Scale of Measurement Study

NPL is undertaking this Preliminary Market Engagement exercise to better understand market capability, explore suitable datasets and methodologies, identify innovative analytical approaches, validate the proposed scope, gain insight into indicative pricing and delivery models, and identify any risks and dependencies that may affect successful delivery. Core Deliverables: The main deliverables are the following metrics: Labour Input • Share of total UK employment in measurement-related occupations, and the total compensation this represents as a share of GDP • Concentration of measurement occupations within specific industries (e.g., R&D, Defence) • Growth rate of measurement employment vs. overall employment growth over the decade • Employment and total pay specifically within the calibration & testing sector • Trend in real pay for measurement-service employees over the decade Investment • Annual investment in instrumentation as a share of investment in productive/tangible assets and in machinery & equipment • Split of investment by instrument type (share of total) • Gross capital stock of instrumentation as a share of UK's total gross capital stock, and its split by instrument type Intermediate Demand • Growth in total intermediate demand for instrumentation over the period, in real terms • Split between domestic and imported instrumentation, and the trend toward import dependence Research & Development • Total measurement-related R&D expenditure, and the split between business vs. non-business (government/academic) performers • Share of UK granted patents that are measurement-related, and the total count over the decade • Share of published journal articles that are measurement-related, and the total count, plus its declining trend • UK's revealed comparative advantage (RCA) in measurement patents relative to international peers A previous example of the analysis and the methodology can be found in the “Quantifying Measurement activity” paper (https://eprintspublications.npl.co.uk/9064/). The analysis needs to have the following additions: The inclusion of data after 2017. Better sector classifications than traditional SIC codes, such as Data City RSICs or Beauhurst Industries Classifications to name a few examples. Better job classifications than traditional SOC codes (for example – lightcast data). Segmentation of the stats by UK NUTS1 Region An investigation into NUTS2 feasibility would be of interest. An assessment of the number of measurement-related standards (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10663-011-9178-z). Innovative approaches not considered in the prior report can also be considered. Any opportunity to automate the analysis and ensure easier repeatability should also be considered. Beyond the update to the prior metrics, there are also a few other metrics that we want to see UK versions of: Scrap Rate and/or Rework rate Rebate rate: In final demand (customers with a defective item being compensated) In intermediate demand (parts used in the production process being faulty and sent back) Probability of type 1 or 2 errors in the production process. Statistical Power and Confidence Level of testing in production In-house routine spend on calibration services/reference materials. The deliverables should take the form of: A full, academic-style report, detailing background, context, literature review, methodology, results (with a range of visualisations and regional heat maps) and technical annex – much like the (https://eprintspublications.npl.co.uk/9064/. A slide deck/presentation pack to present the methods and results in a summarised manner. An infographic detailing the results in a summarised manner like https://www.npl.co.uk/getattachment/460a36a2-df75-432f-8b0e-f9259df2b7e6/NMS_Private_Sector_Infographics.pdf?lang=en-GB Complete datasets with traceability to public/paywalled/private datasets. The deliverables listed above should include: A detailed methodology report. A register of all datasets used. Assumptions, limitations and confidence assessments. Classification methodologies employed. Quality assurance and validation approaches. Recommendations for future repeatability and automation. As a potential future development, the analysis could consider: Export analysis of measurement instrumentation Ecosystem mapping of the measurement sector Start-ups in this space (compared to broader economy, health of these firms, who’s buying them) Stock market analysis of instrumentation/measurement firms (e.g. trend analysis, composite dummy index of these firms) – a way to assess the “pulse” of these firms Patent analysis – with regards to instrumentation Comparisons with foreign countries in this space Link to the UKRI 5 critical tech areas Socio-economic objective of these Exposure to AI for the Measurement Firms Stock market analysis of instrumentation/measurement firms (e.g. trend analysis, composite dummy index of these firms) – a way to assess the “pulse” of these firms Patent analysis – with regards to instrumentation Comparisons with foreign countries in this space Link to the UKRI 5 critical tech areas Socio-economic objective of these Exposure to AI for the Measurement Firms To help manage potential risks, please comment on: New datasets generated since 2017 Availability and up-to-dateness of historical data Potential classification challenges (for sectors, regions or measurement-related standards) Indicative pricing and delivery timescales Suppliers should note that NPL is likely to require ownership or unrestricted usage rights for all deliverables, methodologies, models and outputs produced under any future contract.

Category: services

• Procurement method: See the tender documents
• Briefing session: Not captured. Check the original notice before relying on this.
• Eligibility and evaluation: set out in the tender documents. Check mandatory returnables, registrations and scoring before you commit.

The tender pack is published with the original notice. Use “Download Tender Pack” to open it.

Published

03 Nov 2026

First seen by Atlas

04 Nov 2026

Briefing session

Not captured. Check the original notice before relying on this.

Submission deadline

Not stated

Estimated value

£100k

Contract type

See the tender documents

Category

services

Source

UK Find a Tender

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