Scope
Description
The NDA's Draft Strategy (2025), which underwent public consultation in 2025, identifies five strategic themes:
• Site Decommissioning and Remediation
• Spent Fuel Management
• Nuclear Materials
• Integrated Waste Management
• Critical Enablers.
Site Decommissioning and Remediation defines our approach to decommissioning redundant nuclear facilities, managing land quality and preparing our sites for their long-term end states. This work involves reducing environmental risks, clearing hazardous materials and restoring land for potential reuse that benefits local communities.
Spent Fuel Management defines our approach to managing the diverse range of spent nuclear fuels for which we are responsible.
Nuclear Materials defines our approach to managing the safe storage and disposition on our sites of the UK's stocks of nuclear materials, including plutonium and uranium.
Integrated Waste Management considers how we manage all forms of waste arising from operating and decommissioning our sites, including waste retrieved from legacy facilities. Our approach ensures proper consideration of the Waste Hierarchy and the system as a whole including preparations for final disposal.
Critical Enablers support the overall delivery of our mission and any additional liabilities we receive from the wider UK nuclear enterprise. Some of these Critical Enablers, reflect the supplementary duties assigned to the NDA by the Energy Act (2004).
Our role in the UK nuclear enterprise has also expanded since our previous Strategy was published in 2021. We aim to leverage the unique capabilities and infrastructure of the NDA group to support the UK nuclear enterprise while ensuring the successful delivery of our mission remains our priority.
In our Draft Strategy (2025), we make commitments to continue strategy development across all themes. This covers a range of work packages and/or programmes that investigate both near and long-term challenges related to NDA's mission. Some of this work may be funded by NDA operating companies and some by the NDA. The nature of these packages/programmes is mainly technical but non-technical areas may be included as well.
In order to ensure that there is a sufficient diversity of views and specialised expertise available for directing and reviewing the strategy development work, the NDA group wishes to use independent external subject matter expert support.
Further detail about NDA strategy can be found in:
The NDA group Draft Strategy 2025 for public consultation
The fifth iteration of the NDA's Strategy will be published in early 2026.
Scope of Work
Under this framework, the NDA and its operating companies are seeking independent subject matter expert support and review to its strategy development work packages and/or programmes
The scope of this framework will cover all the NDA group's strategic driving themes (Site Decommissioning and Remediation, Integrated Waste Management, Spent Fuels and Nuclear Materials) as discussed in the NDA's Draft Strategy (2025). Support to Non-NDA Liabilities strategy development and group strategic planning will also be required.
A depth and breadth of technical knowledge and expertise in all the areas identified is a pivotal requirement, as well as an understanding of the main technical challenges and relevant interfaces and integration with NDA Critical Enablers. The nature of work to be delivered will include technical review of NDA's strategy development work and support to planning and management of technical work programmes.
The NDA group expects that Tenderers can demonstrate:
• experience and expertise in delivering complex technical work programmes covering all driving strategic themes of the NDA group's strategy as well as Non-NDA Liabilities and support to group strategic planning
• an understanding of the NDA group's strategy and strategy development needs and main challenges the group may face across all aforementioned areas
• specialised technical expertise across all aforementioned areas including an understanding of relevant UK and international good practice, and access to both operational and UK nuclear regulatory knowledge and experience
• depth and breadth of knowledge of the group mission and NDA's sites as well as the wider UK nuclear enterprise and other UK nuclear sites, e.g. MOD owned sites or AGR sites
• availability of a diverse team or consortium.
The scopes of work that the NDA group is expecting to deliver under this framework can be divided into the following areas:
• support to policy, legal and regulatory matters which directly relate to NDA group strategy development
• support to strategy development undertaken by the NDA group (NDA and/or operating companies)
• support in designing, facilitating and managing NDA group strategy development tasks, work packages, projects or programmes
• support to NDA group review of strategic work programmes delivered under other NDA group frameworks (such as the NDA Research Portfolio)
• support to the development of business/organisational strategy, and
• support the assessment of impacts of strategic intervention(s) on the group mission and/or operating company delivery plans (to inform decision-making).
