Assessors for King's Awards 2026-2029

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is launching a procurement for the provision of Assessors for the King’s Awards for Enterprise. This ITT formally invites suppliers to submit bids to deliver assessment services in support of the King’s Awards for Enterprise programme. DBT is seeking suitably qualified suppliers capable of providing robust, impartial evaluations that uphold the integrity and excellence of the Awards. The Secretary of State for DBT is the contracting authority responsible for meeting this anticipated requirement. The full specification is provided within the Invitation to Tender (ITT) documents; however, the requirement is expected to include the following elements: The procurement of contractor(s) to provide external technical assessment services for the four King's Awards categories listed below. Subject to commercial strategy approval, tenderers will have the opportunity to bid for one or more lots. 1. Lot 1; Innovation: Recognising companies that have demonstrated commercial success through:    - invention, design, production (in respect of goods)   - performance (in respect of services, including advice)   - marketing, distribution, after sale support of goods or services  2. Lot 2; International Trade: Recognising companies that have demonstrated substantial growth in overseas earnings and in commercial success relative to the business size and sector. 3. Lot 3; Promoting Opportunity through social mobility: – for social mobility programmes that help people from disadvantaged backgrounds into successful working lives.  4. Lot 4; Sustainable Development: Recognising companies that have developed commercially successful products, services, and approaches to management which have major benefits for the environment, society and the economy.  5. Lot 5; To recognise Young Founder (New category) – this was announced in the Government’s Small Business Plan. Businesses can apply if they have a founder aged between 18 and 30. It is anticipated the contract shall be for a period of 3 years, with the option to extend for two additional 12-month terms, on a 1+1 basis. The requirement has an estimated total value of £762,000.00 ex-VAT for all 5 Lots. Background of Kings Award The Kings award for Enterprise (previously knowns as the Queens award) was established in 1965 and is the highest official awards programme in the UK. It is the most prestigious award for UK businesses for outstanding achievement. Overview of Requirement The successful contractor(s) for the respective category lot(s), will be responsible for the appraisal of all applications (aka cases), submitted. There are four key outcomes to this process which must be delivered by the deadlines set by the KAO for each round: - Initial technical assessment of each case to identify a shortlist of possible Award recipients and reserve cases. - Draft summaries of shortlisted cases and a report to be reviewed and discussed at the Award Judging Panels in January. These reports must be ready by the beginning of December. The Lead assessors must attend these Judging Panels in person and be prepared to talk about each case. - Draft pen pictures of successful applications for inclusion in the King’s Awards Press Book. These are then agreed by the applicant and are used in the official publication on The London Gazette. - Comprehensive feedback for unsuccessful applications. Successful contractors will be required to deliver against deadlines set by the King’s Awards Office for each round in the process and will be expected to demonstrate that their intended assessors have relevant experience and up to date knowledge of the relevant award category and corporate responsibility. The assessors will be required to appraise applications in accordance with the agreed specified criteria and make recommendations to the relevant panel of Judges/Advisory Committee. All comments and decisions will be recorded within the King’s Award online assessment system, so that the King’s Award Office are able to track progress throughout the cycle. Overview of Kings Awards assessment timeline The Kings Award process takes place over a 12-month cycle that commences every year in the beginning of May and concludes the following year in the same month. Please see below a rough guide of the different stage’s applications will need to go through to receive an award: • May - Open round for new applications – Applicants can provide separate submission for either of the 4 categories and are not limited to just one category. • Mid-September - Application period closes, after which assessors access the online application forms and relevant associated material via the King’s Award Office online entry and assessment system. • Mid-October - Delivery of shortlist of entries to the King’s Award Office • Mid-November - Review of the verified financial figures provided by the applicants. • November - Completion of case summary assessments for each short-listed application. • January - The Lead assessor for each category will attend the relevant panel meeting in London to introduce the recommended and reserve cases and to answer any questions that the Panel members may raise. • February - Prime Ministers Advisory Committee (PMAC) takes place. • Early March - Complete winner’s pen pictures for Press Book. • Mid/late March - Delivery of feedback summaries for unsuccessful entrants – all feedback will provide sufficient detail for entrants to use to improve a future entry. • May - Winning recipients of the awards is announced publicly; this concludes the awards for the year. The whole assessment process, including consideration by the Panels of Judges and KAAB, is completed between the closing date for applications and the anniversary of His Majesty Coronation, 6th May. It will be essential that assessors are able to adhere to the strict timelines set out above. Lead assessors will be responsible managing assessors and reassigning work to ensure deadlines are met. Overview of Assessors expected conduct throughout the Kings Award process: o Adherence to government confidentiality and data protection policies. o Access to applications and their assessments will be strictly confined to those directly involved in the assessment process. o Any correspondence relating to applications will need to adhere to the Governments security classification of ‘Official Sensitive’ for handling documents. o Assessors will not be permitted to discuss applications except with others directly involved in the assessment process. o Sharing applicant information between assessors will need to follow the process set by the King’s Awards Office to ensure identity of the applicants/companies are anonymised. o No contact direct contact with between Assessor’s and applicants will be permitted throughout the process. Conflict of Interest: If an assessor has a conflict of interest, no matter how remote, in an organisation from which an application has been assigned to him/her for assessment, he/she should declare it to the person responsible for allocating applications to assessors and to the Lead Assessor so that an alternative assessor can be assigned. The Lead Assessor will be responsible for ensuring the Kings award office is aware. Quality: Assessments will be scrutinised throughout the process before The King grants the awards. It will be essential that the assessments are factually correct, accurate, consistent with the award criteria and written in plain English. Lead Assessor’s will be responsible for ensuring all assessments in their category meet this standard.