{ "uri": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/api/1.0/ocdsRecordPackages/ocds-h6vhtk-077aa2", "publisher": { "name": "Cabinet Office", "scheme": "GB-GOR", "uid": "D2", "uri": "https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/cabinet-office" }, "publishedDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:30+01:00", "license": "http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/", "publicationPolicy": "https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-contracting", "version": "1.1", "extensions": [ "https://standard.open-contracting.org/profiles/eu/latest/en/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_amendment_rationale_classifications_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_budget_breakdown_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_contract_completion_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_documentation_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_pagination_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_suitability_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/portaledcahn/ocds_Links_extension/main/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cabinetoffice/ocds_uk_extension/main/extension.json" ], "packages": [ "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/api/1.0/ocdsRecordPackages/ocds-h6vhtk-077aa2" ], "records": [ { "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-077aa2", "releases": [ { "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-077aa2", "buyerID": [], "id": "091020-2026", "tag": [ "planning" ], "date": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "initiationType": "tender", "parties": [ { "name": "Department for Science, Innovation & Technology", "id": "GB-PPON-PVWZ-3216-PVQL", "identifier": { "scheme": "GB-PPON", "id": "PVWZ-3216-PVQL" }, "address": { "streetAddress": "22 Whitehall", "locality": "London", "postalCode": "SW1A 2EG", "country": "GB", "countryName": "United Kingdom", "region": "UKI32" }, "contactPoint": { "email": "emma.bracey@dsit.gov.uk" }, "roles": [ "buyer" ], "details": { "classifications": [ { "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE", "id": "publicAuthorityCentralGovernment", "description": "Public authority - central government" } ] } } ], "buyer": { "id": "GB-PPON-PVWZ-3216-PVQL", "name": "Department for Science, Innovation & Technology" }, "planning": { "milestones": [ { "id": "engagement", "type": "engagement", "description": "This Request for Information is issued for preliminary market engagement purposes only. It is not an Invitation to Tender, a procurement process, or a commitment by DSIT to procure any goods or services. DSIT reserves the right, at its absolute discretion, to amend, pause or discontinue this engagement and is not obliged to proceed to a procurement, issue tender documents, award a contract or enter into any commercial arrangement as a result of this RFI.\nParticipation in this RFI is voluntary. DSIT does not commit to cover any cost incurred in the preparation or submission of any response to the RFI. \nResponding or failing to respond to this RFI will not preclude the respondents from participating in any future DSIT calls or requests for information or other opportunities. \nResponses will not be formally evaluated or scored, and participation in this RFI will not advantage or disadvantage any supplier in any future procurement. If a procurement is launched, it will be conducted in accordance with applicable procurement law and all suppliers will be treated fairly and transparently.\nSuppliers should clearly identify any commercially sensitive information included in their response.\nThe RFI questions are organised under the following sections.\n1.\tOrganisation information\n2.\tExperience and Capability (Mandatory)\n3.\tCommercial Model (Optional)\n4.\tRisks and Dependencies (Optional)\n5.\tInternational Delivery (Optional)\n6.\tDue Diligence and Assurance (Optional)\n7.\tSystems and Reporting (Optional)\n8.\tFrontier AI research (Optional)\nPlease complete survey here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/A2HGiemFA4\nThe deadline for responses is 23:59 BST, 09/10/2026.\nDSIT reserves the right to follow-up and ask clarification questions on any responses.\nThe guidance provided also accompanies the associated question within the Microsoft Forms survey. If you require a Word version of this request for information, please contact Emma.bracey@dsit.gov.uk.\nIn each section, please feel free to include as much relevant information as you like (responses limited to 4000 characters). All questions require a free-text response unless otherwise specified.\nNote that questions denoted with an asterix, *, are mandatory.\nPlease provide answers including indications of where answers are actual or anticipated or where the information requested is currently unknown (for example subject to ongoing development).\n1. How the information provided will be used and treated\nAISI wishes to use this RFI to help test the feasibility, deliverability and commercial attractiveness of the proposed requirement. \nIn the course of responding to this request for information, you have provided information about yourself ('personal data'). DSIT are the 'data controller' for this information, which means we decide how to use it and are responsible for looking after it.\nIn providing the information requested in this document the respondent confirms that they are giving written consent that the information provided may be shared with other departments, agencies, public bodies, and subsidiaries owned by the above, and their advisors. If any information is shared within government, it will be anonymised and will not identify any specific individual or organisation who provided it.\nInformation provided in response to this Request for Information, including personal information, may be disclosed in accordance with any applicable law (including the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004), by order of a court or as required by any body or inquiry which has the power to compel disclosure.