Procurement Frameworks: How to find the best ones for you

In 2025, a record £60 billion worth of public sector contracts were awarded through framework agreements.

Being on the right public sector frameworks has never been more important for suppliers.

But how do you find them? How can you see which frameworks will offer the most relevant opportunities, which ones your competitors have secured places on, or which ones offer the most valuable contracts?

This blog breaks down how and where to find public sector frameworks, both through publicly open avenues and through Tussell's market-leading framework analytics.

Skip ahead to read about:

• What are procurement frameworks?
• How do I find public sector frameworks?
• How to find frameworks using Tussell
• Conclusion
• FAQs

What are procurement frameworks?

A framework is an agreement established between one or more public sector buyer and one or more supplier.

Frameworks consist of a list of pre-approved suppliers who have been evaluated and selected to provide a predefined set of products and services. This allows them to bid on specific contracts without having to go through the usual full procurement process.

Contracts tendered through a framework centre around a given theme or kind of supply, like consultancy or purchasing vehicles.

Learn how frameworks shape the UK public sector market:
Access Tussell's 2026 Public Sector Frameworks Report

Buyers 'call off' from the framework to award new contracts exclusively from within this closed pool of pre-approved suppliers. The pool is 'closed' because when the group of suppliers are first awarded onto the framework no further suppliers can join, nor can suppliers not on the framework bid on call-off contracts. 

Frameworks can be advantageous for contracting authorities as once established call-offs can be made without a full procurement process having to be undertaken each time, as the terms and conditions have already been established.

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Getting onto a framework can be extremely lucrative. They offer suppliers exclusive access to certain contracts within a closed pool of competition, and allow suppliers to bypass often cumbersome and lengthy procurement processes. 

Yet, success is not always guaranteed. Once on a framework, a given supplier may never be awarded a call-off contract, or even be asked to take part in any further competition. Even before entering a framework, getting onto them - or finding suitable frameworks in the first place - can be time-consuming and ultimately yield nothing.

So how best can you find the frameworks which are most relevant for you?

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How do I find UK public sector frameworks?

Even without a market intelligence platform like Tussell, it is possible to find public sector frameworks using freely available websites. Let's look at how:

Crown Commercial Service 

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) is a government executive body that assists contracting authorities to procure goods and services. In its role, the CCS has orchestrated the most frameworks out of all public sector bodies by a considerable margin.

'Agreements' created by the CCS are listed on its 'Search Agreements' page.

The CCS allows you to filter agreements by their status and sector, and lists suppliers included on each of its 'lots'.

The CCS search tool does not show an approximate value of an agreement's value, however, nor can frameworks be filtered by their suppliers, buyers or contents outside the pre-given categories.

Find a Tender

Find a Tender - also known as the Central Digital Platform - is the UK Government’s official portal for above and below-threshold tenders.

For public contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023, Find a Tender is the single official portal for publishing notices. 

Find a Tender allows for rudimentary searching of frameworks, including parameters like procurement stage, industry and value.

Again, however, this data is not easily extractable or comparable, nor can frameworks be filtered by suppliers or buyers.

Contracts Finder

The other central government tender platform - 'Contracts Finder' - lists central government tenders worth over £10,000, and wider public sector contracts worth over £25,000; it only lists contracts published in England.

Contracts Finder offers broadly similar functionality to Find a Tender: frameworks can be searched for and differentiated by their stage, region, value etc. Comparing this data, and gleaning who is part of which framework, remains challenging.

Devolved Administration Websites

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each have their own dedicated public sector procurement websites: 'Public Contracts Scotland', 'Sell2Wales', and 'eSourcing NI' and 'eTenders NI'.

Each offers slightly different levels of searchability and functionality. PCS and Sell2Wales, notably, do not allow for frameworks to be easily searched by listed suppliers nor their value.

Miscellaneous Portals

A myriad of contracting authorities also host their procurement platforms that hold information on frameworks. This includes individual government departments, local authorities and private sector organisations that develop frameworks for public buyers across different sectors. Examples include:

• National Framework Partnership
• North East Procurement Organisation
• London Tenders Portal
• HealthTrust
• Bloom
• Scape
• Pagabo

... and many more.

The level of information on frameworks provided by these platforms varies considerably, and there isn't a way to easily analyse frameworks across these platforms without manually extracting and comparing them yourself. Many of these sites also require you to create accounts before accessing framework information or only offer detailed information to prospective clients.

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Information on frameworks is dispersed across the internet: different platforms provide different types of information on different kinds of frameworks in different ways. 

Though information on frameworks can be found, taking a holistic view across this landscape of differing data is difficult without investing significant time in extracting and comparing data manually. 

