Scope
Reference
project_10123
Description
This Direct Award is to King's College London for the delivery of the King's College London Post Graduate Award for the 2025 Government Policy Fast Stream cohort with teaching of the first module beginning in March. Designed with the UK Civil Service the KCL Post Graduate Award is designed for Government Policy Fast Streamers to support their development across the policy profession standards. This offer has been designed to complement the fast stream programme. This direct award aims to provide learners continuity of service and provision, ensuring that there is no break in our ability to deliver accredited learning to fast streamers whilst we identify a longer-term procurement strategy and the Learning Framework 2.0 is established. If this Direct Award were not to proceed, we would have a gap in learning provision for this cohort, as KCL are the only supplier available to provide this programme in this timeframe.
Contract 2
Supplier
Contract value
- £731,170 excluding VAT
- £731,170 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Date signed
12 December 2025
Contract dates
- 27 December 2025 to 31 March 2028
- Possible extension to 31 March 2029
- 3 years, 3 months, 5 days
Description of possible extension:
Authority may extend the Contract for a further
period of up to twelve (12) calendar months to enable the
delivery of services to an additional cohort of learners.
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 80300000 - Higher education services
Key performance indicators
| Name | Description | Reporting frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Social value: Public Accessibility of Academic Expertise | Number of public facing academic events hosted or delivered annually. Measurement: Annually reported by the supplier |
12 months |
| Survey satisfaction score | Average satisfaction score from postgraduate learners (via Evasys surveys) Annually reported by the supplier |
12 months |
| Course Completion Rate | Measures the percentage of enrolled postgraduate students who successfully complete the course Within the agreed timeframe. Annually reported by the supplier |
12 months |
Other information
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Direct award
Direct award justification
Single supplier - technical reasons
Kings College London is the only provider able to deliver the PGA cohort starting enrolment in October and delivery in March 2026. Onboarding a new supplier in time is not feasible due to development and approval timelines. Their quote offers a £140,000 saving based on current learner numbers. The existing framework is expiring, and the replacement is not yet ready, with no confirmed supplier. A direct award ensures continuity, allows time to test future requirements, and includes an optional extension to safeguard delivery of two cohorts if the new framework proves unsuitable.
Supplier
Kings College London
- Companies House: RC000297
Kings College London Strand
London
WC2R2LS
United Kingdom
Email: policy-institute@kcl.ac.uk
Region: UKI32 - Westminster
Small or medium-sized enterprise (SME): No
Voluntary, community or social enterprise (VCSE): No
Supported employment provider: No
Public service mutual: No
Contract 2
Contracting authority
Department for Education
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PDZG-3487-DPVD
Sanctuary Buildings, 20 Great Smith Street
London
SW1P3BT
United Kingdom
Region: UKI32 - Westminster
Organisation type: Public authority - central government