for Education Alma Economics SME £599k
25 Sep 2026 Department for Business & Trade Market & Opinion Research International Limited (Trading as £175k
24 Sep 2026 National Highways Limited Ove Arup £99,989
24 Sep 2026 National Highways Limited Ove Arup & Partners Limited £125k
24 Sep 2026 Dsit Technopolis Limited SME £600k
23 Sep 2026 Scottish Government Gartner £2.32m