FTS UK public procurement

UKRI –5498 TechFirst undergraduate and Spärck AI scholarships: Cohort Management Function (Lot 1), Recruitment Function (Lot 2)

UK Research & Innovation (UKRI)

CompleteOCDS ID ocds-h6vhtk-066fdc
Tender value£5,430,501.672 awards · 0 contracts

01 Procurement

Tender overview

Updated 5 August 2026
Buyer
UK Research & Innovation (UKRI)
Status
Complete
Procurement method
Open procedure
Category
services
CPV classification
Not supplied
Tender period
Not supplied — 29 May 2026

Description

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has awarded a contract for the provision of Recruitment Management Services (Lot 2) to support the delivery of its TechFirst Undergraduate and Spärck AI Scholarship programmes. The appointed supplier will deliver an end-to-end recruitment management service, including the design, promotion and delivery of recruitment campaigns to attract and engage prospective applicants. The service includes applicant outreach and engagement, management of the application process, candidate communications, administration of eligibility checks, coordination of assessment activities, and support throughout the selection process to ensure a high-quality candidate experience. The supplier will also work collaboratively with UKRI and other delivery partners to support programme governance, performance reporting and continuous improvement, contributing to the successful delivery of UKRI's strategic objectives.

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This page represents one OCDS contracting process. Notices can be revised over time. Values may be estimates, award values or contract values and should be read with their displayed stage and date.

02 Awards and contracts

Published award records

2 shown
Pending

UKRI –5498 TechFirst undergraduate and Spärck AI scholarships: Cohort Recruitment Function (Lot 2)

Awarded
4 August 2026
Award value
£1,564,227.55
Suppliers
1
Signed contract
Not supplied
Pending

UKRI-5498 TechFirst Undergraduate and Spärck AI Scholarships – Cohort Management Services (Lot 1)

Awarded
15 July 2026
Award value
£2,356,051.99
Suppliers
1
Signed contract
Not supplied

03 Organisations

Buyers, suppliers and other parties

3 parties
Buyer

UK Research & Innovation (UKRI)

Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire, UKK14, SN2 1FL, United Kingdom

GB-PPON PDQJ-7126-JDHG
Supplier

Penna Plc

10 Bishops Square, London, UKI42, E1 6BG, United Kingdom

GB-PPON PTYB-2895-WWLN
Supplier

QA LIMITED

International House First Floor, 1 St Katharine's Way, London, UKI42, E1W 1UN, United Kingdom

GB-PPON PLCZ-7371-DXGG

Companies House links appear only for explicit GB-COH identifiers. BritDB does not create company links from a similar name or address.

04 Provenance

Source for this process

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Official external links are available only on the source transition page.