Skip to content
Aperlena
Free alerts

Find a Tender Service (UK Cabinet Office / Crown Commercial Service) verified 1 week ago Contract award

Metabarcoding validation framework 2026/2027

Awarded United Kingdom

Buyer Natural England

Key facts

Published
Procedure
Open procedure
  1. Published
  2. Awarded pending

Find a Tender Service (UK Cabinet Office / Crown Commercial Service) does not publish the date of this award. See the official notice

View the official notice Watch this tender

Bidding is closed. An award or a correction on this notice: an email when the register sees it. Log in

Awarded to

UHI Inverness

Record with this buyer
1 first contract from this buyer in the register

Summary

Machine-generated summary

Natural England awarded a contract for the project 'Metabarcoding validation framework 2026/2027'. The work involves developing DNA-based methods for environmental monitoring, in particular metabarcoding assays that detect ecological communities such as fish, mammals, vertebrates, invertebrates and bacteria. The contracted organisation will advance the existing metabarcoding assay validation framework by expanding previous work, carrying out a further literature review and meta-analysis covering more assays, and supporting guidance on the confidence end users can place in DNA-derived data. The contract was awarded to UHI Inverness, which carried out the services for Natural England.

Description

DNA-based methods have the potential to significantly change how we monitor and assess ecosystems. Natural England has been exploring the use of these methods for environmental monitoring for several years, delivering a series of reports which focus on the development of DNA-based methods with potential in a particular area. These methods are now being used more widely within Natural England, particularly the detection of ecological communities using environmental DNA (eDNA). This is often conducted by employing metabarcoding assays which target specific species assemblages (e.g. fish, mammals) or broader taxonomic groups (e.g. vertebrates, invertebrates, bacteria). The DNA Team aims to operationalise DNA-based methods and produces guidance for using them in monitoring projects. In order to provide sound recommendations, it is important that we understand the limitations of, and uncertainties with, DNA-based methods. Natural England staff need to be able to understand how DNA-derived data can be used, and the confidence they can have in data derived using different DNA-based methods which have been validated to different stages. Natural England previously commissioned the development of a framework to enable end users to assess confidence in metabarcoding assays and results (Pagaling and others, under review; a copy of the framework can be provided by Natural England upon request by emailing monitoring.innovation@naturalengland.org.uk). By using the checklist and levelled scale, end users can appropriately interpret results. It also provides validation and reporting standards for the development of new metabarcoding assays. The framework will enable end-users to determine the recommended scenarios for application of a given assay and improve assay performance with further validation. This project will advance the metabarcoding assay validation framework by expanding upon previous work to conduct a further literature review and meta-analysis, covering more assays being used for different purposes and in different contexts. In addition beta testing of the framework and user guide will be required, as well as the creation and delivery of training materials and course .

Official source

Source: Find a Tender Service (UK Cabinet Office / Crown Commercial Service)

Always verify details on the official notice.

Report an error in this notice

Last verified against Find a Tender Service (UK Cabinet Office / Crown Commercial Service) 1 week ago

Documents on Find a Tender Service (UK Cabinet Office / Crown Commercial Service) (English)

View the official notice

The buyer

Full buyer profile

Natural England

United Kingdom

notices in the register
108
awards
74
awarded in total
€2.6M

Who wins its contracts

Many suppliers
different companies won its awards
56
of the awards went to the three most frequent winners
16%
of its calls state an estimated value
100%

Based on 69 awards with a named winner over the last 3 years. Counted by award, not by value, because lot and framework amounts are not comparable. Concentrated means the three most frequent winners took 65% or more of the awards; many suppliers, under 35% with at least ten different winners.

One dot per award, on the day it was signed, sized by its value. A ring is an award with no published value.

Awards most often to

  1. RSK ADAS LIMITED 5 awards €300,921
  2. Promar International Ltd 4 awards €878,843
  3. Chris Seabridge & Associates Ltd 2 awards €383,653

4 open tenders right now

Change history

Every time an official source republished this notice with different content. We watch every source we index, including regional copies of the same notice.

  1. Status
    Was: Closed
    Now: Awarded
    Main CPV code
    Was: 73000000
    Now: not stated
    Estimated value
    The value was removed from the notice.
    Submission deadline
    The deadline was removed from the notice.
    Winner
    not stated
    Now: UHI Inverness
    Estimated value
    The value was removed from the notice.
  2. Read before bidding
    Estimated value
    Was: €48,607
    Now: €48,695
  3. Read before bidding
    Estimated value
    Was: €48,656
    Now: €48,607
  4. Read before bidding
    Estimated value
    Was: €48,610
    Now: €48,656
  5. Read before bidding
    Estimated value
    Was: €48,655
    Now: €48,610
  6. Read before bidding
    Estimated value
    Was: €48,704
    Now: €48,655
  7. Read before bidding
    Estimated value
    Was: €48,796
    Now: €48,704
  8. Read before bidding
    Estimated value
    Was: €48,836
    Now: €48,796

Follow this tender and we email you the moment it changes. Create account

Similar tenders

Open now

Never miss a tender like this

2,372 new notices in all sectors in United Kingdom in the last 7 days. Get an email when new ones appear. Free.

Set up my alert
Open notice

Keyboard shortcuts

Read a list without reaching for the mouse. The shortcuts stay quiet while you type in a field.

j
Next result
k
Previous result
Enter
Open the result
n
Next page
p
Previous page
c
Compare this result
s
Shortlist this result
o
Open the result in a new tab
x
Set this result aside
/
Search from any page
Ctrl K
Search from any page
?
Show these shortcuts
Esc
Close

Start from a question

Browse by sector

Index

Close
Log in

Language