\nThe RFI participation process, including how to send responses, appears in the section directly after the questionnaire, below. If the respondent wants the information provided to be treated as confidential, they are asked to please inform us. No commercially sensitive information will be shared outside of government. Please be aware that we cannot guarantee confidentiality in all circumstances. For any questions about this process, please email: emma.bracey@dsit.gov.uk.\nWe will process any personal data included in the responses for this Request for Information in accordance with all applicable data protection laws.\nThe information gathered will not be used beyond the stated purpose without explicit permission.\n2. The type of personal information we collect\nWe will collect and process the following personal data:\nPersonal identifiers (name and contact details).\n3. How we will use your data?\nWe will use your data to understand the origin of your submission - see above \"How the information provided will be used and treated\" in the RFI document for more information.\nThe lawful basis for processing your personal data under Article 6 of the UK GDPR is: Legitimate interests. As such, we will only use your data for the purposes for which we collected it or one that is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use your data for an unrelated purpose, we will seek your consent separately to use it for that new purpose.\n4. Who has access to your data?\nAccess to your data held by DSIT will be limited to staff within the department who need to view it as part of their work in carrying out the purposes described above.\nYour personal data will not be shared outside of the department. Where information from the responses is shared wider, it will be anonymised.\n5. Retaining your data\nWe will retain your personal data for no longer than one year. Anonymised and non-personal data may be kept for up to four years for statistical purposes.\n6. Where we store and use your data?\nYour personal data will be processed in the UK within secure UK government systems which use the Government Microsoft 365 environment hosted in UK-based data centres. As your personal data will be stored on our IT infrastructure it will be shared with our data processors Microsoft and Amazon Web Services and may be transferred and stored securely outside the UK. Where that is the case, it will be subject to equivalent legal protection through an adequacy decision, the use of Standard Contractual Clauses or a UK International Data Transfer Agreement. We will not make additional copies of personal data to store outside of this environment.\nTo exercise your rights please contact the Data Protection Officer using the contact details below.\n7. How to contact us?\nIf you have any questions or concerns about our use of your personal information or are unhappy with the way we have handled your personal data, please write to the department's Data Protection Officer in the first instance using the contact details below;\nDSIT Data Protection Officer,\nDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology,\n22-26 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2EG.\nEmail: dataprotection@dsit.gov.uk\nIf you consider that your personal data has been misused or mishandled, you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an UK independent regulator. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:\nInformation Commissioner's Office\nWycliffe House\nWater Lane\nWilmslow, Cheshire\nSK9 5AF\nHelpline number: 0303 123 1113\nICO website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/", "dueDate": "2026-10-10T23:59:59+01:00", "status": "scheduled" } ], "documents": [ { "id": "091020-2026", "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice", "noticeType": "UK2", "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender", "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/091020-2026", "datePublished": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "format": "text/html" } ] }, "tender": { "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-077aa2", "legalBasis": { "id": "2023/54", "scheme": "UKPGA", "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents" }, "title": "RFI: AISI - Post-Award Research Grant Administration", "description": "The Artificial Intelligence Security Institute (AISI), a directorate of the former Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), is seeking information from the market to help test the feasibility, deliverability, and commercial attractiveness of a proposed requirement for the AISI Grants Portfolio. \nThe AISI funds external research through competitively awarded grant programmes. Awards are made to universities, research institutes and non-profit organisations. The Authority currently administers grants in-house and is considering whether a specialist delivery partner could provide all or part of the post-award administration function for future grant programmes.\nThis Request for Information (RFI) is intended to inform the Authority's understanding of market capability and delivery models. This engagement does not constitute a procurement process and places no obligation on either the Authority or participating suppliers.\nThe Authority's current portfolio comprises approximately:\n•\t£20m of live grant funding;\n•\taround 100 active grants;\n•\tindividual grants ranging between £100,000 and £1,000,000;\n•\ttypical grant durations of 6 to 24 months.\nFuture programmes are expected to be broadly similar in nature, although scope, scale and delivery models may change.\nThe grants are primarily research-focused and commonly involve:\n•\tUK universities;\n•\toverseas universities;\n•\tresearch organisations;\n•\tnon-profit entities;\n•\tcollaborative research projects.\nThe Authority is seeking information on supplier capability to deliver post-award grant administration services.\nFor the purposes of this engagement, \"post-award\" includes all activities following the Authority's funding decision, including due diligence activities conducted prior to execution of grant agreements.