Here's where Tussell steps in ...

How to find public sector frameworks using Tussell

Tussell's public sector spend platform allows you to easily find, compare and analyse frameworks (including DPS's). The Tussell platform collects, aggregates and cleans data on public sector procurement into a single, easily accessible platform.

Unlike the routes above, Tussell allows you to easily rank frameworks by total call-off value, find which buyers prefer which frameworks, and see which frameworks your competition or partners are listed on. Tussell also allows you to condense and download all this information for even deeper analysis.

This information will allow you to make more informed, data-lead decisions as to which frameworks to apply for, and which can be avoided.

Here's how Tussell can help you navigate the frameworks landscape:

Find out which frameworks matter in your public sector market: access Tussell's 2026 Public Sector Framework Directory

#1 - How to discover which frameworks matter in your market

Tussell can help find the frameworks most relevant to your business.

For example: filtering just for call-off contracts with cloud-related keywords, we've quickly identified 101 different frameworks used to award cloud contracts over the past 24 months.

Once these frameworks have been identified, it is worth digging into each and considering:

• Whether the services it provides actually matches what your organisation specialises in, or if it's too broad;

• Whether the size of contracts awarded via the framework is suitable for a company of your size;

• Whether the framework is actively used by your target buyers, competitors or partners.

# 2 - How to identify the frameworks your partners and competitors are winning business through

By using the 'Framework Ranking' tab, you can see which frameworks are most valuable to your competitors and partners.

For example, over the past 24 months Capita has won its highest value call-off contract via Network Connectivity & Telecommunications Solutions, but has won more by volume via Managed Services.

By searching for specific suppliers you can further hone down which frameworks deserve your attention.

If your competitors are winning business from a framework, your organisation should be on the framework too. If your partner is winning business from it, keep on top of these opportunities so you can support them.

What are the top live frameworks buyers are using in my market?

Tussell Frameworks Finder® will tell you in just a few clicks.

#3 - How to target frameworks with the most high-value contracts

You might wish to sieve out frameworks that don't tend to award high-value contracts or those which award contracts too large for your organisation's size.

You can further refine your frameworks search by specifying the value of contracts awarded under frameworks.

In the example below, we've filtered for frameworks that've been used to award recruitment services contracts worth over £10 million in the past 24 months. This leaves us with 23 high-value frameworks for us to dig into.

#4 - How to find which frameworks your target buyers are using

Using Tussell, you can quickly generate a list of frameworks for a certain buyer or type of buyer using the 'call-off buyer' filter.

Let's say we want to find which frameworks HMRC uses to award Hard FM contracts in the past 24 months. Using Tussell, we can quickly see that HMRC has used a mix of 5 different agreements.

Use this intelligence to prioritise getting on the frameworks your target buyers actually prefer to use day-to-day.

#5 - How to find soon-to-expire frameworks for future opportunities

Begin building your procurement pipeline by seeing which relevant frameworks may be due for renewal soon.

Let's say we're a cybersecurity supplier and want to identify GCA frameworks that are due to expire in the upcoming 12 months. Through just a few filters, we've identified 17 frameworks that should be on our radar.

From here, you can further filter by the kind of parameters discussed above to hone in on the most relevant soon-to-expire frameworks for you.

By scanning ahead, your business can engage early with buyers to understand what exactly it is they are looking for on a bid.

Getting this prepared ahead of time will not demonstrate an active desire to work with the client, but can also give you time to prepare in case added certifications and experience are required.

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Conclusion

By combining these different search parameters, you can easily pinpoint the most relevant and beneficial frameworks for them to monitor and aim to become part of.

Though finding opportune frameworks is possible through the 'normal' route, information is spread across an often cumbersome landscape of platforms, varying parameters and different levels of accessibility. Tussell collects and refines this jumbled data, allowing past and future frameworks to be easily identified, compared and analysed.

To see how Tussell's frameworks monitoring can aid you to navigate public sector procurement - and to learn about Tussell's numerous other solutions - book a demo with our team today!

Now that you've found the right frameworks for you, how can you be sure you're taking full advantage of them?

Watch our free training webinar!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is a public sector framework agreement?

A public sector framework agreement is a procurement route that lets public sector buyers buy goods or services from a pre-approved list of suppliers.

Once a supplier is accepted onto a framework, they can compete for call-off contracts under that agreement. A call-off contract is a specific contract awarded through the framework, usually without the buyer needing to run a full open procurement process each time.

For UK public sector suppliers, frameworks are important because they can provide access to closed pools of opportunities. However, being on a framework does not guarantee revenue. Suppliers still need to identify which frameworks are actively used by their target buyers and which ones generate relevant call-off contracts.

