Award

Creative Content Exchange Platform

  • Natural History Museum

UK6: Contract award notice - Procurement Act 2023 - view information about notice types

Notice identifier: 2026/S 000-010020

Procurement identifier (OCID): ocds-h6vhtk-05e256 (view related notices)

Published 4 February 2026, 2:05pm



Scope

Reference

994397042

Description

The UK Government is committed to establishing a Creative Content Exchange (CCE) in the Creative Industries Sector Plan (June 2025). The intention is for the CCE to be a trusted marketplace for selling, buying, licensing, and enabling permitted access to digitised cultural and creative assets.

To test the proof of concept behind the CCE, The Natural History Museum (NHM) in collaboration with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and The Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) is organising a small, closed pilot.

As part of this NHM is exploring options for procuring a complete platform solution to house the Creative Content Exchange (CCE) for the duration of the pilot. We envisage that this solution will need to comprise:

a) infrastructure and utilities for effecting the exchange of data and content (text, video, audio, multi-modal) between providers and consumers;

b) the facility for providers and consumers to enter into licensing and other types of commercial agreements;

c) the ability to set terms and conditions of use for the CCE that providers and consumers need to adhere to;

d) facility for a notice and takedown process within an agreed SLA;

e) human technical support for providers, consumers and the CCE team within agreed SLAs;

f) training for CCE team on use of the platform in the UK;

g) agreement that the whole of the CCE and any content or documents stored in it will be located in the UK and governed by UK law;

h) adequate security to ensure the CCE and any content or documents stored in it will be safe from malicious access;

i) facility for content providers to make content samples available to consumers;

j) provision of a sandbox or similar type of test environments;

k) provision of fine grained access controls for content providers to configure; and

l) billing, invoicing and payment facility.

To view this notice, please click here:

https://www.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=1011515324


Contract 1

Supplier

Contract value

  • £500,000 excluding VAT
  • £600,000 including VAT

Above the relevant threshold

Award decision date

3 February 2026

Date assessment summaries were sent to tenderers

3 February 2026

Standstill period

  • End: 13 February 2026
  • 8 working days

Earliest date the contract will be signed

23 February 2026

Contract dates (estimated)

  • 24 February 2026 to 24 February 2027
  • Possible extension to 23 February 2028
  • 2 years

Description of possible extension:

The Contract may be extended beyond the Initial Term on a maximum of two occasions, for a period of up to 6 months on each occasion (each a Renewal Period) at NHMs sole discretion, by NHM giving the Contractor not less than one months notice prior to the expiry of the Initial Term or the Renewal Period (as applicable).

Main procurement category

Services

CPV classifications

  • 48200000 - Networking, Internet and intranet software package
  • 48490000 - Procurement software package
  • 72200000 - Software programming and consultancy services

Contract locations

  • UK - United Kingdom

Information about tenders

  • 7 tenders received
  • 5 tenders assessed in the final stage:
    • 5 submitted by small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
    • 0 submitted by voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSE)
  • 1 supplier awarded contracts
  • 4 suppliers unsuccessful (details included for contracts over £5 million)

Procedure

Procedure type

Open procedure


Supplier

Harbr Group Limited

  • Companies House: 10671007

41 Luke Street

London

EC2A 4DP

United Kingdom

Contact name: Marvin Reynolds

Telephone: +447725499260

Email: marvin@harbrdata.com

Region: UKI41 - Hackney and Newham

Small or medium-sized enterprise (SME): Yes

Voluntary, community or social enterprise (VCSE): No

Supported employment provider: No

Public service mutual: No

Contract 1


Contracting authority

Natural History Museum

  • Public Procurement Organisation Number: PJBJ-4723-MZPX

Cromwell Rd, South Kensington

LONDON

SW7 5BD

United Kingdom

Contact name: Lisa Ireland

Email: lisa.ireland@thecce.co.uk

Region: UKI33 - Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham

Organisation type: Public authority - central government