Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
London
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKI32 - Westminster
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-science-innovation-and-technology
one.2) Information about joint procurement
The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body
one.3) Communication
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority
one.5) Main activity
General public services
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Early Engagement Event- Annual Database on Life Science Companies Operating in the UK
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
The Office for Life Sciences ("OLS") wishes to procure a three-year contract to produce a database annually on life science companies operating in the UK for 2023, 2024 and 2025. This dataset has been procured since 2009 due to existing data not adequately reflecting the full scope of the life science sector in it’s entirety. This dataset is used to support policy making and used extensively in government, by academia and by life science companies. OLS use this data to:
• develop and evaluate strategies and policies, including implementation of the Life Science Vision,
• identify sector strengths and address weaknesses/barriers to help create the conditions for UK business success in life sciences
• monitor and map changes in the sector
• produce an annual Official Statistics report ‘Bioscience and Health technology Sector Statistics’ (BaHTSS) which provides commentary on data and trends in collaboration with OLS analysts. Previous Datasets can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/collections/bioscience-and-health-technology-database-annual-reports
It is expected that these returns are used as a ‘base-line’. The successful supplier will need to build, develop and improve any data outputs, in line with OLS guidance.
Details of the current methodology used to produce the annual database can be found in Annex 2 of our published report, the latest of which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/bioscience-and-health-technology-sector-statistics-2021/bioscience-and-health-technology-sector-statistics-2021-background-quality-and-user-guide
two.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: £360,000
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 72300000 - Data services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKI32 - Westminster
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
OLS require granular information on each company operating in the UK life science environment. The scope of companies to be included in the database is outlined as follows:
• The database covers the geographical area of England and the Devolved Administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
• Only companies that are a legal entity, conducting economic activity and have employees in the UK are included. Companies that are wholly or partially owned by non-UK entities are included.
• Only the economic activity of companies attributable to the life sciences sector (medical technology, biopharmaceutical and digital health) is included, Where companies also carry out economic activity in other UK sectors, an estimate of the proportion of total turnover due to life sciences activity is calculated.
OLS holds an existing baseline dataset for life science sites relating to 2009 and 2022. The latest available data, relating to 2023 onwards, should be collected on UK life sciences companies, their subsidiaries and each of their associated sites; these may be newly formed, newly operating in the life sciences sectors, or newly identified established companies. Data can be collected from a range of sources including from ddata partners , company websites and third party data sources. In previous years; company, site and segmentation information has been gathered from the data partners as well as independent searches carried out by the current provider. Suppliers are expected to review and expand on the list of data providers and sources to ensure they remain up to date and fit for purpose.
OLS has a need for the companies to be classified by the sectors they operate in along with what activities they carry out. A comprehensive classification and segmentation methodology was designed in collaboration with data partners and industry experts. It is expected that suppliers will keep this segmentation under review, alongside OLS, to ensure that this still accurately reflects the life sciences industry. The existing classification scheme can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/bioscience-and-health-technology-sector-statistics-2021/bioscience-and-health-technology-sector-statistics-2021-background-quality-and-user-guide#sector-segment
OLS also require this company information to be supplemented with data on areas such as employment and their financial information. Previous contractors have supplemented this company list by matching with datasets held by D&B and Bureau van Djke’s FAME databases to add employment, ownership and turnover to the cleaned list of companies.
Fields in the master database should include, but are not be limited to:
• Company name;
• Company website;
• Identifiers: unique database identifier, Company Registration Number (CRN) used in Companies House returns, D&B and FAME identifier;
• New: whether new to annual database;
• Trading history: age of company, incorporation year, cessation information;
• Geographic information: Address, postcode, county, region, Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) area;
• Segmentation and activity information: codes and descriptors based on existing classifications; Standard Industry Classifications (SIC codes)
• Import and/or export flag; whether companies export or import, value of imports and exports
• SME status and description;
• Ownership: country of ownership and parent company
• Employment numbers: actual and banded, employment disaggregated by profession, employee demographic information
• Turnover: actual and banded from life sciences activity only
• All fields provided by company income statements and balance sheets
• Measure of GVA based on income statement data
• Spend on Research and Development (R&D) activity
• Venture capital and public funding
It is expected that all the fields highlighted above will be included in future iterations of the database alongside any new fields identified by OLS or the supplier.
two.2.14) Additional information
All data and products derived will become the property of OLS and must be provided at contract closure in a usable and agreed format.
We are hosting an online Supplier Engagement Event via MS Teams on the 26th April 2023 at 14:00-15:00. To register your interest in attendance for the event, please email Claire Beaton (claire.beaton@officeforlifesciences.gov.uk) who will send across the invite.
two.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice
30 June 2023
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
We are hosting an online Supplier Engagement Event via MS Teams on the 26th April 2023, 14:00-15:00. To register your interest in attending, please email Claire Beaton (claire.beaton@officeforlifesciences.gov.uk) who will send across the teams invite.