Tussell’s framework intelligence helps suppliers see which public sector frameworks are actually being used, which buyers are using them, and which suppliers are winning work through them.

How can suppliers find public sector frameworks in the UK?

Suppliers can find UK public sector frameworks through procurement portals such as Find a Tender, Contracts Finder, Crown Commercial Service agreements, Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales, eTendersNI and individual framework provider websites.

The challenge is that public sector framework data is fragmented. Different portals show different information, use different search tools, and provide different levels of detail on suppliers, buyers, lots, contract values and expiry dates.

Tussell helps suppliers overcome this fragmentation by bringing public sector framework intelligence into one place. Suppliers can use Tussell to search, compare and prioritise frameworks based on real call-off activity, rather than relying only on manually checking separate procurement portals.

How do I know which public sector frameworks are worth joining?

A public sector framework is worth joining if it is relevant to your services, used by your target buyers, and has a track record of awarding call-off contracts that match your commercial goals.

Suppliers should not assess a framework only by its headline value or reputation. A framework may look attractive but produce few relevant call-off opportunities. Another framework may be smaller but more valuable if it is heavily used by your priority accounts.

To decide whether a framework is worth joining, suppliers should check:

• Which public sector buyers have used the framework recently

   

• How much call-off contract value has been awarded through it

   

• How many call-off contracts it has generated

   

• Which competitors or partners are listed on the framework

   

• Which suppliers are actually winning work through it

   

• Whether the contract sizes fit your business

   

• When the framework expires or may be re-procured

Tussell’s framework intelligence helps suppliers answer these questions by showing the buyer, supplier and contract activity behind each framework.

How can I find the frameworks my competitors are using?

Suppliers can find the frameworks their competitors are using by analysing which call-off contracts those competitors have won and identifying the framework agreements used to award them.

This matters because competitor framework activity can reveal which agreements are commercially active in your market. If a competitor is repeatedly winning public sector contracts through a specific framework, that framework may be worth monitoring or targeting. If a competitor is listed on a framework but rarely wins call-off contracts through it, the opportunity may be weaker.

Tussell allows suppliers to search competitor and partner activity across public sector frameworks. This helps suppliers see which frameworks competitors are winning business through, which buyers are awarding them work, and where similar future opportunities may appear.

What is the best way to choose the right public sector framework?

The best way to choose the right public sector framework is to prioritise frameworks based on evidence of buyer demand, supplier activity and relevant call-off contracts.

Finding a framework is not the same as choosing the right framework. Suppliers need to know whether the framework is active, whether target buyers use it, whether competitors are winning through it, and whether the contract values are realistic for their business.

A good framework for a supplier is usually one that:

• Covers the supplier’s products or services

   

• Is used by the supplier’s target public sector buyers

   

• Produces regular and relevant call-off contracts

   

• Has contract values that match the supplier’s capacity

   

• Includes competitors, partners or adjacent suppliers

   

• Is live, active or approaching renewal

Tussell helps suppliers move from basic framework discovery to evidence-led framework prioritisation. It shows what is being bought through each framework, who is buying it, who is winning the work, and how much value is being awarded.

How can suppliers track upcoming public sector framework renewals?

Suppliers can track upcoming public sector framework renewals by monitoring framework expiry dates and identifying agreements that may be re-procured soon.

This is important because most frameworks are closed once awarded. If a supplier misses the application window, they may not be able to join until the framework is renewed or replaced. Early visibility of expiring frameworks gives suppliers more time to prepare bid evidence, understand buyer requirements, build relationships and assess whether the opportunity is worth pursuing.

Tussell’s framework intelligence helps suppliers identify relevant frameworks that are due to expire. Suppliers can use this to build a forward-looking framework pipeline and prepare earlier for future public sector opportunities.

Why should public sector suppliers use Tussell to find frameworks?

Public sector suppliers should use Tussell to find frameworks because Tussell shows how frameworks perform in practice, not just where they are listed.

Free procurement portals can help suppliers find framework notices and agreement pages, but they often make it difficult to compare frameworks by real buyer usage, supplier activity, call-off value, contract volume and expiry date.

Tussell gives suppliers a clearer view of the public sector framework market by showing:

• Which frameworks are active in their sector

   

• Which buyers are using each framework

   

• Which suppliers are listed or winning work

   

• Which competitors are succeeding through specific frameworks

   

• How much contract value is being awarded

   

• Which frameworks are due to expire or renew

For suppliers selling to the UK public sector, this makes framework decisions more evidence-led, targeted and commercially relevant.