The Environment Agency (EA) has launched a preliminary market engagement exercise seeking expressions of interest and pre-tender engagement from suppliers for its upcoming £6 billion Collaborative Delivery Framework (CDF) 2 tender.
CDF2 will deliver asset management activities across the whole of the EA's asset base including Flood and Coastal Risk Management, Navigation and Water Land and Biodiversity assets. The framework will provide both appraisal, design, technical support and construction works that support the EA's asset management, maintenance, refurbishment and construction programmes of work.
The framework will be required to develop, design and deliver nature-based solutions and more traditional hard engineering solutions.
The framework will be used for construction projects in the range of £1 million to £150 million, while construction and detailed design services will be split across two lots with a value of £1-5 million and £5 million+.
Deadline to participate in the early market engagement phase is 14 November 2025 - current estimated start and end contract dates are 31 January 2027 to 30 January 2035
Early engagement process
The Environment Agency is making draft versions of its completed framework deed and schedules, and its draft bidder pack including tender questions, available for review, clarification and comment. These will be shared via Quatrix – a secure, cloud-managed platform for file transfers.
In order to access Quatrix, suppliers will be required to create a free account by inputting an email address and password. To request access to Quatrix contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
The draft framework schedule and deeds are available via Quatrix now - the draft tender documentation including bidder pack and tender questions, for review and comment, and a presentation regarding the CDF2 model and tender process, are being uploaded this week commencing today.
The Agency says it has made every effort to ensure the documents are as close as possible to the final versions that will be formally shared with the Invitation to Tender.
However as internal approvals are still pending, the EA cannot guarantee that minor changes will not be required.
The market engagement is an opportunity for interested suppliers to familiarise themselves with the key documents, provide feedback on concerns with specific wording and clarify any ambiguities.
The EA is not looking for further feedback on the fundamental elements of the model - however it will be looking for feedback to understand if any elements of the model, as articulated in these documents, would prevent or dissuade any suppliers from bidding, who had previously been interested.
Interested suppliers are also invited to view a presentation included in the documents shared explaining the CDF2 model and tender process. In-person feedback sessions will be held on Tuesday 21st October at Mary Ward House, Tavistock Place, London, WC1H 9SN and online sessions will be held on Tuesday 4th November.
The Agency said that to ensure all interested parties have the opportunity to seek feedback and clarity, a maximum of two representatives from each interested party will be invited to attend an agreed slot at one of these sessions and a pre-registration link will be shared alongside the first upload of documents.
Suppliers who want to receive an invitation to the event, and the link to access the shared documents, are asked to contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
DEFRA Group commercial will be managing the procurement process and tender on behalf of the Environment Agency
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