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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Best Start in Life Match Fund

Department for Education · Tender notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 27 Sept 2026, 13:41.

Opportunity overview

Overview / requirement The Department for Education is procuring a Supplier to act as the Delivery Partner for the Best Start in Life Match Fund programme. The programme forms part of the Government’s commitment to ensuring every child has the Best Start in Life by transforming early years systems and supports Local Authorities to achieve the ambitions for early child development including through the Best Start Family Hubs programme through match-funded investment, capacity building, and learning and evaluation. The Best Start in Life Match Fund programme enables Local Authorities to establish and sustain Collective Impact partnerships with Backbone Organisations or functions. These partnerships strengthen local delivery by providing dedicated coordination, aligning partners across the system, and building the operational infrastructure required for effective collaboration. This approach is designed to help integrate services into a coherent system, and improve outcomes, reduce inequalities, and enhance the experience of families. A single Supplier (the Lead Supplier if acting on behalf of a Consortium) will be appointed on the basis of an initial Contract Period of three years, with the option for the Department to extend the Contract by up to two additional years on a one plus one basis. In its capacity as Fund Manager, the Delivery Partner will administer the matched funds passed through to the Backbone Organisations, manage relationships with Local Authorities and philanthropic Funders, and ensure robust governance, financial control and reporting. The Delivery Partner will also be responsible for ensuring that Knowledge Mobilisation Management and Evaluation Partner functions are delivered, either through its own delivery model or via Consortium partners or Subcontractors.

Classification

  • CPV66100000 — Banking and investment services
  • CPV66120000 — Investment banking services and related services
  • CPV79412000 — Financial management consultancy services
  • CPV79419000 — Evaluation consultancy services
  • CPV85311300 — Welfare services for children and young people
  • CPV85322000 — Community action programme
  • CPV98000000 — Other community, social and personal services

Lots

  • Lot 1£2.6m

Documents and notices

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
itt_3993
Status
active
Procurement Method
open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Main Procurement Category
services
Above Threshold
Yes
How to submit
How to Tender: Submission platform (Jaggaer) The procurement process will be administered electronically via the Jaggaer eProcurement system: https://education.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html All tender submissions and clarification questions must be submitted through Jaggaer. No other method of communication will be accepted. Bidder instructions Bidders are responsible for ensuring that they are registered on the Jaggaer system and can access the procurement. The opportunity can be found under: ITT reference: ITT_3993 Project reference: Project_10075 Suppliers must also ensure they are registered on the Central Digital Platform (CDP) and ensure they have completed the registration process and responded to all questions asked via the CDP.

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Submission terms

Electronic Submission Policy
allowed

Languages

en

Tender Period

Ends
31 Jul 2026, 12:00

Enquiry period

Ends
14 Jul 2026, 12:00

Expected award period

Ends
22 Sept 2026, 23:59

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
active
Has Renewal
Yes

Value

Including VAT
3,150,000
Amount
2,625,000
Currency
GBP

Award criteria

Weighting Description
Mandatory Requirements - Questions (Pass/Fail) Quality Requirements – Questions (100%) Pricing Requirements - Question (Price per Quality Point)

Criteria

Criterion 1
Type
quality
Name
Question 1: Delivery
Description
Question Weighting 15%
Criterion 2
Type
quality
Name
Question 2: Fund Management
Description
Question Weighting 25%
Criterion 3
Type
quality
Name
Question 3: Knowledge Mobilisation Manager
Description
Question Weighting 25%
Criterion 4
Type
quality
Name
Question 4: Evaluation Partner
Description
Question Weighting 25%
Criterion 5
Type
quality
Name
Question 5: Social Value
Description
Question Weighting 10%
Criterion 6
Type
price
Name
Price
Description
Price per quality point

Selection criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Type
economic
Description
Where a Lead Supplier is bidding on behalf of a Consortium, separate financial information for other economic operators in the Consortium should be provided in separate Financial Viability Risk Assessment Tools as part of the Tender submission. The Potential Supplier must be appropriately registered and regulated for the activities they undertake. As an example, the Potential Supplier may be regulated or supervised by the Financial Conduct Authority or registered with the Charities Commission. In any case, the Department, at its discretion, may seek evidence of regulatory or supervisory compliance following the identification of a successful Tenderer and prior to Contract Award.
Criterion 2
Type
technical
Description
The Lead Supplier’s response to all questions may be a composite response on behalf of the Consortium members. When doing so the Lead Supplier must specify in the responses which content/experience relates to the Lead Supplier and each other member of the consortium.

Suitability

Sme
Yes
Vcse
Yes

Contract period

Starts
12 Oct 2026, 00:00
Ends
11 Oct 2029, 23:59
Max Extent Date
11 Oct 2031, 23:59

Renewal

Description
Potential Suppliers shall tender on the basis that they are able to perform these Services during the Contract Period running from September 2026 – September 2029. The Department has built in two optional extension periods for up to two years. The department will take a decision to extend within six months of the end of the initial term regarding exercising its right to seek an extension.

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
CPV
Id
66100000
Description
Banking and investment services
Entry 2
Scheme
CPV
Id
66120000
Description
Investment banking services and related services
Entry 3
Scheme
CPV
Id
79412000
Description
Financial management consultancy services
Entry 4
Scheme
CPV
Id
85322000
Description
Community action programme
Entry 5
Scheme
CPV
Id
98000000
Description
Other community, social and personal services
Entry 6
Scheme
CPV
Id
79419000
Description
Evaluation consultancy services
Entry 7
Scheme
CPV
Id
85311300
Description
Welfare services for children and young people

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKC
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 2
Region
UKD
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 3
Region
UKF
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 4
Region
UKG
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 5
Region
UKH
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 6
Region
UKJ
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 7
Region
UKK
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 8
Region
UKI
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 9
Region
UKE
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
conflictOfInterest
Document Type
conflictOfInterest
Description
Not published
Entry 2
Id
061537-2026
Document Type
tenderNotice
Notice Type
UK4
Description
Tender notice on Find a Tender
Published
1 Jul 2026, 09:39
Format
text/html

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Name
Department for Education
Id
GB-PPON-PDZG-3487-DPVD

Identifier

Scheme
GB-PPON
Id
PDZG-3487-DPVD

Address

Street Address
Sanctuary Buildings, 20 Great Smith Street
Locality
London
Postal Code
SW1P3BT
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Region
UKI32

Contact

Roles

buyer

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Id
publicAuthorityCentralGovernment
Description
Public authority - central government

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · London · UKI32 · SW1P3BT · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKC · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKD · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKE · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKF · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKG · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKH · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKI · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKJ · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKK · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. 061537-2026Tender notice on Find a Tender ·