AI Tutoring Tools Pioneer Programme – Subject-Matter Exemption - Research and Development

Overview

Contract Award Notice following Tender Notice: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/039400-2026 , which updated Notice https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/039400-2026. The AI Tutoring Tools Pioneer Programme contracts (a maximum of eight (8) identical contracts) will be awarded under a Procurement Act 2023 Section 3) (6) and Schedule 2, Part 2, paragraph 22, 2) (b), (c) subject-matter exemption for research and development services. The contracts to be awarded are exempt contracts and for that reason the procurement is not subject to the Procurement Act 2023. DSIT are using an informal procurement procedure (Competitive Flexible Procedure with a participation stage and two award criteria stages) which incorporates some elements of the Act and the Procurement Regulations but the notices will not include all the information required by the Procurement Regulations 2024. The outputs of the proposed contracts are intended for the benefit of the public and do not include the provision of AI Tutoring Tools. The latter would be procured via other sourcing procedures separate from this Pioneers Programme procurement. These contracts answer the need for research and development of a high-quality standard for AI Tutoring Tools. Although there is a wide range of Tutoring Tools available on the market, there is no established offer that meets the complete specification to a high-quality standard, encompassing all the necessary elements of an exceptional AI Tutoring Tool. Elements being for instance the digital curriculum (to be published) and multiple sources of data which require review. AI driven Tutoring Tools currently on the market are limited in quantity, scope and evidence base with few providing full tutoring capacity and with limited public access to the research and development that underpins them. The proposed contracts seek to research and co-design a high-quality, all-encompassing standard for AI Tutoring Tools and to initiate the development of innovative, effective and safe AI Tutoring Tools to that high-quality, all-encompassing standard thereby being the most transformative for educational outcomes. The aim of the Programme is to research, trial, develop and enable the future scalability and commercialisation of AI Tutoring Tools of the highest calibre which, alongside teachers, will improve the academic attainment of pupils across England, particularly the most disadvantaged. NOTE ON INFORMATION TO THE WIDER MARKET AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: The high-quality, all-encompassing standard co-designed during these contracts and the information shared by the participants (including the schools) with the Pioneer Programme suppliers, will be owned by DSIT/i.AI and will be shared with the wider market via a dedicated Pioneers Programme Reading Room.  This is to enable other organisations to access the relevant information shared with the Pioneers Programme suppliers, the insights, the standards and quality expectations generated through the Programme's research and development work, without requiring the wider market to duplicate the research investment undertaken under the Programme.  READING ROOM: The programme Reading Room will be hosted in the DfE Content Store. Details on accessing it will be published on the AI Content Store https://aicontentstore.education.gov.uk/ next week. Any further updates will be shared in the following webpage in the Summer of 2026: https://ai.gov.uk/our-work/education/ The foreground intellectual property (IP) created for the purposes of any possible prototype AI Tutoring Tool will be the property of the individual Pioneer Programme suppliers, and will not be widely shared. Early market engagement notice (UK2): https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/015370-2026?origin=SearchResults&p=1