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Working Age Services Project Zora - Application Decomposition & Microservices Transition

Department for Work & Pensions · Central government

In brief

Department for Work & Pensions has announced plans to buy IT and software work. This is an early notice: there is nothing to bid on yet, but it tells you a tender may follow.

It is a framework worth up to £34,500,000 excluding VAT: the most the buyer expects to spend across all suppliers, not one contract.

The contract runs for 2 years, up to 3 years with extensions, starting 2 November 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.

Can I win this?

Competition

Usually low: a median of 2 bids per contract for this buyer (from 5 awards in the last 12 months).

Framework

Winning puts you on a list of suppliers the buyer can call on; it does not guarantee work. The £34,500,000 is the most the buyer expects to spend across all suppliers over the framework's life, not one contract.

What the notice says

Project Zora is a strategic programme within the Department for Work and Pensions’ Working Age Services portfolio, focused on improving the sustainability, agility and resilience of the Universal Credit service. It addresses the constraints of a long‑standing monolithic application estate to enable more responsive delivery of policy change, user needs and future service evolution. The programme will progressively decompose elements of the Universal Credit application into more modular, loosely coupled components aligned to a modern, microservices‑based architecture. This includes re‑architecting systems and supporting capabilities to reduce interdependencies, improve deployment flexibility, and enable faster, safer change while maintaining continuity of service. Through this transformation, Project Zora aims to establish reusable platform and service capabilities that can be iterated over time and support wider Working Age Services objectives. Delivery is expected to require specialist digital, engineering and delivery expertise across analysis, design, build and transition activity, with a clear focus on managing operational risk, supporting user‑centred outcomes and delivering long‑term value for money.

How to bid

  1. Read the full notice on Find a Tender, including any tender documents it links to.
  2. Register your organisation on the Central Digital Platform (through Find a Tender) if you have not already. Suppliers need to be registered to take part in procurements under the Procurement Act 2023.
  3. Follow the submission instructions in the notice; it does not name an e-tendering portal.

Timeline

  1. Pipeline notice · UK1, notice 035413-2026
  2. Pipeline notice · UK1, notice 035414-2026
  3. Preliminary market engagement notice · UK2, notice 052553-2026

About the buyer

Department for Work & PensionsLast 12 months

Procurements

169

Awards

119

Suppliers it has used most for IT and software

All tenders and awards from Department for Work & Pensions

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From notice 035413-2026 on Find a Tender, first published 18 April 2026, last updated 4 June 2026. We last checked for changes on 28 September 2026.