AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
DSIT awarded Frontier Economics Limited a £199,650 research contract for analysis of the UK connected-products market. The work is intended to build evidence for future cyber-security policy and legislative decisions.
Published outcomeAn active award was recorded on 8 October 2026 following a mini-competition under the GCA RM6126 Research & Insights DPS. The published contract period runs from 12 October 2026 to 17 March 2027.
Market significanceThe research covers market structure, supply-chain roles, trade patterns and likely alignment with the EU Cyber Resilience Act, creating a baseline for UK connected-product cyber-security policy.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
FRONTIER ECONOMICS LIMITED
99% confidenceAward ocds-b5fd17-0a409e2a-7c0b-46c9-acb3-0d7e809fbcd7-1 · 199650 GBP · verified; award active
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The award names FRONTIER ECONOMICS LIMITED as supplier and assigns £199,650. Supplier verification reports an exact-name match to company number 03752719.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Notice type
99% confidenceAwarded contract notice on Contracts Finder
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Published award document is titled “Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder”.
Award status
99% confidenceActive
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Award ocds-b5fd17-0a409e2a-7c0b-46c9-acb3-0d7e809fbcd7-1 has status “active”.
Award decision date
98% confidence8 October 2026
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Award date is 2026-10-08T00:00:00+01:00.
Contract period
99% confidence12 October 2026 to 17 March 2027
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Published award and tender contractPeriod specify these dates.
VALUES
Published values explained
Award value
99% confidence£199,650
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The active award value is 199650 GBP.
Value allocation
98% confidenceAllocated to the sole published award and supplier
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One award is published, naming one supplier, with a value of £199,650.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Tender submission deadline
99% confidence17 September 2026, 14:00 BST
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Tender period end date is 2026-09-17T14:00:00+01:00.
Award decision
98% confidence8 October 2026
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Award date is 2026-10-08T00:00:00+01:00.
Contract period start
99% confidence12 October 2026
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Published contractPeriod startDate is 2026-10-12T00:00:00+01:00.
Award notice publication
99% confidence13 October 2026
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Award notice datePublished is 2026-10-13T09:19:14+01:00.
Contract period end
99% confidence17 March 2027
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Published contractPeriod endDate is 2027-03-17T23:59:59Z.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
98% confidenceIndependent market analysis of the UK connected-products market relevant to potential future cyber-security policy and legislation.
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The notice describes an independent market analysis of connected products potentially in scope of future cyber-security policy and legislation.
Research outputs
98% confidenceA taxonomy of in-scope products, a dataset of organisations, and analysis of manufacturers, developers, importers, distributors and retailers.
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The description specifies these planned outputs and market participants.
Analytical themes
98% confidenceMarket structure, concentration, international trade patterns, and likely product compliance with the EU Cyber Resilience Act.
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These topics are expressly listed in the requirement description.
Service classification
99% confidenceResearch and development services and related consultancy services (CPV 73000000).
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Primary classification is CPV 73000000.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procurement route
99% confidenceSelective procedure: call-off from the GCA RM6126 Research & Insights dynamic purchasing system.
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The notice states that the procurement followed a mini competition under the GCA RM6126 Research & Insights DPS; procurement method details state call-off from a dynamic purchasing system.
Competition format
99% confidenceMini-competition
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The notice explicitly says the procurement is being concluded following a mini competition.
Bidder numbers and evaluation
99% confidenceUnknown
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Information not supplied in the published notice.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Published term
99% confidenceApproximately five months, from 12 October 2026 to 17 March 2027.
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Published contract period dates are 12 October 2026 and 17 March 2027.
SME suitability
95% confidenceMarked suitable for SMEs.
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Tender suitability records sme as true.
VCSE suitability
95% confidenceNot marked suitable for VCSEs.
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Tender suitability records vcse as false.
Extensions, options and payment terms
99% confidenceUnknown
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Information not supplied in the published notice.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Demand signal
96% confidenceThe award indicates a defined need for evidence on connected hardware, operational technology and enterprise connected devices, where the notice identifies evidence gaps.
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The description says significant gaps remain for these markets and describes the intended baseline research.
Route-to-market signal
96% confidenceRelevant research providers may need access to the GCA RM6126 Research & Insights DPS for comparable opportunities using this route.
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This award was run as a mini-competition under that DPS.
Award economics
96% confidenceThe published £199,650 value covers the single stated research requirement; no pricing breakdown or deliverable-level allocation is published.
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One active award carries a £199,650 value, while the notice provides no pricing schedule or allocation.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Award versus signature
99% confidenceThe source is an active award notice and publishes a contract period, but it does not explicitly state that a contract was signed.
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Notice type is an awarded contract notice; award status is active; no explicit signature field or statement is supplied.
Published competition information
99% confidenceBid counts, tenderer identities, scores, evaluation rationale and pricing breakdowns are not supplied.
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Information not supplied in the published notice.
Lot structure
99% confidenceNo lots or lot-level titles, values or allocations are published.
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The supplied lots array is empty and the award has no lot IDs.
Delivery geography
97% confidenceThe notice lists broad delivery locations including the UK, Europe, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, British Overseas Territories and Rest of the World; it does not explain the allocation of work between them.
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Published tender item lists these delivery countries/regions without further detail.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The notice does not explicitly confirm contract signature; this analysis therefore reports an active award and published contract period, not a signed contract.
- Information not supplied in the published notice: bid count, unsuccessful bidders, evaluation methodology, scores, award rationale, pricing breakdown and payment terms.
- No lot structure or lot-level value allocation is published.
- No extension, option or renewal terms are published.
- The broad published delivery geography is not broken down by workstream or location.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
DSITFrontier Economics Limitedconnected products market analysiscyber security researchRM6126Research and Insights DPSCyber Resilience ActUK public procurement
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won DSIT's Connected Products Market Analysis Research contract?
FRONTIER ECONOMICS LIMITED won the published active award. Its identity was verified by exact-name matching to company number 03752719.
What is the value of the award?
The published award value is £199,650.
What will the research cover?
It will examine the UK connected-products market, including product taxonomy, relevant organisations, market structure, concentration, trade patterns and likely alignment with the EU Cyber Resilience Act.
When does the published contract period end?
The published contract period ends on 17 March 2027.
ProcuraAxis award analysis supplements, but does not replace, the official award notice, contract data or procurement documents. “Awarded” does not by itself prove that a contract has been signed.