Scope
Reference
CS-26-143
Description
About the Office for National Statistics (ONS)
ONS is the UK's largest independent producer of official statistics and is the National Statistical Institute for the UK. Formally, it is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-Ministerial Department established by the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. It is responsible for collecting and publishing statistics related to the economy, population, and society at national, regional, and local levels. ONS plays a leading role in national and international good practice in the production of official statistics.
Introduction
ONS (the Authority) is currently undertaking a programme of development work to enhance the collection of crime statistics through the introduction of an online survey. This builds on development work conducted to date for the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW).
This procurement intends to fulfil requirements by contracting with a single or multiple suppliers to test feasibility of collecting data online and improving statistics on crime victimisation and public perceptions of crime.
In 2026-27, we are aiming to set up and run a feasibility test to produce estimates of anti-social behaviour and perceptions of policing. The survey length is expected to average around 30 minutes and sample size requirement of approximately 15,000 interviews to allow for estimates for 7 priority Police Force Areas (PFAs) and a national estimate (England and Wales). Exact sample design and requirements will be agreed with the contractor. Following a successful feasibility test, ONS expects to launch a larger scale online survey (likely to be subject to a separate procurement exercise) in 2027-28.
We will also be using this feasibility test to pilot partially redesigned crime screeners and victimisation modules to assess progress and inform the next iteration of research and development.
ONS is seeking to contract with suppliers that can provide expertise in the following areas: -
-Questionnaire development and cognitive testing, particularly in transitioning face-to-face surveys online.
-Usability and cogability testing of online surveys.
-Survey design for online and multi-mode surveys (including sample design, weighting, and respondent selection approaches).
-Data collection and respondent engagement approaches for online surveys
ONS is seeking to procure up to four separate lots of work:
a. Questionnaire development and cognitive interviews for CSEW modules (modules to be confirmed)
b. Development of the screener and victimization modules for online completion.
c. End-to-end testing, usability and/or cogability testing for an online survey instrument
d. Survey design and fieldwork delivery for online survey feasibility test
Previous development work can be found here:
Research on Transforming the Crime Survey for England and Wales Work package A: Developing and testing an online version of the CSEW questionnaire (2022)
https://27192314.fs1.hubspotusercontent-eu1.net/hubfs/27192314/CSEW files/CSEW Transformation Research Work Package A Main Report.pdf
Consultation response (7 November 2022)
https://consultations.ons.gov.uk/external-affairs/crime-consultation/
Transformation of the Crime Survey for England and Wales - Discovery research on the redesign of multi-mode questions - Part 1
Crime Survey for England and Wales Transformation - Discovery Part 2: mental models research (8th Aug 2025)
Crime Survey for England and Wales Transformation - Discovery Part 3: Redesign of the screener module (2nd April 2025)
Discussion Areas for potential bidders engaging in Market Engagement?
-How would you recommend sampling one individual per household for the survey (for victimisation modules)?
-What would be your recommended approach to ensure the survey is inclusive - including for those who may feel unable to take part online?
-Can you recommend approaches for producing statistics using multi-modal data and impact on the continuity of a time series?
-What actions can be taken to maximise response rates?
-Can you suggest the technology required to run the survey and for ONS to receive and access the data?
-Can you recommend the extent of usability testing required?
Can you outline a suggested timeline to set up and deliver this work?
Contract dates (estimated)
- 1 May 2026 to 30 April 2027
- 1 year
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 79300000 - Market and economic research; polling and statistics
Contract locations
- UK - United Kingdom
Engagement
Engagement deadline
6 February 2026
Engagement process description
To register your interest, please email CommercialTeam@ons.gov.uk. In the email subject please quote CS-26-143 C Jones
Within your email, please give a brief synopsis of what your organisation can offer in terms of the requirements detailed above.
There is a presentation scheduled to take place at 1pm on 4th February 2026. This will include an overview of the known requirements as well as any restrictions and limitations. If you would like to attend the session, please send a contact email and we will share a Teams invitation to the session.
Following on from the session, and once the engagement notice has closed, we plan on scheduling 1:1 supplier session to discuss the requirements and potential solutions in more detail. We also welcome written answers to our discussion points and a high-level overview of your suggested solution, where time does not allow you to attend a 1:1 session. Any written submission should be no more than 5 pages long and be submitted via the In-tend portal as correspondence.
Additional Information
This Exercise is NOT a pre-qualification or selection exercise and is NOT part of any pre-qualification or selection process that may apply to any future potential procurement. It is intended to act as an awareness and information gathering exercise offering an opportunity for suppliers to advise us on the extent to which they potentially can provide some or all the services that ONS may require, in order to help ONS with its future intentions.
Participation
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
Submission
Publication date of tender notice (estimated)
9 March 2026
Contracting authority
Office for National Statistics
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PMZG-4913-JQXG
Government Buildings, Cardiff Road
Newport
NP10 8XG
United Kingdom
Email: CommercialTeam@ons.gov.uk
Region: UKL21 - Monmouthshire and Newport
Organisation type: Public authority - central government