Criteria for science and technology procurement decision process
Published 25 September 2025
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This criteria relates to our how to sell to or work with us page.
Sensitivity criteria
This criteria explain when the government needs to keep certain skills or responsibilities.
| Research | Description | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Security and confidentiality | This capability or task requires drawing upon material that, for reasons of security, scope or commercial sensitivity, government is not prepared to share with industry or academia at this time | |||
| Policy formulation | The capability or task relates to, or draws upon, the detail of future policy, plans or strategy that government is unwilling to release | |||
| Partner consent | Foreign government or industry partners in this work do not consent to the capability or task being undertaken outside government AND there are no mechanisms in place for the necessary permissions to be set up effectively within the scope of the capability or task | |||
| Impartiality | The capability or task relates directly to policy or strategic decisions on which government is not prepared to rely solely on advice from industry or academia | |||
| Acountability of outcomes | The capability or task entails accountabilities for outcomes, actions or risk that must be retained within government (for example, public perception, high impact or likelihood of a worst-case outcome, informing or supporting operational or tactical military decision). | |||
| Effective delivery | The capability or activity requires working: with foreign governments OR across UK government OR with industry partners, with challenges of access or complexity that cannot be overcome within the scope of the capability or task | |||
| Legal | National law, international law or treaty obligations require that the capability or task be performed within government | |||
| Reliable timely delivery | The capability or task is of considerable operational or political urgency that cannot be met outside government under existing arrangements for external contracting, or for which new arrangements cannot be established in the time available. Only applicable for a bona fide Urgent operational requirement (UOR). |
Capability criteria
This criteria describes when the government should keep work in-house, which helps the Ministry of Defence (MOD) get the best value for money.
The framework lets decision makers weigh up the benefits of keeping work within government. It’s designed to make people think about the bigger picture when deciding where work should be done.
Work that falls into the ‘could keep in government’ category would usually need strong reasons to stay in-house rather than being outsourced.
| Reason | Requirement for work to be carried out in government | Requirement for work to be carried out in government | Requirement for work to be carried out in government |
|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute requirement (must) | Strong requirement (should) | Some benefit (could) | |
| Sustainability risk | Government will need to underwrite this capability or task with considerable investment and there should be critical benefits (for example supply sustainability risk management) from holding it in government | Government will need to underwrite this capability or task with considerable investment and there should be significant benefits from holding it in government (for example, reusable assets, support to critical or strategic capability, improved risk management) | Government will need to underwrite this capability or task with considerable investment and there should be minor benefits from holding it in government (for example, to support critical or strategic capability, to improve risk management) |
| Core capability | The capability or task is key to: A current capability sustainment (for example, intelligent customer). The development of strategic capability for government | The capability or task supports: Current capability sustainment (for example, intelligent customer) . The development of strategic capability for government | The capability or task partially supports: Current capability sustainment (for example, intelligent customer) . The development of strategic capability or government |
| International research collaboration (IRC) | IRC is key to: A current capability sustainment (for example, intelligent customer). Is sole means of gaining access to critical capability for UK. Offers significant financial gearing (for example is more than 10 times the UK’s financial contribution) | IRC supports: Current capability sustainment (for example, intelligent customer). Is sole means of gaining access to desirable capability. Offers reasonable financial gearing ( for example, approximately 2 to 4 times the UK’s financial contribution) | IRC partially supports: Current capability sustainment (for example, intelligent customer). Limited access to aspects of useful capability. Offers some financial gearing |
Another example under each requirement for sustainability risk is:
- owing to the absence of a self-sustaining capability outside government; the absence of further commercial exploitation routes; and or a degree of innovation risk that there is no commercial business case to support.