\nThe assessment of applications, evaluation of proposals and selection of grant recipients will remain the responsibility of the Authority and its expert reviewers and are not within scope. Accountability for each grant remains with the Authority under GovS 015: Grants. Any operating model will retain the Authority's grant manager in a decision-making role, with defined thresholds for what a delivery partner may decide and what must be escalated.\nPotential activities may include, but are not limited to:\n•\tissuing and executing grant agreements using Authority-provided templates;\n•\tmanaging amendments, variations, novations and extensions;\n•\tmanaging monitoring and reporting processes;\n•\tvalidating claims and expenditure submissions;\n•\tadministering payment schedules and disbursements;\n•\tadministering grants to overseas recipients;\n•\tmanaging underspend, reprofiling and no-cost extensions;\n•\tsupporting suspension, recovery and clawback activity;\n•\toperating assurance, audit and counter-fraud controls;\n•\tmaintaining grant records and management information;\n•\tundertaking grant closure activities and record retention.\nThe Authority is keen to receive feedback from established grant-administration providers, specialist organisations, SMEs, new entrants and other organisations with relevant delivery experience.\nThe Authority currently anticipates that, should it decide to proceed with a procurement following this preliminary market engagement, the opportunity would be conducted through the Fund Administration & Disbursement Services Dynamic Purchasing System, RM6322 (“FAADS”).\nYou do not need to be an existing supplier on the Fund Administration & Disbursement Services DPS, RM6322 (“FAADS”), to respond to this market engagement. Suppliers that are not currently appointed to RM6322 are encouraged to consider applying to join the DPS if they may be interested in participating in any future procurement. Further information about RM6322 and the supplier application process is available through the Crown Commercial Service Supplier Registration Service: Fund Administration & Disbursement Services DPS (FAADS) - GCA\nThe RM6322 application process and this RFI are independent:\n•\tcompleting the RFI does not result in appointment to the DPS;\n•\tapplying to the DPS does not constitute an RFI response; and\n•\tneither activity guarantees that a procurement will proceed or that an organisation will receive work.\nRFI responses are requested solely to help the Authority understand market capability, delivery models, commercial viability, risks and implementation considerations. Responses will not be scored and participation will not confer any advantage or disadvantage in a future procurement. The Authority does not guarantee that a procurement will take place or that RM6322 will ultimately be used.", "items": [ { "id": "1", "additionalClassifications": [ { "scheme": "CPV", "id": "75100000", "description": "Administration services" } ], "deliveryAddresses": [ { "region": "UK", "country": "GB", "countryName": "United Kingdom" } ], "relatedLot": "1" } ], "mainProcurementCategory": "services", "aboveThreshold": false, "lots": [ { "id": "1", "suitability": { "sme": true, "vcse": true }, "contractPeriod": { "startDate": "2026-12-31T00:00:00+00:00", "endDate": "2027-01-01T23:59:59+00:00" }, "description": null, "status": "planning" } ], "status": "planning" }, "language": "en", "extensions": [ "https://standard.open-contracting.org/profiles/eu/latest/en/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_amendment_rationale_classifications_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_budget_breakdown_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_contract_completion_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_documentation_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_pagination_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_performance_failures_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_suitability_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/portaledcahn/ocds_Links_extension/main/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cabinetoffice/ocds_uk_extension/main/extension.json" ] } ], "compiledRelease": { "tag": [ "compiled" ], "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-077aa2-2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "date": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-077aa2", "initiationType": "tender", "parties": [ { "id": "GB-PPON-PVWZ-3216-PVQL", "name": "Department for Science, Innovation & Technology", "identifier": { "scheme": "GB-PPON", "id": "PVWZ-3216-PVQL" }, "address": { "streetAddress": "22 Whitehall", "locality": "London", "postalCode": "SW1A 2EG", "country": "GB", "countryName": "United Kingdom", "region": "UKI32" }, "contactPoint": { "email": "emma.bracey@dsit.gov.uk" }, "roles": [ "buyer" ], "details": { "classifications": [ { "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE", "id": "publicAuthorityCentralGovernment", "description": "Public authority - central government" } ] } } ], "buyer": { "id": "GB-PPON-PVWZ-3216-PVQL", "name": "Department for Science, Innovation & Technology" }, "planning": { "milestones": [ { "id": "engagement", "type": "engagement", "description": "This Request for Information is issued for preliminary market engagement purposes only. It is not an Invitation to Tender, a procurement process, or a commitment by DSIT to procure any goods or services. DSIT reserves the right, at its absolute discretion, to amend, pause or discontinue this engagement and is not obliged to proceed to a procurement, issue tender documents, award a contract or enter into any commercial arrangement as a result of this RFI.\nParticipation in this RFI is voluntary. DSIT does not commit to cover any cost incurred in the preparation or submission of any response to the RFI. \nResponding or failing to respond to this RFI will not preclude the respondents from participating in any future DSIT calls or requests for information or other opportunities. \nResponses will not be formally evaluated or scored, and participation in this RFI will not advantage or disadvantage any supplier in any future procurement. If a procurement is launched, it will be conducted in accordance with applicable procurement law and all suppliers will be treated fairly and transparently.