How to get on a framework, and win work once you are on it

A framework is a list of approved suppliers that public buyers can hire from without running a full tender each time. Getting on one is a tender in itself; getting work from it is a second competition. This guide tells you which frameworks are worth the effort, when each next opens, what it costs, and how the work inside them is handed out.

The honest numbers

The NAO's count for CCS frameworks in 2022-23 shows the drop from a place to a sale¹:

Frameworks are where the money flows, but it flows to few. On the two counts available, roughly a third to two-fifths of framework suppliers sell anything in a year (NAO for 2022-23; GCA's 4,400 "suppliers securing contracts" in 2025/26 against 13,142 on its agreements in 2024/25, measured differently)¹²³. The SME share of GCA's direct spend has also slipped: 13.0% in 2022/23, 12.5% in 2023/24, 10.8% in 2024/25³. Treat a place as a right to be asked, and bid only for frameworks whose users buy what you sell.

The rules in one table

Since 24 February 2025 the Procurement Act 2023 sets these rules for new frameworks. Older frameworks let under the 2015 Regulations keep their own terms to the end⁹.

Utilities dynamic markets differ: their notices go only to members and they may charge membership fees¹⁷.

Who runs the frameworks that matter, and how to join each

Status at 18 October 2026. "Not published" means the owner's pages did not state a fee; it will be in the tender notice.

When frameworks open, and how not to miss one

For digital and consultancy suppliers the next doors are fixed. The 18- and 36-month G-Cloud reopenings are arithmetic from the 6 August 2026 start; GCA has not published dates^76262830:

On GCA's own 2026-27 pipeline, 5 to 10 months pass between the tender stage and award²²²⁹³¹.

The influence window is earlier. NHS Supply Chain asks suppliers to engage "during the 9-15 months prior to the expiry date"¹⁸; NWUPC tenders 6 to 12 months before expiry³⁸; Fusion21 takes applications about nine months before renewal⁴⁴. Preliminary market engagement is where lots and value bands are still open to argument, and buyers "can engage with everyone who expresses an interest"⁶⁰. The sequence, using those owners' timings^1838155:

FRAMEWORK WATCH-LIST
Framework | Owner | Our lot(s) | Our target buyers named? (Y/N)
Expires or reopens | Engagement starts (expiry minus 15 months)
Fee % | Status (watch / engage / bid / on it / drop) | Next action | Who | By when

How call-offs are won

Know which mechanism you are on

Response times are set call-off by call-off. Bloom quotes "as little as 14" days for a direct award and 24 for a mini-competition; dynamic market contracts allow at least 10 days to bid; GCA does not publish DOS7 windows⁴²¹⁷. Keep a bid library ready.

Price for the whole term

G-Cloud 15 bans "Price on Application", "Prices 'from £x per day'" and bare price ranges. On Lots 2a, 2b and 3 there are "No increases permitted within each framework term", and buyers may not negotiate individual reductions. You can cut prices or add time-limited and volume discounts at any time⁵. So publish a price you can live with for years, with the 0.75% charge inside it, and keep discounts in reserve.

Call-offs last. GCA's launch release says "up to 60 months"; the supplier guide allows up to 5 years plus 3 of extensions on Lots 1a and 1b, and 4 plus 2 on Lots 2a, 2b and 3⁶⁵. A loss-making rate is a long problem.

Write a listing the filters find

The buyer's first cut is a filter, not a reader. Use the buyer's words for what you do, and fill every taxonomy, social value and technical field.

The strong version names the user, the job and the setting, gives a fixed price the rules allow, and makes a social value commitment that can be counted. G-Cloud 15 assesses social value against the PPN 002 model, "based on quality, not quantity"⁵.

Answer the call-off as a fresh bid

Call-offs use only the framework's award criteria, which the buyer may refine¹³. The withdrawn DOS guidance is still a good discipline: "If you do not say you have all the essential skills and experience listed, you will not be eligible", with evidence "up to 100 words per example"²⁷. How to write the answers: Writing the bid.

CALL-OFF RESPONSE CHECK
[ ] Route: direct award, mini-competition or further competition? Deadline? Clarification date?
[ ] Criteria and weights copied from the call-off documents
[ ] Every essential requirement answered by name, with evidence
[ ] Conditions added at call-off (insurance level, Cyber Essentials): met before award?
[ ] Price from the framework rate card; fee included; no rise above the published rate
[ ] Social value: commitments you will deliver, in the buyer's measures
[ ] CDP record current; subcontractors named
[ ] After award: ask for a voluntary assessment summary, win or lose

Work the relationship, on the record

Each GCA agreement has a named commercial agreement manager²³. On G-Cloud 15 you must answer GCA within 2 working days and resolve issues within 5, and suppliers with "nil spend reported" get surveys from month six⁵. GCA offers a "Supplier marketing toolkit" for promoting your place²⁴. Use market engagement sessions and supplier days rather than private lobbying: a supplier given an unavoidable unfair advantage "must be excluded"⁶⁰.

