Summary
- OCID:
- ocds-h6vhtk-059e5e
- Published by:
- Department for Education
- Authority ID:
- AA20011
- Publication date:
- 23 January 2026
- Deadline date:
- -
- Notice type:
- Has documents:
- No
- Has SPD:
- No
- Has Carbon Reduction Plan:
- N/A
Abstract
This Direct Award is to the London School of Economics for the delivery of the 2026-28 Cohort of the Executive Masters in Public Policy, and the final month of delivery for the 25-27 cohort. Designed in conjunction with the UK Civil Service the Executive Masters in Public Policy is an expert level course designed to equip senior policy makers with the skills and knowledge required to become excellent policy makers.This direct award aims to provide learners continuity of service and provision, ensuring that there is no break in our ability to deliver expert level accredited learning whilst we undertake a full procurement. This will cover the final month of delivery of the 25-27 cohort, which falls outside of our current contract, and the delivery of a full Cohort starting in September 2026-28. If this Direct Award were not to proceed, the full delivery of the 2025-27 cohort would be in jeopardy. Proceeding via a direct award is the favourable option in comparison to other available contracting vehicles, as it represents a significant saving on the per-student cost in comparison to the per-student cost for the 2025-27 cohort.The Direct Award will also allow us to undertake a full procurement exercise for delivery of Accredited Learning from September 2027, allowing us to test the requirements of the policy profession against the wider higher education market.
Full notice text
Scope
Procurement reference
Project_10047
Procurement description
This Direct Award is to the London School of Economics for the delivery of the 2026-28 Cohort of the Executive Masters in Public Policy, and the final month of delivery for the 25-27 cohort. Designed in conjunction with the UK Civil Service the Executive Masters in Public Policy is an expert level course designed to equip senior policy makers with the skills and knowledge required to become excellent policy makers.
This direct award aims to provide learners continuity of service and provision, ensuring that there is no break in our ability to deliver expert level accredited learning whilst we undertake a full procurement. This will cover the final month of delivery of the 25-27 cohort, which falls outside of our current contract, and the delivery of a full Cohort starting in September 2026-28. If this Direct Award were not to proceed, the full delivery of the 2025-27 cohort would be in jeopardy. Proceeding via a direct award is the favourable option in comparison to other available contracting vehicles, as it represents a significant saving on the per-student cost in comparison to the per-student cost for the 2025-27 cohort.
The Direct Award will also allow us to undertake a full procurement exercise for delivery of Accredited Learning from September 2027, allowing us to test the requirements of the policy profession against the wider higher education market.
Contracting authority
Department for Education
Identification register:
Address 1: Sanctuary Buildings, 20 Great Smith Street
Town/City: London
Postcode: SW1P3BT
Country: United Kingdom
Public Procurement Organisation Number: PDZG-3487-DPVD
NUTS code: UKI32
Email: PolicyAssurance.COMMERCIALQUERIES@education.gov.uk
Organisation type: Public authority - central government
Supplier
London School of Economics and Political Science
Identification register:
Address 1: The London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street
Town/City: London
Postcode: WC2A 2AE
Country: United Kingdom
Companies House: 00070527
NUTS code: UKI32
Email: execmpa@lse.ac.uk
Type:
Procedure
Procedure type
Direct award
Description of how these justifications apply
London School of Economics (LSE) is the only supplier that could deliver the conclusion of the 2025-27 cohort without disruption to learners, due to the conclusion of the current frameworks. Due to recruitment timelines (beginning December 2025), it will be impossible to have a new supplier in place for the delivery of the 2026-28 cohort. A quotation from the supplier indicates an estimated saving of £55,137.50 across government when compared to the existing arrangements, based off student volumes for 2025-27. This extension would allow time for us to test requirements against the open market through a full procurement exercise.
Direct award justification
Single suppliers technical reasons
Contract
1
Is the total value above threshold?
Above threshold
Date the contract will be signed (estimated)
29 December 2025, 00:00AM Contract dates (estimated)
29 December 2025, 00:00AM to 31 May 2028, 23:59PM
Key performance indicators
Social value: Public Accessibility of Academic Expertise
ID: 1 Description
Number of publicfacing academic events hosted or delivered annually.
Reporting frequency: 12
Survey satisfaction score
ID: 2 Description
Average satisfaction score from postgraduate learners (via surveys)
Reporting frequency: 12
Course Completion Rate
ID: 3 Description
Measures the percentage of enrolled postgraduate students who successfully complete the course within the agreed timeframe.
Reporting frequency: 12
Lots
Divided into 1 lots
Lot number: 1 Status: Complete Documents
Document type
Conflict of interest
Description
Not published
Coding
Commodity categories
| ID |
Title
|
Parent category
|
| 80300000 |
Higher education services |
Education and training services |
Delivery locations
| ID |
Description
|
| 100 |
UK - All |
Alert region restrictions
The buyer has restricted the alert for this notice to suppliers based in the following regions.
| ID |
Description
|
|
There are no alert restrictions for this notice.
|
About the buyer
- Main contact:
- N/a
- Admin contact:
- N/a
- Technical contact:
- N/a
- Other contact:
- N/a
Further information
|
Date
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Details
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No further information has been uploaded.
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