AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
JISC directly awarded Forsta Plus survey-software services to FORSTA WORLDWIDE LTD. The published contract record states that it was signed on 6 October 2026, runs from 1 December 2026 to 30 November 2028, and has a stated net value of £342,646 and gross value of £411,175.
Published outcomeOne active award for lot 1 was made to FORSTA WORLDWIDE LTD under a direct-award procedure.
Market significanceThis is a specialist multimodal survey technology procurement covering CAWI/CATI capability, survey design, API integration, support, substantial email capacity and interviewer seats. JISC cited technical exclusivity and incompatibility with existing systems as the basis for direct award.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
FORSTA WORLDWIDE LTD
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · £342,646 net; £411,175 gross GBP · Active award and contract
View supporting evidence
Award 1 names supplier GB-COH-04122071; the supplier is verified against Companies House number 04122071. Contract 1 is linked to award 1 and states the contract values.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Published contract details
99% confidence16 October 2026
View supporting evidence
UK7 Contract details notice 098021-2026 is dated 16 October 2026.
Contract signed
99% confidence6 October 2026
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 records dateSigned as 2026-10-06.
Contract start
99% confidence1 December 2026
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 period startDate is 2026-12-01.
Contract end
99% confidence30 November 2028
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 period endDate is 2028-11-30.
Contract status
98% confidenceActive
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 status is active; award 1 status is active.
VALUES
Published values explained
Contract value (net)
99% confidence£342,646
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 value.amount is 342646 GBP.
Contract value (gross)
99% confidence£411,175
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 value.amountGross is 411175 GBP.
Award-record value
95% confidence£541,000
View supporting evidence
The supplied award summary for award 1 gives value_amount as 541000 GBP.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Pipeline notice
99% confidence26 May 2026
View supporting evidence
Release history lists notice 049003-2026, a Pipeline notice, released on 26 May 2026.
Transparency notice
99% confidence29 July 2026
View supporting evidence
Release history lists notice 071760-2026, a Transparency notice, released on 29 July 2026.
Contract award notice
99% confidence4 September 2026
View supporting evidence
Release history lists notice 083902-2026, a Contract award notice, released on 4 September 2026.
Contract signing
99% confidence6 October 2026
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 records dateSigned as 2026-10-06.
Contract details notice
99% confidence16 October 2026
View supporting evidence
Release history lists UK7 notice 098021-2026 released on 16 October 2026.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
98% confidenceForsta Plus multimodal survey software and associated SaaS experience measurement, data analytics and insights.
View supporting evidence
Tender description identifies Forsta Plus SaaS experience measurement, data analytics and insights.
Core capabilities
99% confidenceOnline and telephone survey collection; complex questionnaire routing; real-time CAWI and CATI operation; CATI queue management; API data transfer; technical support and troubleshooting.
View supporting evidence
Tender description lists these capabilities.
Published capacity
98% confidence820,000 units over two years; premium emails up to 800,000 per month; 245 CATI interviewer seats.
View supporting evidence
Tender description states these quantities and capacities.
Classification
99% confidenceDatabase-management systems, data-acquisition systems, survey design, survey conduction and telephone survey services.
View supporting evidence
Award item lists CPV 48612000, 48614000, 79311100, 79311200 and 79311210.
Delivery location
98% confidenceUnited Kingdom
View supporting evidence
Award item delivery address is region UK, country GB.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procurement route
99% confidenceDirect award
View supporting evidence
Tender procurementMethodDetails is Direct award.
Direct-award rationale
98% confidenceJISC states that technical reasons meant there was no reasonable alternative supplier, and that incompatibility with existing systems/equipment would require unacceptable, costly and delayed redesign or modification.
View supporting evidence
Tender procurementMethodRationale provides this explanation; classification is singleSuppliersTechnicalReasons.
Competition information
99% confidenceNo bid count, competing suppliers, evaluation scores or pricing comparison was supplied.
View supporting evidence
Information not supplied in the published notice data.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Term
99% confidence1 December 2026 to 30 November 2028
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 period startDate and endDate.
Term length
99% confidenceTwo years
View supporting evidence
The published contract period runs from 1 December 2026 to 30 November 2028; the tender description also refers to 820,000 units over two years.
Extension or renewal terms
99% confidenceUnknown
View supporting evidence
Information not supplied in the published notice data.
Above-threshold indicator
99% confidenceNo
View supporting evidence
Contract 1 records aboveThreshold as false.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Technology continuity
94% confidenceThe buyer's stated rationale indicates that compatibility with existing systems was commercially material, creating a high switching barrier for this requirement.
View supporting evidence
JISC cites incompatibility with existing systems/equipment and unacceptable redesign, cost and delay as the direct-award rationale.
Demand profile
95% confidenceThe stated email and CATI-seat capacity indicates a requirement combining high-volume digital outreach with telephone interviewing capability.
View supporting evidence
Tender description specifies up to 800,000 premium emails per month and 245 CATI interviewer seats.
Value reporting
98% confidenceThe published data contains different award-record and contract values; the contract record provides separate net and gross figures.
View supporting evidence
Award summary reports £541,000, while contract 1 reports £342,646 net and £411,175 gross.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Value inconsistency
99% confidenceThe £541,000 award-record value differs from the contract's £342,646 net and £411,175 gross values. The published data does not explain the difference.
View supporting evidence
Supplied award summary and contract 1 value fields.
Lot detail
99% confidenceA single lot is identified, but no lot title, description or individual lot value is supplied.
View supporting evidence
Lot 1 has no title, description or value in the supplied data.
Supplier identity
99% confidenceSupplier identity is verified: FORSTA WORLDWIDE LTD matches Companies House number 04122071.
View supporting evidence
Supplier verification status is verified using company_number matching.
Unpublished competition detail
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice: bid count, bidder identities, evaluation results, scoring and comparative pricing.
View supporting evidence
No such fields are present in the supplied notice data.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The £541,000 award-record value conflicts with the contract record's £342,646 net and £411,175 gross values; the source does not explain the difference.
- No lot title, lot description or individual lot value is published for lot 1.
- Information not supplied in the published notice: bid count, other bidders, evaluation methodology, scores, pricing breakdown and savings.
- No extension or renewal option is published; the re-procurement horizon is only an estimate based on the stated end date.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
JISCFORSTA WORLDWIDE LTDForsta Plussurvey softwareCAWICATIdirect awardFind a Tender
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the JISC Forsta Plus contract?
FORSTA WORLDWIDE LTD won award 1 for lot 1. Its identity is verified against Companies House number 04122071.
Was the JISC Forsta Plus contract signed?
Yes. The published contract record gives a signing date of 6 October 2026.
What is the contract term?
The published contract period is 1 December 2026 to 30 November 2028.
Why was a direct award used?
JISC cited technical reasons, absence of reasonable alternatives, and incompatibility with existing systems that it said would make redesign costly and cause unacceptable delay.
What is the published contract value?
The contract record states £342,646 net and £411,175 gross. A separate award-record value of £541,000 is also published, without an explanation for the difference.
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.