\nSuppliers should clearly identify any commercially sensitive information included in their response.\nThe RFI questions are organised under the following sections.\n1.\tOrganisation information\n2.\tExperience and Capability (Mandatory)\n3.\tCommercial Model (Optional)\n4.\tRisks and Dependencies (Optional)\n5.\tInternational Delivery (Optional)\n6.\tDue Diligence and Assurance (Optional)\n7.\tSystems and Reporting (Optional)\n8.\tFrontier AI research (Optional)\nPlease complete survey here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/A2HGiemFA4\nThe deadline for responses is 23:59 BST, 09/10/2026.\nDSIT reserves the right to follow-up and ask clarification questions on any responses.\nThe guidance provided also accompanies the associated question within the Microsoft Forms survey. If you require a Word version of this request for information, please contact Emma.bracey@dsit.gov.uk.\nIn each section, please feel free to include as much relevant information as you like (responses limited to 4000 characters). All questions require a free-text response unless otherwise specified.\nNote that questions denoted with an asterix, *, are mandatory.\nPlease provide answers including indications of where answers are actual or anticipated or where the information requested is currently unknown (for example subject to ongoing development).\n1. How the information provided will be used and treated\nAISI wishes to use this RFI to help test the feasibility, deliverability and commercial attractiveness of the proposed requirement. \nIn the course of responding to this request for information, you have provided information about yourself ('personal data'). DSIT are the 'data controller' for this information, which means we decide how to use it and are responsible for looking after it.\nIn providing the information requested in this document the respondent confirms that they are giving written consent that the information provided may be shared with other departments, agencies, public bodies, and subsidiaries owned by the above, and their advisors. If any information is shared within government, it will be anonymised and will not identify any specific individual or organisation who provided it.\nInformation provided in response to this Request for Information, including personal information, may be disclosed in accordance with any applicable law (including the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004), by order of a court or as required by any body or inquiry which has the power to compel disclosure.\nThe RFI participation process, including how to send responses, appears in the section directly after the questionnaire, below. If the respondent wants the information provided to be treated as confidential, they are asked to please inform us. No commercially sensitive information will be shared outside of government. Please be aware that we cannot guarantee confidentiality in all circumstances. For any questions about this process, please email: emma.bracey@dsit.gov.uk.\nWe will process any personal data included in the responses for this Request for Information in accordance with all applicable data protection laws.\nThe information gathered will not be used beyond the stated purpose without explicit permission.\n2. The type of personal information we collect\nWe will collect and process the following personal data:\nPersonal identifiers (name and contact details).\n3. How we will use your data?\nWe will use your data to understand the origin of your submission - see above \"How the information provided will be used and treated\" in the RFI document for more information.\nThe lawful basis for processing your personal data under Article 6 of the UK GDPR is: Legitimate interests. As such, we will only use your data for the purposes for which we collected it or one that is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use your data for an unrelated purpose, we will seek your consent separately to use it for that new purpose.\n4. Who has access to your data?\nAccess to your data held by DSIT will be limited to staff within the department who need to view it as part of their work in carrying out the purposes described above.\nYour personal data will not be shared outside of the department. Where information from the responses is shared wider, it will be anonymised.\n5. Retaining your data\nWe will retain your personal data for no longer than one year. Anonymised and non-personal data may be kept for up to four years for statistical purposes.\n6. Where we store and use your data?\nYour personal data will be processed in the UK within secure UK government systems which use the Government Microsoft 365 environment hosted in UK-based data centres. As your personal data will be stored on our IT infrastructure it will be shared with our data processors Microsoft and Amazon Web Services and may be transferred and stored securely outside the UK. Where that is the case, it will be subject to equivalent legal protection through an adequacy decision, the use of Standard Contractual Clauses or a UK International Data Transfer Agreement. We will not make additional copies of personal data to store outside of this environment.\nTo exercise your rights please contact the Data Protection Officer using the contact details below.\n7. How to contact us?\nIf you have any questions or concerns about our use of your personal information or are unhappy with the way we have handled your personal data, please write to the department's Data Protection Officer in the first instance using the contact details below;\nDSIT Data Protection Officer,\nDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology,\n22-26 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2EG.\nEmail: dataprotection@dsit.gov.uk\nIf you consider that your personal data has been misused or mishandled, you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an UK independent regulator. