AwardedAwarded 20 August 2026
"Airlock" Output Checking System OCS Decision Engine Development Partner
UK Biobank Limited · Public undertaking
In brief
UK Biobank Limited awarded IT and software work to Kainos on 20 August 2026.
The notice gives a value of £2,000,000 excluding VAT.
The contract runs for 3 years, up to 6 years with extensions, starting 31 July 2026.
The buyer says it is suitable for small and medium-sized businesses.
Built from the notice's own fields. Always check the official notice before you bid.
What the notice says
UKB is seeking to further improve its technical controls and intends to implement a functional mechanism to check data egress requests to ensure that participant record-level data is not being removed and does not contain information that can identify individual participants. This Output Checking System (OCS) functionality will allow UKB to enhance the security of the UKB-RAP, reduce the risk of advertent and inadvertent data breaches and importantly increase the trust and transparency of the UKB resource. UKB intends to commence a procurement exercise to procure a replacement for the current UKB-RAP in 2027, which will come into effect in 2028. The OCS will need to be integrated with the…Read the full description
UKB is seeking to further improve its technical controls and intends to implement a functional mechanism to check data egress requests
to ensure that participant record-level data is not being removed and does not contain information that can identify individual
participants. This Output Checking System (OCS) functionality will allow UKB to enhance the security of the UKB-RAP, reduce the
risk of advertent and inadvertent data breaches and importantly increase the trust and transparency of the UKB resource. UKB intends
to commence a procurement exercise to procure a replacement for the current UKB-RAP in 2027, which will come into effect in 2028.
The OCS will need to be integrated with the new UKB-RAP.
To develop and deliver the OCS, UKB is separating the procurement into two elements which will need to be fully interoperable:
1. OCS User Interface (UI) and Workflow (subject to a separate tender exercise completed via the CCS G-Cloud 14 framework): The
development of a seamless UI and Workflow for the OCS, including secure movement of data and integration with existing UKB
infrastructure.
2. The OCS Decision Engine (this procurement): The development of the core algorithms to allow an automated assessment of the data
being egressed, giving an overall confidence assessment score and a Red/Amber/Green (RAG) rating for decision making
The OCS Decision Engine is made up of two components:
1. Data Trust Engine: reviews the egressed file(s) from UKB-RAP to detect the presence of sensitive information. Through the
application of transparent, heuristic rules and configurable thresholds, the Data Trust Engine will create a score for how 'disclosive' the
egressed data is that, when coupled with the researcher confidence score below, provides a Red (fail), Amber (unclear) or Green (pass)
egress rating.
2. Researcher Behaviour Engine: derives the overall credibility of a given researcher within AMS and UKB-RAP, and assigns a
confidence score, which will dictate how human-review decisions are made for 'Amber' outcomes from the Trust Engine.
This procurement relates to a development partner to design and deliver the OCS Decision Engine, which will include the Data Trust
Engine and Researcher Behaviour Engine.
• The evaluation was concluded and a decision to award was made on Friday 22 May 2026
• UK Biobank has provided an assessment summary to each supplier on Friday 19 June 2026
• The standstill period ran until midnight on 30 June 2026
Who won
| Winner | Value | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Kainos 11 bids received | £2,000,000 | Awarded 22 May 2026 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2029 |
Values as the award notice gives them, excluding VAT where stated.
Timeline
- Tender notice · UK4, notice 012869-2026
- Tender notice · UK4, notice 013938-2026
- Tender notice · UK4, notice 023855-2026
- Contract award notice · UK6, notice 058281-2026
- Contract details notice · UK7, notice 082251-2026
About the buyer
UK Biobank LimitedLast 12 months
Procurements
18Awards
15Suppliers it has used most for IT and software
- IBM United Kingdom Limited2 contracts
- Beyond Blue Limited1 contract
- Codec Solutions UK Limited1 contract
- DNAnexus, Inc.1 contract
- Dell Corporation Ltd1 contract
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From notice 012869-2026 on Find a Tender, first published 12 February 2026, last updated 28 August 2026. We last checked for changes on 28 September 2026.