Sell through a prime when you are not on the framework

GCA's guide to SMEs: "Review live agreements for your expertise and contact the listed suppliers", and ask for "a work share agreement or a pipeline of upcoming work". It names the risks, "Possible late payment from prime contractors" and "White labelling", and the neutral vendor agreements where SMEs onboard under the prime (Print Marketplace 2, Buying Better Food and Drink, Workforce Solutions)²¹. The Act implies 30-day payment terms into public sub-contracts⁶². Scape's frameworks are built this way, through 22 delivery partners⁵³; NHS Supply Chain accepts supply "through a distributor that is already on a framework"¹⁸.

Count the cost of places you never use

Every place carries admin. On G-Cloud 15 you file management information monthly, a nil return if nothing sold; two missed reports in six months trigger a "Default Management Charge" of the six-month average charge or £500, whichever is higher, and unpaid charges can lead to suspension⁸. GCA also wants an annual self-audit certificate; NWUPC wants quarterly spend reports²³³⁸. The NAO counted 8,000 to more than 21,000 public frameworks and found the duplication raises "bidding costs for suppliers"¹.

The fee itself is small next to that, but it ranges from £700 to £11,000. On a £100,000 call-off, ex VAT, at the top of each published rate (NAO figures are 2022-23)¹⁵⁵¹⁴²:

Keep a place only if its users buy what you sell. Check the contract award notices for who is winning its call-offs, and drop the rest at the next reopening.

Real examples, and why they worked

Pitfalls

Checklist

• Five frameworks or dynamic markets shortlisted whose users buy what we sell
• Each tender notice read for call-off route, places, users, fee and term¹⁵
• Our target North West buyers named in each notice's user list
• Watch-list set up with expiry and reopening dates, engagement starting 15 months before expiry
• GCA newsletter, Digital Marketplace mailing list and Find a Tender framework search running
• Always-open DPSs and dynamic markets in our field applied to now
• CDP record complete and current⁶³
• Cyber Essentials (Plus if we handle citizen or patient data) and insurance quotes ready to bind at contract start⁶⁴⁶⁵
• Rate card priced to last the term, with the fee inside it
• Listings use buyers' words; every filter field filled
• Call-off response check copied into the bid library
• Monthly management information owner named; nil returns diarised
• Three primes on frameworks we cannot reach contacted about subcontracting²¹
• Voluntary assessment summary requested after every call-off, win or lose¹⁵

Questions

What is a framework agreement in public procurement?

A contract between a public buyer and one or more suppliers that sets the terms for future contracts, called call-offs. "In most cases a framework does not commit the authority to award any call-off"¹⁰. Under the Procurement Act 2023 it lasts up to 4 years (8 for utilities and defence) unless the notice justifies longer¹¹.

Does getting on a framework guarantee work?

No. In 2022-23 more than 9,500 suppliers held CCS framework places, but 3,926 reported any spend, and the NAO found 49 of 308 lots where one supplier took everything¹.

How do I get on G-Cloud 15?

Applications were closed at 18 October 2026. G-Cloud 15 started on 6 August 2026 and reopens after 18 months (about February 2028; GCA has not published the date) and again after 36 months. Join the Digital Marketplace mailing list for "notifications when applications are opening", and prepare fixed prices: "price on application" and "from" prices are not allowed⁷²⁵⁵.

What is the difference between a framework and a dynamic market?

A framework admits suppliers at set points, through a tender. A dynamic market, which replaces the DPS under the Act, takes applications at any time, free, with no cap on members. Each contract under it is advertised by public tender notice with at least 10 days to bid¹⁷.

How much do framework fees cost suppliers?

Only what the notice states, as a fixed percentage of call-offs you win; access fees are banned¹⁴. The NAO found 0% to 11% across providers, with CCS averaging 0.7%; G-Cloud 15 charges 0.75%, Bloom 5% and Procurement Hub 0.15% to 2%¹⁵⁴²⁵¹.

Can I join a framework after it has started?

Usually not. NWUPC says "you would need to take part in the next tender process", and NHS Supply Chain's awarded suppliers "remain in place for the duration"³⁸¹⁸. Open frameworks let you in at each reopening, and dynamic markets and DPSs at any time¹²¹⁷.

How are call-offs awarded under a framework?

By competition between the framework's suppliers, or without competition where the framework sets an objective rule, such as a rotating "taxi-rank", a ranking, or G-Cloud's lowest price after filters. Call-offs carry no mandatory standstill or assessment summary¹³¹⁵⁵.

How can a small business win work on a framework it is not on?

Subcontract to a supplier that is. GCA tells SMEs to "contact the listed suppliers" and ask for a work share agreement; some GCA agreements onboard SMEs under a neutral vendor, and NHS Supply Chain accepts supply through a distributor already on a framework²¹¹⁸.

Written for businesses, founders and researchers in the North West of England and checked against the sources listed above on 18 October 2026. Funders change their rules, so always read the current call before you apply. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.