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:\nInformation Commissioner's Office\nWycliffe House\nWater Lane\nWilmslow, Cheshire\nSK9 5AF\nHelpline number: 0303 123 1113\nICO website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/", "dueDate": "2026-10-10T23:59:59+01:00", "status": "scheduled" } ], "documents": [ { "id": "091020-2026", "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice", "noticeType": "UK2", "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender", "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/091020-2026", "datePublished": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "format": "text/html" } ] }, "tender": { "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-077aa2", "legalBasis": { "id": "2023/54", "scheme": "UKPGA", "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents" }, "title": "RFI: AISI - Post-Award Research Grant Administration", "description": "The Artificial Intelligence Security Institute (AISI), a directorate of the former Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), is seeking information from the market to help test the feasibility, deliverability, and commercial attractiveness of a proposed requirement for the AISI Grants Portfolio. \nThe AISI funds external research through competitively awarded grant programmes. Awards are made to universities, research institutes and non-profit organisations. The Authority currently administers grants in-house and is considering whether a specialist delivery partner could provide all or part of the post-award administration function for future grant programmes.\nThis Request for Information (RFI) is intended to inform the Authority's understanding of market capability and delivery models. This engagement does not constitute a procurement process and places no obligation on either the Authority or participating suppliers.\nThe Authority's current portfolio comprises approximately:\n•\t£20m of live grant funding;\n•\taround 100 active grants;\n•\tindividual grants ranging between £100,000 and £1,000,000;\n•\ttypical grant durations of 6 to 24 months.\nFuture programmes are expected to be broadly similar in nature, although scope, scale and delivery models may change.\nThe grants are primarily research-focused and commonly involve:\n•\tUK universities;\n•\toverseas universities;\n•\tresearch organisations;\n•\tnon-profit entities;\n•\tcollaborative research projects.\nThe Authority is seeking information on supplier capability to deliver post-award grant administration services.\nFor the purposes of this engagement, \"post-award\" includes all activities following the Authority's funding decision, including due diligence activities conducted prior to execution of grant agreements.\nThe assessment of applications, evaluation of proposals and selection of grant recipients will remain the responsibility of the Authority and its expert reviewers and are not within scope. Accountability for each grant remains with the Authority under GovS 015: Grants. Any operating model will retain the Authority's grant manager in a decision-making role, with defined thresholds for what a delivery partner may decide and what must be escalated.\nPotential activities may include, but are not limited to:\n•\tissuing and executing grant agreements using Authority-provided templates;\n•\tmanaging amendments, variations, novations and extensions;\n•\tmanaging monitoring and reporting processes;\n•\tvalidating claims and expenditure submissions;\n•\tadministering payment schedules and disbursements;\n•\tadministering grants to overseas recipients;\n•\tmanaging underspend, reprofiling and no-cost extensions;\n•\tsupporting suspension, recovery and clawback activity;\n•\toperating assurance, audit and counter-fraud controls;\n•\tmaintaining grant records and management information;\n•\tundertaking grant closure activities and record retention.\nThe Authority is keen to receive feedback from established grant-administration providers, specialist organisations, SMEs, new entrants and other organisations with relevant delivery experience.\nThe Authority currently anticipates that, should it decide to proceed with a procurement following this preliminary market engagement, the opportunity would be conducted through the Fund Administration & Disbursement Services Dynamic Purchasing System, RM6322 (“FAADS”).\nYou do not need to be an existing supplier on the Fund Administration & Disbursement Services DPS, RM6322 (“FAADS”), to respond to this market engagement. Suppliers that are not currently appointed to RM6322 are encouraged to consider applying to join the DPS if they may be interested in participating in any future procurement. Further information about RM6322 and the supplier application process is available through the Crown Commercial Service Supplier Registration Service: Fund Administration & Disbursement Services DPS (FAADS) - GCA\nThe RM6322 application process and this RFI are independent:\n•\tcompleting the RFI does not result in appointment to the DPS;\n•\tapplying to the DPS does not constitute an RFI response; and\n•\tneither activity guarantees that a procurement will proceed or that an organisation will receive work.