PS24186 Feasibility study to assess the need and provision of Materials innovation diffusion & commercialisation infrastructure and support facilities

***** THIS IS AN AWARD NOTICE, NOT A CALL FOR COMPETITION *****

This procurement is being concluded on the Crown Commercial Services Research and Insights DPS RM6126.

Scope of work

The successful supplier will be required to draw from available literature and existing models wherever possible, alongside direct evidence gathering to meet the stated objectives. This is an evidence-based, analytical study which must stand up to scrutiny.

As a minimum the successful supplier is required to:

1. Identify national and regional assets that provide support for materials innovation diffusion & commercialisation.

This should quantify the current provision (type of materials innovation, scale of capital asset, people and funding model) of materials innovation in Greater Manchester, the wider region, and nationally.

2. Identify national and regional needs for materials innovation diffusion & commercialisation support.

This should primarily focus on demand from industry for materials innovation diffusion & commercialisation support. It should also account for future potential demand & demand stimulation caused by growth in sectors or changes in technology.

3. Identify both national and regional gaps in materials innovation diffusion & commercialisation support.

This could be conducted through a gap analysis comparing national and regional needs with provision.

4. Develop a series of high-level options for addressing these gaps through additional infrastructure or programmatic support.

This should include short descriptions of the options, details of benefits and disadvantages, deliverability and timeframes - also estimates of costs, barriers and an indication of support required from academia, industry and policy makers.

Note that these are outline for discussion and do not need to be of great depth.