AWARD OUTCOME
What happened
College of Policing Limited has published an award for research evaluating Officer Initiated Facial Recognition (OIFR) software used by South Wales Police, primarily focused on policing productivity outcomes. The named and verified supplier is The University of Birmingham.
Published outcomeAward 1 is recorded as active, with a stated service period from 12 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. The notice also records a future signature date of 12 October 2026, so the supplied data does not explicitly confirm that a contract has been signed.
Market significanceThis is a below-threshold research-services award worth £64,200 excluding VAT (£77,040 including VAT), concerning evaluation of police facial-recognition technology.
AWARDED SUPPLIERS AND LOTS
1 supplier record analysed
THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
99% confidenceAward 1 · Lots 1 · £64,200 excluding VAT; £77,040 including VAT GBP · Verified supplier; award recorded as active
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Award 1 names THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM as supplier. Supplier verification identifies company number RC000645 using a company-number match.
LIFECYCLE
Award or contract stage
Notice type
99% confidenceContract award notice on Find a Tender
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Document 095808-2026 is described as “Contract award notice on Find a Tender”.
Award record status
98% confidenceActive
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Award 1 has status “active”.
Tender status
98% confidenceComplete
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Tender COP39_2026 and lot 1 are both recorded with status “complete”.
Signature position
97% confidenceNot explicitly evidenced as signed; future signature scheduled for 12 October 2026
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Award milestone type “futureSignatureDate” is scheduled for 2026-10-12T23:59:59+01:00.
VALUES
Published values explained
Award value excluding VAT
99% confidence£64,200
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Award 1 value.amount is 64200 GBP.
Award value including VAT
99% confidence£77,040
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Award 1 value.amountGross is 77040 GBP.
Value allocation
97% confidenceThe published award value applies to award 1 and is not separately broken down by lot.
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Award 1 relates to lot 1; no lot-level value is supplied.
TIMELINE
Procurement timeline
Award date
99% confidence6 October 2026
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Award 1 date is 2026-10-06.
Award notice published
99% confidence9 October 2026
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Award notice 095808-2026 was published at 2026-10-09T16:21:24+01:00.
Stated contract period start
98% confidence12 October 2026
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Award 1 contractPeriod.startDate is 2026-10-12.
Stated contract period end
98% confidence31 March 2027
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Award 1 contractPeriod.endDate is 2027-03-31T23:59:59+01:00.
Scheduled signature date
97% confidence12 October 2026
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The futureSignatureDate milestone is scheduled for 12 October 2026.
SCOPE
What was awarded
Requirement
99% confidenceResearch and evaluation support for Officer Initiated Facial Recognition software used in South Wales Police.
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The tender description seeks an experienced research and evaluation provider to support evaluation of OIFR software used in South Wales Police.
Primary evaluation focus
99% confidenceProductivity outcomes for policing
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The tender description states that the evaluation is focused primarily on productivity outcomes for policing.
Procurement category
99% confidenceServices — research services
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Award 1 has main procurement category “services”; its item is classified CPV 73110000, Research services.
Delivery geography
95% confidenceUnited Kingdom
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Award item 1 lists a delivery address in region UK, United Kingdom.
PROCEDURE
Procedure and competition
Procedure detail
99% confidenceBelow threshold - unknown
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Tender procurementMethodDetails is “Below threshold - unknown”.
Above-threshold status
99% confidenceNo
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Award 1 field aboveThreshold is false.
Competition information
99% confidenceNumber of bids, evaluation scores and award rationale are unknown.
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Information not supplied in the published notice data.
CONTRACT TERMS
Published contract terms
Stated service period
98% confidence12 October 2026 to 31 March 2027
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Award 1 contractPeriod specifies these start and end dates.
Lot coverage
99% confidenceAward 1 relates to lot 1.
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Award 1 relatedLots and item relatedLot both identify lot 1.
Extension or renewal terms
99% confidenceUnknown
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Information not supplied in the published notice data.
COMMERCIAL VIEW
Commercial observations
Commercial structure
98% confidenceSingle published award to one verified supplier for one lot.
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The notice contains award 1, naming one supplier and relating it to lot 1.
Value basis
99% confidenceThe notice provides both net and gross values, enabling VAT-inclusive and VAT-exclusive comparison.
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Award 1 reports amount £64,200 and amountGross £77,040 in GBP.
Market positioning
97% confidenceThe requirement is a research-services engagement for evaluating operational policing technology, rather than a published purchase of facial-recognition software.
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The description seeks a research and evaluation provider; the item classification is Research services.
DATA QUALITY
Gaps and source limitations
Contract conclusion evidence
97% confidenceThe award is recorded as active, but the notice contains a scheduled future signature milestone rather than explicit confirmation of signature.
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Award 1 status is active; futureSignatureDate is scheduled for 12 October 2026.
Lot detail
99% confidenceLot 1 has no published title, description or individual value.
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Lot 1 fields for title, description and value are null.
Competition and evaluation detail
99% confidenceInformation not supplied in the published notice.
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No bid count, scores, ranking or detailed award rationale is provided.
Supplier identity quality
99% confidenceSupplier identity is verified by company number; no name mismatch is reported.
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Supplier verification status is verified using match method “company_number”; nameMismatch is false.
SOURCE DATA LIMITATIONS
Information not supplied in the published notice
- The supplied data does not explicitly confirm that the contract has been signed; it records a future signature date scheduled for 12 October 2026.
- Lot 1 has no published title, description or separate value.
- Information on bids received, evaluation methodology, scoring, award rationale and pricing breakdown is not supplied in the published notice.
- No extension, renewal or re-procurement terms are supplied.
MARKET THEMES
Relevant award themes
Officer Initiated Facial RecognitionOIFR evaluationCollege of Policing LimitedUniversity of Birminghampolicing productivity researchresearch services contract
COMMON QUESTIONS
About this award
Who won the OIFR evaluation award?
The verified supplier named for award 1 is The University of Birmingham.
What is being procured?
Research and evaluation support for Officer Initiated Facial Recognition software used in South Wales Police, focused primarily on policing productivity outcomes.
What is the award value?
The published value is £64,200 excluding VAT and £77,040 including VAT.
Is the contract confirmed as signed?
No explicit signature confirmation is supplied. The notice records an active award and a signature milestone scheduled for 12 October 2026.
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.