Category
Research and development contracts in the UK public sector
UK public sector buyers awarded 2,072 research and development contracts in the last twelve months, with a median published value of £79k. 1,456 end in the next 18 months, 308 of them within three months.
Research services, feasibility studies, evaluation and experimental development. Heavily used by universities, research councils and government analytical functions.
- 2,072
- Contracts, last 12 months
- 13,758
- Contracts since 2021
- 1,182
- Buyers active here
- £79k
- Median contract value
- 1,456
- Expiring in 18 months
Categories are derived from the CPV codes buyers publish on each award notice. Figures cover January 2021 onward and are comprehensive from 2023. The median is used rather than a total, because one framework ceiling would otherwise describe the whole category.
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Coming up for renewal
1,456 research and development contracts expiring in the next 18 months
Each has an end date already published in its award notice. The incumbent knows the date. Most competitors find out when the re-tender appears, by which point the specification is written.
- 308
- within 3 months
- 899
- within 6 months
- 1,233
- within 12 months
- 1,456
- within 18 months
By year: research and development ending in 2026 · research and development ending in 2027 · research and development ending in 2028 · research and development ending in 2029
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Demand
Who buys research and development
- Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory730
- UK Shared Business Services Ltd692
- National Highways Limited539
- Defra Network eTendering Portal418
- Department for Environment, Food, Rural Affairs401
- Natural England371
- Highways England Company Limited371
- Department For Education313
- Ministry of Defence294
- Food Standards Agency274
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Working in CPV codes? Research and development is CPV division 73, with every code beneath it and how often UK buyers use each one.
Common questions
Research and development procurement, in short
Who buys research and development in the UK public sector?
1,182 public sector organisations have awarded research and development contracts since 2021. The most active are Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory (730 contracts), UK Shared Business Services Ltd (692 contracts), National Highways Limited (539 contracts).
How much is a typical research and development contract worth?
The median is £79k, across the 13,344 contracts of 13,758 that publish a value. A median rather than an average, because a single framework worth hundreds of millions would otherwise make the typical contract look far larger than it is.
When do research and development contracts come up for renewal?
1,456 contracts in this category have an end date inside the next 18 months. End dates are published in the original award notice, so they are visible long before any re-tender is advertised, which is usually the point at which the specification is already written.
How do I find new research and development tenders?
Notices are published across Find a Tender, Contracts Finder, Public Contracts Scotland and Sell2Wales, each with its own search. Tender Radar reads all four each weekday morning and scores new notices against your profile, alongside the contracts in this category approaching renewal.
Contract data on this page is sourced from Find a Tender and Contracts Finder and published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains public sector information licensed under that licence. Figures cover contract award notices published from January 2021 onward, with comprehensive coverage from 2023. Earlier contracts, and any award not published to Find a Tender or Contracts Finder, will not appear.
How to cite this data
Tender Radar (2026) Research and development contracts in the UK public sector [Dataset]. Professor AI. Available at: https://tender-radar.co.uk/contracts/research-and-development (Accessed: 7 November 2026).