Operational research tenders and contracts
UK public sector, covering 600+ buyer sites
195 operational research tenders and contracts, 53 this year.
Updated 4 November 2026 · compiled by BidSkim Limited · How we count
- Awarded a month£98k
- Contracts a month1.9
- Won by SMEs61%
- Frameworks and DPSs1
- Live now2See them →
Operational research contracts
Tap a region to see its contracts. Pick as many as you like.
How many operational research contracts do keyword alerts miss?
In the last year, a "demand and capacity modelling" alert would have missed 26 of 26 operational research contracts (100%) and an expert list of 15 phrases 14 (54%). How we measured this
Keyword alert"demand and capacity modelling"
26 of 26
Expert list15 phrases
14 of 26
Expert list: demand and capacity modelling, capacity modelling, demand and capacity, workforce planning model, simulation modelling, operational research, discrete event simulation, healthcare planning, service modelling, capacity planning study, fire cover review, workforce modelling, birthrate plus, modelling and analysis, resource modelling
46 contracts across the UK, of any size
2 operational research opportunities are open now
- OpenCloses in 2 weeksWorld Model for SACTVelindre University NHS Trust · WalesEst.£50k
- Pre-market8 Oct 2026Time and Motion StudyDriver and Vehicle Standards Agency
- Awarded27 Oct 2026New Hospital 2.0 Demand & Capacity ModellingAiredale NHS Foundation Trust · Yorkshire and the HumberWon by MS Health Insight Ltd£140k
- Awarded30 Sep 2026Birthrate Plus Workforce PlanningUniversity Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation TrustWon by Birthrate Plus Associates Ltd£12k
- Awarded17 Sep 2026OREC Ports AnalysisDepartment for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) · LondonWon by Ore Catapult Development Services Limited£34k
- Awarded2 Jul 2026Development of demand & capacity productsMid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust · North EastWon by MS Health Insight Ltd£45k
- Awarded1 Jul 2026BirthRate Plus Workforce PlanningMersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust · North WestWon by Birthrate Plus Associates Ltd£12k
- Awarded14 May 2026NRTS3 NOC and Field Services Sizing AssessmentNational HighwaysWon by Gartner UK Limited£150k
- Awarded11 May 2026Independent Analysis Fire Cover Review for WMFSWest Midlands Fire and Rescue Service · West MidlandsWon by ORH£40k
- Awarded10 May 2026Process Evolution Consultancy - Local PolicingDurham Constabulary · North EastWon by ORH£161k
- Awarded6 Apr 2026Appointment of a Healthcare Planner for IFDRoyal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust · South WestWon by Archus£53k
- Awarded30 Mar 2026Development of a capacity modelling toolCambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust · East of EnglandWon by Lifecycle Management Group Limited£18k
- Awarded29 Mar 2026Capacity modelling toolCambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust · East of EnglandWon by Lifecycle Consultancy Services£18k
- Awarded19 Mar 2026Clinical Modelling Activity for WHDBuckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust · South EastWon by Archus£26k
- Awarded17 Mar 2026Capacity PlanningClarion Housing Group · LondonWon by Atlantic Insight Ltd£29k
- Awarded9 Mar 2026Emergency Department Flow Analysis STHGuy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust · LondonWon by Space Syntax£9k
- Awarded2 Mar 2026Workforce ModellingAiredale NHS Foundation Trust · Yorkshire and the HumberWon by Carados Limited£60k
- Awarded23 Feb 2026SEND Forecasting Platform and ServiceLancashire County Council · North WestWon by Mime Consulting Limited£85k
- Awarded20 Feb 2026WBS-RFQ-61805-RCI WORKFORCE CAPACITY PLANNINGNHS Wales Shared Services Partnership · WalesWon by Med Lab Partners Ltd£14k
- Awarded3 Feb 2026DHSC: SC&I: DfL Decontamination Demand ModellingDepartment of Health and Social Care · LondonWon by University of Sussex£83k
- Awarded30 Jan 2026Provision of a Mainstream Pupil Number Forecasting ServiceHertfordshire County Council · East of EnglandWon by Edge Analytics£150k
- Awarded20 Jan 2026Provision of Response ModellingNorthamptonshire Police · East MidlandsWon by Cardcorp Limited£46k
- Awarded12 Jan 2026DHSC: SC&I: Design for Life Decontamination Capacity Survey.v2Department of Health and Social Care · LondonWon by Arup£73k
- Awarded15 Dec 2025Demand & Capacity Modelling Support & AdviceAiredale NHS Foundation Trust · Yorkshire and the HumberWon by MS Health Insight Ltd£59k