\nRFI responses are requested solely to help the Authority understand market capability, delivery models, commercial viability, risks and implementation considerations. Responses will not be scored and participation will not confer any advantage or disadvantage in a future procurement. The Authority does not guarantee that a procurement will take place or that RM6322 will ultimately be used.", "items": [ { "id": "1", "additionalClassifications": [ { "scheme": "CPV", "id": "75100000", "description": "Administration services" } ], "deliveryAddresses": [ { "region": "UK", "country": "GB", "countryName": "United Kingdom" } ], "relatedLot": "1" } ], "mainProcurementCategory": "services", "aboveThreshold": false, "lots": [ { "id": "1", "suitability": { "sme": true, "vcse": true }, "contractPeriod": { "startDate": "2026-12-31T00:00:00+00:00", "endDate": "2027-01-01T23:59:59+00:00" }, "status": "planning" } ], "status": "planning" }, "language": "en", "extensions": [ "https://standard.open-contracting.org/profiles/eu/latest/en/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_amendment_rationale_classifications_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_budget_breakdown_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_contract_completion_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_documentation_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_pagination_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_performance_failures_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_suitability_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/portaledcahn/ocds_Links_extension/main/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cabinetoffice/ocds_uk_extension/main/extension.json" ] }, "versionedRelease": { "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-077aa2", "initiationType": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "tender" } ], "parties": [ { "id": "GB-PPON-PVWZ-3216-PVQL", "name": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "Department for Science, Innovation & Technology" } ], "identifier": { "scheme": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "GB-PPON" } ], "id": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "PVWZ-3216-PVQL" } ] }, "address": { "streetAddress": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "22 Whitehall" } ], "locality": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "London" } ], "postalCode": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "SW1A 2EG" } ], "country": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "GB" } ], "countryName": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "United Kingdom" } ], "region": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "UKI32" } ] }, "contactPoint": { "email": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "emma.bracey@dsit.gov.uk" } ] }, "roles": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": [ "buyer" ] } ], "details": { "classifications": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": [ { "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE", "id": "publicAuthorityCentralGovernment", "description": "Public authority - central government" } ] } ] } } ], "buyer": { "id": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "GB-PPON-PVWZ-3216-PVQL" } ], "name": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "Department for Science, Innovation & Technology" } ] }, "planning": { "milestones": [ { "id": "engagement", "type": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "engagement" } ], "description": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "This Request for Information is issued for preliminary market engagement purposes only. It is not an Invitation to Tender, a procurement process, or a commitment by DSIT to procure any goods or services. DSIT reserves the right, at its absolute discretion, to amend, pause or discontinue this engagement and is not obliged to proceed to a procurement, issue tender documents, award a contract or enter into any commercial arrangement as a result of this RFI.\nParticipation in this RFI is voluntary. DSIT does not commit to cover any cost incurred in the preparation or submission of any response to the RFI. \nResponding or failing to respond to this RFI will not preclude the respondents from participating in any future DSIT calls or requests for information or other opportunities. \nResponses will not be formally evaluated or scored, and participation in this RFI will not advantage or disadvantage any supplier in any future procurement. If a procurement is launched, it will be conducted in accordance with applicable procurement law and all suppliers will be treated fairly and transparently.\nSuppliers should clearly identify any commercially sensitive information included in their response.\nThe RFI questions are organised under the following sections.\n1.\tOrganisation information\n2.\tExperience and Capability (Mandatory)\n3.\tCommercial Model (Optional)\n4.\tRisks and Dependencies (Optional)\n5.\tInternational Delivery (Optional)\n6.\tDue Diligence and Assurance (Optional)\n7.\tSystems and Reporting (Optional)\n8.\tFrontier AI research (Optional)\nPlease complete survey here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/A2HGiemFA4\nThe deadline for responses is 23:59 BST, 09/10/2026.\nDSIT reserves the right to follow-up and ask clarification questions on any responses.\nThe guidance provided also accompanies the associated question within the Microsoft Forms survey. If you require a Word version of this request for information, please contact Emma.bracey@dsit.gov.uk.\nIn each section, please feel free to include as much relevant information as you like (responses limited to 4000 characters). All questions require a free-text response unless otherwise specified.\nNote that questions denoted with an asterix, *, are mandatory.\nPlease provide answers including indications of where answers are actual or anticipated or where the information requested is currently unknown (for example subject to ongoing development).\n1. How the information provided will be used and treated\nAISI wishes to use this RFI to help test the feasibility, deliverability and commercial attractiveness of the proposed requirement. \nIn the course of responding to this request for information, you have provided information about yourself ('personal data'). DSIT are the 'data controller' for this information, which means we decide how to use it and are responsible for looking after it.\nIn providing the information requested in this document the respondent confirms that they are giving written consent that the information provided may be shared with other departments, agencies, public bodies, and subsidiaries owned by the above, and their advisors. If any information is shared within government, it will be anonymised and will not identify any specific individual or organisation who provided it.