AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
Department for Culture, Media and Sport awarded a framework call-off for research and guidance on measuring growth and productivity impacts in the creative, cultural and heritage sectors. The published award names FRONTIER ECONOMICS LIMITED and states a value of £247,725.
Published outcomeAward notice published; the award record is marked active. The source provides a contract period from 6 October 2025 to 31 March 2026, but does not explicitly confirm signature.
Market significanceA £247,725 public-sector research and consultancy call-off in the culture, creative and heritage evidence market.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
FRONTIER ECONOMICS LIMITED
99% confidenceAward ocds-b5fd17-bf31a084-0d7e-4ffa-94fb-52f27018f1cb-1 · 247725 GBP · verified
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The award names Frontier Economics Ltd as supplier. Supplier verification records an exact-name match to FRONTIER ECONOMICS LIMITED (company number 03752719). The £247,725 award value is attached to this single-supplier award.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Notice status
99% confidenceAwarded contract notice; source status complete
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Process display status is 'awarded'; notice type is 'Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder'; source status is 'complete'.
Award status
99% confidenceActive
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Award ocds-b5fd17-bf31a084-0d7e-4ffa-94fb-52f27018f1cb-1 has status 'active'.
Contract signature
98% confidenceUnknown
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The supplied award notice gives award and contract-period fields but no explicit signature or conclusion confirmation.
VALUES
Published values explained
Award value
99% confidence£247,725 GBP
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The award value is 247725 GBP; the tender value is also 247725 GBP.
Value basis
98% confidenceNot stated
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No value basis, pricing breakdown, tax treatment or payment profile is supplied.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Tender deadline
99% confidence5 September 2025, 17:00 BST
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Tender period end date is 2025-09-05T17:00:00+01:00.
Contract period start
99% confidence6 October 2025
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The published contract period start date is 2025-10-06.
Award date
99% confidence7 January 2026
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The award date is 2026-01-07T00:00:00Z.
Contract period end
99% confidence31 March 2026
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The published contract period end date is 2026-03-31T23:59:59+01:00.
Award notice publication
99% confidence13 October 2026
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The award notice datePublished is 2026-10-13T16:32:00+01:00.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
99% confidenceResearch and guidance to measure growth and productivity impacts of interventions in creative, cultural and heritage sectors
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The published description states that DCMS requires research and guidance for measuring these impacts.
Procurement category
99% confidenceServices
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Main procurement category is services.
CPV classification
99% confidence73000000 — Research and development services and related consultancy services
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The primary classification is CPV 73000000.
Delivery location
95% confidenceSW1A 2BQ
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The tender item lists delivery postal code SW1A 2BQ.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure
99% confidenceSelective; call-off from a framework agreement
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Procurement method is selective and method details state 'Call-off from a framework agreement'.
SME suitability
96% confidenceMarked suitable for SMEs
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Tender suitability records sme: true.
VCSE suitability
96% confidenceMarked suitable for VCSEs
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Tender suitability records vcse: true.
Competition and evaluation
99% confidenceNot stated
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No bidder count, tenderer list, evaluation methodology, scores or award rationale is supplied.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Published term
99% confidence6 October 2025 to 31 March 2026
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The award and tender contract-period fields state these dates.
Extension or options
99% confidenceNot stated
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No extension, option or variation terms are supplied.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Route-to-market signal
99% confidenceThe requirement was sourced through an existing framework rather than an open procedure.
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Method details state that this was a call-off from a framework agreement.
Market focus
97% confidenceThe award concerns measurement and evaluation capability for growth and productivity interventions in culture-related sectors.
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This follows the published requirement description and CPV classification.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Chronology anomaly
99% confidencePublished dates place the contract start before the award date and the award notice publication after the stated contract end date.
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Contract period: 6 October 2025 to 31 March 2026; award date: 7 January 2026; notice published: 13 October 2026.
Missing commercial detail
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice.
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No pricing breakdown, evaluation results, bid count, framework name, lot allocation, award rationale, extension terms or signature confirmation is provided.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The source dates are internally unusual: the stated contract period starts before the award date, and the award notice was published after the stated contract end date. This analysis reports all published dates without resolving the discrepancy.
- The notice does not explicitly state that a contract was signed or otherwise concluded.
- No framework name, bidder count, bid prices, evaluation scores, award rationale, lot titles, individual lot values, detailed deliverables, extension terms or pricing breakdown is supplied.
- The estimate in renewal outlook is derived solely from the published end date and is not a forecast of a future procurement.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
DCMS contract awardFrontier EconomicsMeasuring Growth and Productivity Impactscreative industries researchheritage sector consultancyframework call-off
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the DCMS Measuring Growth and Productivity Impacts contract?
The published award names FRONTIER ECONOMICS LIMITED, verified as company number 03752719.
What is the published award value?
£247,725 GBP.
What is the work about?
Research and guidance for measuring growth and productivity impacts of interventions in creative, cultural and heritage sectors.
Was this an open competition?
No. The notice describes a selective procedure and a call-off from a framework agreement.
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.