BidSkim
Free report
Service market

Research databases contracts

UK public sector · 283 contracts awarded in the 12 months to 6 October 2026

Covering 600+ buyer portals · 5 years of records · Updated 6 October 2026 · How we count

Contracts awarded
283
Last 12 months
Median contract
£80k
Recorded value
Recorded value
£122m
254 of 283 main-service contracts have a published value
Buyers
58
Suppliers
69

BidSkim assigns contracts to services from the notice text. How services are assigned

What stands out

  • The five suppliers that won the most research databases contracts took 50% of them (141 of 283).
  • Contracts awarded per quarter held steady across the period.
  • The median contract, £80k, is 27% below the median across it & software contracts (£110k).
  • South West had the most contracts: 72, or 25% of the total.

Who buys research databases

By contracts awarded, the 12 months to 6 October 2026.

  1. 1Jisc39 contracts
  2. 2UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)31 contracts
  3. 3University of Strathclyde26 contracts
  4. 4University of the West of England Higher Education Corporation18 contracts
  5. 5University of South Wales17 contracts
  6. 6Oxford Brookes University14 contracts
  7. 7The Open University13 contracts
  8. 8Coventry University12 contracts
  9. 9Royal Holloway, University of London10 contracts
  10. 10Swansea University10 contracts

Top research databases contractors by contracts won

The 12 months to 6 October 2026.

  1. 1Jisc64 contracts
  2. 2EBSCO28 contracts
  3. 3Elsevier22 contracts
  4. 4ProQuest16 contracts
  5. 5Clarivate12 contracts
  6. 6Oxford University Press11 contracts
  7. 7Springer Nature9 contracts
  8. 8WOLTERS KLUWER HEALTH (MEDICAL RESEARCH) LIMITED6 contracts
  9. 9Sage Publishing6 contracts
  10. 10Cengage Learning5 contracts

Latest and largest awards

Each links to the official notice.

Latest

Largest

Contracts awarded by quarter

72Q4 2025*77Q1 202653Q2 202681Q3 20260Q4 2026*
* part quarter

Where the contracts were awarded

England 209 · Scotland 37 · Wales 37

South West72Scotland37South East34Wales33London12West Midlands11North West6East of England5North East4Yorkshire and The Humber4East Midlands3UK-wide or not stated62

What is included

Library and research subscriptions to citation, abstract, full-text and research analytics databases, and to e-textbooks for students.

  • Citation and research analytics databases (Web of Science, Dimensions)
  • Aggregated multi-publisher full-text and abstract databases (EBSCO)
  • E-textbook subscriptions
  • EJournal article supply and non-print legal deposit content services for libraries

What is not included

  • Market and consumer research reports, even when a library buys them -> it.data.market-research-and-intelligence-data
  • Company financial databases -> it.data.company-and-business-information
  • Legal case-law and professional guidance databases -> it.data.legal-and-professional-information
  • Record-level research datasets -> it.data.research-data-access-and-secure-environments
  • Public library e-book and e-audiobook lending -> it.lob.library-digital-content
  • Reading list software -> it.lob.reading-list-management

Often bought by the same buyers