\nInformation provided in response to this Request for Information, including personal information, may be disclosed in accordance with any applicable law (including the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004), by order of a court or as required by any body or inquiry which has the power to compel disclosure.\nThe RFI participation process, including how to send responses, appears in the section directly after the questionnaire, below. If the respondent wants the information provided to be treated as confidential, they are asked to please inform us. No commercially sensitive information will be shared outside of government. Please be aware that we cannot guarantee confidentiality in all circumstances. For any questions about this process, please email: emma.bracey@dsit.gov.uk.\nWe will process any personal data included in the responses for this Request for Information in accordance with all applicable data protection laws.\nThe information gathered will not be used beyond the stated purpose without explicit permission.\n2. The type of personal information we collect\nWe will collect and process the following personal data:\nPersonal identifiers (name and contact details).\n3. How we will use your data?\nWe will use your data to understand the origin of your submission - see above \"How the information provided will be used and treated\" in the RFI document for more information.\nThe lawful basis for processing your personal data under Article 6 of the UK GDPR is: Legitimate interests. As such, we will only use your data for the purposes for which we collected it or one that is compatible with the original purpose. If we need to use your data for an unrelated purpose, we will seek your consent separately to use it for that new purpose.\n4. Who has access to your data?\nAccess to your data held by DSIT will be limited to staff within the department who need to view it as part of their work in carrying out the purposes described above.\nYour personal data will not be shared outside of the department. Where information from the responses is shared wider, it will be anonymised.\n5. Retaining your data\nWe will retain your personal data for no longer than one year. Anonymised and non-personal data may be kept for up to four years for statistical purposes.\n6. Where we store and use your data?\nYour personal data will be processed in the UK within secure UK government systems which use the Government Microsoft 365 environment hosted in UK-based data centres. As your personal data will be stored on our IT infrastructure it will be shared with our data processors Microsoft and Amazon Web Services and may be transferred and stored securely outside the UK. Where that is the case, it will be subject to equivalent legal protection through an adequacy decision, the use of Standard Contractual Clauses or a UK International Data Transfer Agreement. We will not make additional copies of personal data to store outside of this environment.\nTo exercise your rights please contact the Data Protection Officer using the contact details below.\n7. How to contact us?\nIf you have any questions or concerns about our use of your personal information or are unhappy with the way we have handled your personal data, please write to the department's Data Protection Officer in the first instance using the contact details below;\nDSIT Data Protection Officer,\nDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology,\n22-26 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2EG.\nEmail: dataprotection@dsit.gov.uk\nIf you consider that your personal data has been misused or mishandled, you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an UK independent regulator. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:\nInformation Commissioner's Office\nWycliffe House\nWater Lane\nWilmslow, Cheshire\nSK9 5AF\nHelpline number: 0303 123 1113\nICO website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/" } ], "dueDate": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "2026-10-10T23:59:59+01:00" } ], "status": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "scheduled" } ] } ], "documents": [ { "id": "091020-2026", "documentType": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "marketEngagementNotice" } ], "noticeType": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "UK2" } ], "description": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender" } ], "url": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/091020-2026" } ], "datePublished": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00" } ], "format": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "text/html" } ] } ] }, "tender": { "id": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "ocds-h6vhtk-077aa2" } ], "legalBasis": { "id": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "2023/54" } ], "scheme": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "UKPGA" } ], "uri": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents" } ] }, "title": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "RFI: AISI - Post-Award Research Grant Administration" } ], "description": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "The Artificial Intelligence Security Institute (AISI), a directorate of the former Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), is seeking information from the market to help test the feasibility, deliverability, and commercial attractiveness of a proposed requirement for the AISI Grants Portfolio. \nThe AISI funds external research through competitively awarded grant programmes. Awards are made to universities, research institutes and non-profit organisations. The Authority currently administers grants in-house and is considering whether a specialist delivery partner could provide all or part of the post-award administration function for future grant programmes.\nThis Request for Information (RFI) is intended to inform the Authority's understanding of market capability and delivery models. This engagement does not constitute a procurement process and places no obligation on either the Authority or participating suppliers.