The Month in One Line
June confirmed that the new HM Treasury evaluation mandate (all spending reviews must include independent evaluation) is working its way through departments — procurement is the evidence.
What Moved in June
HM Treasury evaluation mandate: following the 2025 Spending Review requirement for independent outcome evaluation of all programmes over £50m, 14 government departments published evaluation procurement notices in June. DLUHC, DEFRA, DWP, and the Home Office were the most active. Average contract value: £320k over 2 years.
NHS outcome measurement: NHS England's Value-Based Healthcare programme requires ICBs to commission outcome measurement for all major patient pathways from April 2026. Seventeen ICBs published outcome measurement and evaluation procurement in June.
Local authority commissioned research: councils are increasingly commissioning external research to support policy decisions on housing, homelessness, and adult social care. Nine councils published research procurement in June, average value £85k.
Public consultation and deliberative democracy: the Planning and Infrastructure Bill community consultation requirements are producing a new market for deliberative democracy and engagement research. Six councils published citizens' panel and deliberative consultation notices in June.
Data analytics and business intelligence: 11 NHS trusts published data analytics and insight procurement in June, driven by the NHS Data Strategy implementation.
Who Is Buying Right Now
- Government departments: evaluation procurement is now mandatory for major programmes. The 14 departments that published in June will procure evaluation annually.
- ICBs: outcome measurement is now a core ICB function, creating a sustained market for research and evaluation suppliers.
- Combined Authorities: devolution deals require economic impact evaluation, creating a new commissioning stream for MCA areas.
Forward Signals for July
What Works Network annual conference in July typically generates a wave of evaluation procurement as departments respond to the evidence base discussions. Watch for NICE, the Education Endowment Foundation, and the Early Intervention Foundation framework renewals.
The Number That Matters
14 — government departments that published evaluation procurement in June 2026 alone, following the HM Treasury mandate. This is a structural, recurring market.
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