Scope
Description
Provision of specialist research services to design and deliver a post-poll survey of candidates standing in the May 2026 elections (English local elections, Scottish Parliament election and Senedd election).
The services include:
• Development and refinement of a candidate survey questionnaire aligned to the Electoral Commission's post-poll evaluation framework
• Large-scale identification and compilation of publicly available candidate contact details, including manual collection of candidate email addresses
• Data collection and survey administration within the statutory election timetable
• Measures to maximise participation and minimise respondent burden within a small and hard-to-reach population
• Data processing, quality assurance and dataset preparation
• Analytical support and methodological advice to strengthen robustness and representativeness
• Delivery of research outputs and datasets to the Authority
The supplier will provide the services directly using specialist academic expertise and established candidate research methodologies.
The services must be delivered within the defined election period, with contact data collection undertaken during the three-week window between the close of nominations and polling day.
Contract 1
Supplier
Contract value
- £50,997 including VAT
Below the relevant threshold
Earliest date the contract will be signed
19 March 2026
Contract dates (estimated)
- 1 April 2026 to 30 March 2027
- 11 months, 30 days
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 73110000 - Research services
Contract locations
- UK - United Kingdom
Procedure
Procedure type
Direct award
Special regime
Concession
Direct award justification
- Additional or repeat goods, services or works - extension or partial replacement
- Additional or repeat goods, services or works - further goods, services or works following a competitive procedure
The Electoral Commission requires specialist research services to deliver its 2026 post-poll Candidate Survey following the May 2026 English local elections, Scottish Parliament election and Senedd election. The survey forms part of the Commission's statutory post-poll research programme evaluating electoral processes and participant experience.
Queen Mary University of London conducts an established independent programme of candidate surveys covering the same electoral events and engaging the same candidate population.
Award to an alternative supplier would be likely to result in separate surveys being conducted using comparable methodologies and targeting the same limited population of election candidates. This creates a material risk of duplicated engagement, reduced participation rates, and lower overall data quality.
A coordinated delivery model enables alignment of methodology and reduces duplication of research activity involving a small and specialised research population.
The requirement includes identification of publicly available candidate contact information, including manual compilation of candidate email addresses, to support participation across the candidate population. This activity must be undertaken within the statutory election timetable, with data collection occurring during the period between the close of nominations and polling day.
A market review undertaken in December 2025 did not identify alternative providers delivering candidate experience surveys with comparable scope, frequency, and electoral coverage across local and devolved elections.
For these reasons, the Commission considers that competition is not feasible due to objective technical circumstances and proposes to enter into a direct award.
Supplier
QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
- Companies House: RC000710
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PZRH-9379-HRWX
327 Mile End Road
London
E1 4NS
United Kingdom
Email: consultancy@qmul.ac.uk
Website: http://www.qmul.ac.uk
Region: UKI42 - Tower Hamlets
Small or medium-sized enterprise (SME): No
Voluntary, community or social enterprise (VCSE): No
Contract 1
Contracting authority
The Electoral Commission
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PHYY-1292-MMXL
3 Bunhill Row
London
EC1Y 8YZ
United Kingdom
Region: UKI43 - Haringey and Islington
Organisation type: Public authority - sub-central government