- Awarded17 Nov 2025Construction Workforce Modelling for the New Hospital Programme ("NHP")NHS England · LondonWon by Whole Life Consultants Limited£238k
- Awarded10 Nov 2025LAS Demand and Capacity ReviewLondon Ambulance Service NHS Trust · LondonWon by ORH£341k
- Awarded7 Nov 2025NSS13225 Decontaminiation Collaborative programme & Laundry ProgrammePublic Services Delivery Scotland · ScotlandWon by SCMG£24k
- Awarded6 Nov 2025Custody Demand Modelling ConsultancyCumbria Constabulary · North WestWon by ORH£28k
- Awarded20 Oct 2025Demand Modelling Consultancy & Process SoftwareCumbria Constabulary · North WestWon by ORH£78k
- Awarded30 Sep 2025Process Evolution ConsultancyDurham Constabulary · North EastWon by ORH£95k
- Awarded19 Sep 2025Supply and Demand Modelling - Property StrategyUK Parliament · LondonWon by AECOM£212k
- Awarded18 Jul 2025Community Risk Management Plan Consultancy ServiceSouth Wales Fire and Rescue Service · WalesWon by ORH£54k
Where operational research tenders are run
- eTenderWales2 67%
Atamis1 33%
Tenders published in the last year that name the bid portal they run on.
ORH won the most operational research contracts
ThinkIdea Limited won the most by value. Each dot is one contract, coloured by who bought it.
| Rank | Contractor | Contracts won, by buyer | Contracts | Value won | Buyers | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ORH North East · SME · See every contract | 7 | £797k | 5 | ||
| 2joint | MS Health Insight Ltd Yorkshire and the Humber · SME · See every contract | 3 | £244k | 2 | ||
| 2joint | Edge Analytics North East · SME · See every contract | 3 | £175k | 3 | ||
| 4joint | ThinkIdea Limited West Midlands · SME · See every contract | 2 | £800k | 2 | ||
| 4joint | Arup London · See every contract | 2 | £123k | 2 | ||
| 4joint | Archus South East · SME · 1 framework place · See every contract | 2 | £79k | 2 | ||
| 4joint | Birthrate Plus Associates Ltd North West · SME · See every contract | 2 | £24k | 2 | ||
| 8joint | Whole Life Consultants Limited London · SME · See every contract | 1 | £238k | 1 | ||
| 8joint | AECOM London · See every contract | 1 | £212k | 1 | ||
| 8joint | McKinsey & Company | 1 | £204k | 1 |
22 more operational research contractors ranked. See the full ranking →
Win operational research contracts? Share your ranking.
NHS and health bodies award 46% of operational research contracts
Central government bodies buy the bigger jobs, at a median of £78k against £43k. Contracts with a published value in the last 2 years, from the type of buyer to the size of the contract.
7 buyers bought operational research more than once in the last 2 years
Each dot is a buyer, by how many operational research contracts it awarded in the last 2 years.
See who they are and when they usually buy →
Few and big, or many and small
Each dot is a buyer: how many operational research contracts it awarded against what they were worth. The busiest and biggest are named.
Top buyers by contracts awarded
| Rank | Buyer | Contracts | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NHS England | 3 | £288k |
| 2 | Airedale NHS Foundation Trust | 3 | £259k |
| 3 | Durham Constabulary | 2 | £256k |
| 4 | Department of Health and Social Care | 2 | £157k |
| 5 | Cumbria Constabulary | 2 | £106k |
| 6 | Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | 2 | £62k |
| 7 | Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | 2 | £35k |
| 8 | Ministry of Defence | 1 | £400k |
| 9 | Defence Infrastructure Organisation | 1 | £400k |
| 10 | London Ambulance Service NHS Trust | 1 | £341k |
120 operational research contracts awarded since 2021
- 172021
- 222022
- 192023
- 172024
- 242025
- 212026 so far
Half of operational research contracts are worth less than £53k
The 10 biggest operational research contracts
- Ministry of DefenceThinkIdea Limited · 27 Feb 2025
- Defence Infrastructure OrganisationThinkIdea Limited · 29 Apr 2025
- London Ambulance Service NHS TrustORH · 10 Nov 2025
- NHS EnglandWhole Life Consultants Limited · 17 Nov 2025
- UK ParliamentAECOM · 19 Sep 2025
- Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)McKinsey & Company · 27 Jan 2025
- Durham ConstabularyORH · 10 May 2026
- Hertfordshire County CouncilEdge Analytics · 30 Jan 2026
- National HighwaysGartner UK Limited · 14 May 2026
- Homes EnglandAvison Young · 9 Dec 2024
No operational research contracts come up for renewal in the next 12 months
The 6 operational research contracts ending are one-off work, which is not re-let as it was.