\nThe Authority's current portfolio comprises approximately:\n•\t£20m of live grant funding;\n•\taround 100 active grants;\n•\tindividual grants ranging between £100,000 and £1,000,000;\n•\ttypical grant durations of 6 to 24 months.\nFuture programmes are expected to be broadly similar in nature, although scope, scale and delivery models may change.\nThe grants are primarily research-focused and commonly involve:\n•\tUK universities;\n•\toverseas universities;\n•\tresearch organisations;\n•\tnon-profit entities;\n•\tcollaborative research projects.\nThe Authority is seeking information on supplier capability to deliver post-award grant administration services.\nFor the purposes of this engagement, \"post-award\" includes all activities following the Authority's funding decision, including due diligence activities conducted prior to execution of grant agreements.\nThe assessment of applications, evaluation of proposals and selection of grant recipients will remain the responsibility of the Authority and its expert reviewers and are not within scope. Accountability for each grant remains with the Authority under GovS 015: Grants. Any operating model will retain the Authority's grant manager in a decision-making role, with defined thresholds for what a delivery partner may decide and what must be escalated.\nPotential activities may include, but are not limited to:\n•\tissuing and executing grant agreements using Authority-provided templates;\n•\tmanaging amendments, variations, novations and extensions;\n•\tmanaging monitoring and reporting processes;\n•\tvalidating claims and expenditure submissions;\n•\tadministering payment schedules and disbursements;\n•\tadministering grants to overseas recipients;\n•\tmanaging underspend, reprofiling and no-cost extensions;\n•\tsupporting suspension, recovery and clawback activity;\n•\toperating assurance, audit and counter-fraud controls;\n•\tmaintaining grant records and management information;\n•\tundertaking grant closure activities and record retention.\nThe Authority is keen to receive feedback from established grant-administration providers, specialist organisations, SMEs, new entrants and other organisations with relevant delivery experience.\nThe Authority currently anticipates that, should it decide to proceed with a procurement following this preliminary market engagement, the opportunity would be conducted through the Fund Administration & Disbursement Services Dynamic Purchasing System, RM6322 (“FAADS”).\nYou do not need to be an existing supplier on the Fund Administration & Disbursement Services DPS, RM6322 (“FAADS”), to respond to this market engagement. Suppliers that are not currently appointed to RM6322 are encouraged to consider applying to join the DPS if they may be interested in participating in any future procurement. Further information about RM6322 and the supplier application process is available through the Crown Commercial Service Supplier Registration Service: Fund Administration & Disbursement Services DPS (FAADS) - GCA\nThe RM6322 application process and this RFI are independent:\n•\tcompleting the RFI does not result in appointment to the DPS;\n•\tapplying to the DPS does not constitute an RFI response; and\n•\tneither activity guarantees that a procurement will proceed or that an organisation will receive work.\nRFI responses are requested solely to help the Authority understand market capability, delivery models, commercial viability, risks and implementation considerations. Responses will not be scored and participation will not confer any advantage or disadvantage in a future procurement. The Authority does not guarantee that a procurement will take place or that RM6322 will ultimately be used." } ], "items": [ { "id": "1", "additionalClassifications": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": [ { "scheme": "CPV", "id": "75100000", "description": "Administration services" } ] } ], "deliveryAddresses": [ { "region": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "UK" } ], "country": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "GB" } ], "countryName": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "United Kingdom" } ] } ], "relatedLot": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "1" } ] } ], "mainProcurementCategory": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "services" } ], "aboveThreshold": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": false } ], "lots": [ { "id": "1", "suitability": { "sme": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": true } ], "vcse": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": true } ] }, "contractPeriod": { "startDate": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "2026-12-31T00:00:00+00:00" } ], "endDate": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "2027-01-01T23:59:59+00:00" } ] }, "description": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": null } ], "status": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "planning" } ] } ], "status": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "planning" } ] }, "language": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": "en" } ], "extensions": [ { "releaseID": "091020-2026", "releaseDate": "2026-09-25T13:50:29+01:00", "releaseTag": [ "planning" ], "value": [ "https://standard.open-contracting.org/profiles/eu/latest/en/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_amendment_rationale_classifications_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_budget_breakdown_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_contract_completion_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_documentation_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_pagination_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_performance_failures_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/open-contracting-extensions/ocds_suitability_extension/master/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/portaledcahn/ocds_Links_extension/main/extension.json", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cabinetoffice/ocds_uk_extension/main/extension.json" ] } ] } } ] }