SCAPE Scotland Corporate Services Framework
Framework Description
SCAPE Scotland's Corporate Services Framework is a planned arrangement giving Scottish public bodies access to advisory, legal and audit professionals. It is organised into three groups of paired lots: advisory services (Lots 1 and 2, £100m to £200m), legal services (Lots 3 and 4, £60m) and audit services (Lots 5 and 6, £40m). It is expected to start in April 2027 for four years, with an option to extend by one year.
Context & Use Case
Scottish public bodies will use it to commission advice on transformation programmes, digital and data projects, financial planning and sustainability, as well as legal support and financial or operational audit. Pairing identical lots in each group means more than one firm can be appointed to each service, giving clients competition and a choice of adviser on each assignment.
Scope of Services
Management consultancy and business transformation Technology, digital and data advisory Finance and accounting advisory Sustainability and environmental advisory Legal services: commercial, governance and specialist areas Audit services: financial and operational audit
Lots
Yes: Group A (Lots 1-2) Advisory Services, £100-200m value; Group B (Lots 3-4) Legal Services, £60m total; Group C (Lots 5-6) Audit Services, £40m total
Who Can Apply
It is aimed at established professional services firms, with minimum annual turnover of £50m for advisory, £25m for legal and £10m for audit, met alone or through a consortium or joint venture. The tender is already under way, with SPD responses in evaluation, so only firms that submitted an SPD can still win one of up to two places per group.
Buyer Benefits
Clients get one route to advisers, lawyers and auditors who have already been assessed, rather than three separate procurements. Agreed terms and pricing cut negotiation on each commission, and the paired lots let a client compare firms for an assignment. Clients will expect bidders to show they understand Scottish public sector governance.
Next Steps
SCAPE Scotland's framework page shows the procurement at SPD evaluation. Shortlisted firms should prepare for the tender stage now: evidence of work for Scottish public bodies with outcomes and references, team CVs, social value commitments and pricing for each group. Firms outside the competition should talk to likely bidders about consortium or supply chain roles ahead of the April 2027 start.
How Athena Can Help
Professional services bids are often lost on generic answers. Athena's proposal writing team turns your Scottish public sector assignments into specific evidence, builds differentiators for each group you are shortlisted for and checks every response against the evaluation criteria before submission.
If you are not in this competition, a structured bid/no-bid decision helps you judge which partner or supply chain roles are worth pursuing, and our support for framework applications plans your other Scottish applications so you are ready for the next opening.