Typical tasks required to deliver these scopes may involve, but not limited to:
• the development of roadmaps to underpin strategy or support future decisions
• the use of assessment tools like the NDA Value Framework, and tools to transit from strategy to implementation
• engaging with various NDA group and external stakeholders and to bring in expertise that covers one or several strategic themes in both breadth and depth
• reviewing technical and strategic documents across all the NDA's strategic themes and provide the NDA with a breadth and depth of relevant views
• subject matter expert support in reviewing deliverables produced under other frameworks such as the NDA Research Portfolio
• the design and review of experimental work, scientific research and R&D projects
• the development of technical task specifications or Invitations to Tender (ITTs), as well as the review of tender returns
• arranging technical meetings, workshops or for a to support the review and development of programmes that underpin strategy or future decisions. Participants to these meetings may include the NDA group, regulators, subcontracting chain or independent experts. As well as providing subject matter expert support, this will involve coordinating and arranging meetings, agenda preparation and taking minutes, meeting facilitation
• facilitating workshops that cover complex technical topics using various meeting facilitation techniques.
This procurement is looking to establish this framework for a maximum length of 4 years.
Commercial tool
Establishes an open framework
Total value (estimated)
- £10,000,000 excluding VAT
- £12,000,000 including VAT
Above the relevant threshold
Contract dates (estimated)
- 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2028
- Possible extension to 31 March 2030
- 4 years
Description of possible extension:
The Framework duration is 2 years +12 +12 months (Total 4 years)
Options
The right to additional purchases while the contract is valid.
None
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services
- 73210000 - Research consultancy services
- 73200000 - Research and development consultancy services
- 73110000 - Research services
Contract locations
- UK - United Kingdom
Framework
Open framework scheme end date (estimated)
31 March 2030
Maximum number of suppliers
1
Maximum percentage fee charged to suppliers
0%
Framework operation description
New 4-year framework
Award method when using the framework
With competition
Contracting authorities that may use the framework
Establishing party only
Participation
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
Submission
Tender submission deadline
6 November 2025, 11:00am
Submission address and any special instructions
All communication and tender submissions should be submitted via the Atamis Supplier Portal https://atamis-2464.my.site.com/ProSpend__CustomCommunitiesLogin
Tenders may be submitted electronically
Yes
Languages that may be used for submission
English
Award decision date (estimated)
31 January 2026
Recurring procurement
Publication date of next tender notice (estimated): 11 February 2026
Award criteria
| Name | Description | Type | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Question C1 - Commercial | Schedule of rates |
Price | 30.00% |
| Question T1 - Capabilities | Please outline your organisation's capabilities in relation to the scope of the NDA Strategy Framework. Your response should demonstrate: • Proven capability in managing and delivering complex... |
Quality | 19.00% |
| Question T2 - Service Delivery | Please describe your organisation's structure and approach to delivering the services under this framework. Your response should include: • Your proposed service management approach, including... |
Quality | 14.00% |
| Question T3 - Approach and Benefits | Please demonstrate the benefits of your proposed approach to delivering the services under this framework. Your response should include: • A clear explanation of how your approach will deliver the... |
Quality | 14.00% |
| Question T4 - Capacity | Please provide details of your organisation's resource capacity to deliver the services under this framework. Your response should include: • The availability and allocation of subject matter... |
Quality | 13.00% |
| Question T5 - Social Value | Please describe the commitment your organisation will make to ensure that opportunities under this contract contribute to tackling economic inequality and promoting equal opportunity, in line with the... |
Quality | 10.00% |
Other information
Conflicts assessment prepared/revised
Yes
Procedure
Procedure type
Open procedure
Contracting authority
Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PVDH-2346-PXDL
Herdus House Westlakes Science and Technology Park Moor Row
Cumbria
CA24 3HU
United Kingdom
Contact name: Chris Jennings
Email: chris.jennings@nda.gov.uk
Website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/nuclear-decommissioning-authority
Region: UKD11 - West Cumbria
Organisation type: Public authority - central government