London awards the most operational research contracts. November and March are the busiest months.
Contracts by region and by month awarded. Click a region to filter the page.
The regions as a table
| Region | Open now | Contracts | Value | Typical contract | Won the most | Bought the most | Renewing in 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 0 | 11 | £1.2m | £50k | Arup (2) | NHS England and Department of Health and Social Care (2 each) | 0 |
| North West | 0 | 5 | £220k | £28k | ORH (2) | Cumbria Constabulary (2) | 0 |
| North East | 0 | 4 | £326k | £70k | ORH (2) | Durham Constabulary (2) | 0 |
| East of England | 0 | 4 | £235k | £34k | – | Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (2) | 0 |
| Wales | 1 | 4 | £131k | £32k | – | – | 0 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 0 | 3 | £259k | £60k | MS Health Insight Ltd (2) | Airedale NHS Foundation Trust (3) | 0 |
| East Midlands | 0 | 3 | £158k | £55k | – | – | 0 |
| West Midlands | 0 | 3 | £840k | £400k | ThinkIdea Limited (2) | – | 0 |
| Scotland | 0 | 2 | £163k | – | – | – | 0 |
| South East | 0 | 1 | £26k | – | – | – | 0 |
| South West | 0 | 1 | £53k | – | – | – | 0 |
| Northern Ireland | 0 | 0 | Not published | – | – | – | 0 |
- £98k a month
of operational research contracts awarded.
Typical contract £45k x 2.2 contracts a month, last 12 months. - 1.9
operational research contracts are awarded in a typical month.
46 contracts in the last 2 years. - 1
framework or DPS is running for operational research work.
0 open to join now. - 61%
of operational research contracts are won by SMEs.
As recorded by the buyer, on 41 award notices.
How many operational research tenders and contracts are there?
| Since November 2021 | Last 12 months | |
|---|---|---|
| Notices published | 195 | 53 |
| Contracts awarded | 105 | 26 |
6 operational research contracts and frameworks end in the next 12 months. In the last two years, 37 buyers awarded operational research contracts to 32 suppliers.
Source: Find a Tender, Contracts Finder, Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and eTendersNI, to 4 November 2026. By Seamus White. How we count
Questions
How many operational research contracts does the UK public sector award?
46 in the 2 years to 4 November 2026, from 37 public buyers.
How long are operational research tenders open for?
The median operational research tender is open for 26 days from publication to deadline.
How much is a typical public sector operational research contract worth?
The median is £53k, and 93% are worth less than £250k.
Who wins the most public sector operational research contracts?
ORH won the most (7). ThinkIdea Limited won the most by value (£800k).
Which buyers award the most operational research contracts?
NHS and health bodies award 46% of them.
Which part of the UK awards the most operational research contracts?
London: 11 of 46 in the 2 years to 4 November 2026, then the North West (5) and the North East (4).
What is included
Analysts and operational research consultants forecast demand for a service or facility and model the capacity (beds, staff, rooms, equipment, depot or site space) needed to meet it, with scenarios and options to inform planning, new builds and service redesign.
- Hospital demand projections and capacity requirements for new hospital and estates planning
- Out of hospital and health and care system capacity and demand modelling
- Demand modelling for specialist service infrastructure such as decontamination
- Independent capacity analysis of operational facilities such as rail depots
- Demand, capacity and flow modelling that supports service redesign
What is not included
- Population health and wellbeing needs modelling (see Health needs assessments and population health modelling)
- Financial models and unit costing (see Financial modelling and costing)
- Traffic, transport and rail operations models (see Transport modelling and scheme appraisal)
- Redesign of the service itself: or
- Demand modelling and simulation software (see IT & Software)