AwardedAwarded 22 March 2026
Contract for Impact Evaluation of the OfS APP approach
Office for Students · Central government
In brief
Office for Students awarded consultancy work to Ecorys UK Ltd on 22 March 2026.
The notice gives a value of £345,000 excluding VAT.
The contract runs for 19 months, up to 58 months with extensions, starting 9 March 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
The access and participation plan (APP) is the main lever through which the OfS regulates equality of opportunity at the provider level. In the context of higher education, ‘equality of opportunity’ means that individuals are not hampered in accessing and succeeding in higher education as a result of their background or circumstances they cannot fairly influence. An APP is a strategic document that sets out how a provider will reduce the risks to equality of opportunity within their own context.
The OfS wants to evaluate the long-term impact of the OfS’s APP approach and would like to appoint a single supplier to deliver a theory based evaluation.
The aim of the evaluation is to understand whether the elements of the APP approach are effective in achieving change in provider behaviour and contributing to improving equality of opportunity for higher education students, from its initiation in 2018 to the 2023 reforms.
Who won
| Winner | Value | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Ecorys UK Ltd (SME) 12 bids received | £334,588 | Awarded 24 February 2026 23 March 2026 to 30 September 2027 |
Values as the award notice gives them, excluding VAT where stated.
Timeline
- Tender notice · UK4, notice 081649-2025
- Contract award notice · UK6, notice 020810-2026
- Contract details notice · UK7, notice 031884-2026
About the buyer
Office for StudentsLast 12 months
Procurements
16Awards
12Suppliers it has used most for consultancy
- Ecorys UK Ltd1 contract
- KPMG LLP1 contract
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From notice 081649-2025 on Find a Tender, first published 10 December 2025, last updated 8 April 2026. We last checked for changes on 28 September 2026.