The University of Bradford Students’ Union is inviting proposals from experienced providers to help it decide how students are represented, in time for a referendum of its members in early February 2027.
The University of Bradford Students’ Union is inviting proposals from experienced providers to help it decide how students are represented, in time for a referendum of its members in early February 2027. This is not a commission with the answer already written into it. We have a problem to solve, we do not hold the expertise to solve it alone, and we want you to tell us how you would get us to a position students can be asked to approve.
The problem
We have no sabbatical officers in post and no Union Council. Elections are paused, with temporary arrangements put in place in May which are intended to only last for this academic year. A new constitution and By-laws will go to students in a referendum in early February 2027, with elections following in March or April, so anything that will be elected has to be settled and approved before nominations open. There has to be something on representation that students can approve in February, and it has to be good enough to build on.
What that first year covers is deliberately open. It may be the officer and leadership arrangements, or it may start with the wider structures such as the Union Council, academic representation and the place of clubs, societies and part time roles. What it can’t be is all of it at once, because we don’t have the capacity for that alongside the rest of the turnaround. Tell us what you would do in the first year to get us to something students can approve in February 2027, and what you would leave to be resolved in the second.
We will elect officers in March or April 2027 for the 2027-28 year, and they will be explicitly interim or turnaround roles, labelled clearly so students know they are there for a year of change. What those roles are, how many there are, what they are called and what they do is for this work to recommend and for students to approve at the referendum.
What we need
Research into how students want to be represented, reaching the students we hear from least as well as those we already know. A comparison of how representation and student leadership are organised elsewhere, in other Students’ Unions, in other membership organisations and internationally, including approaches that do not rely on full time paid sabbatical officers. A recommendation for what we put to students at the referendum, in enough detail to be drafted into our constitution and By-laws, and a clear view of what should follow in the second stage.
We are not tied to the way we have worked before. We do not assume a particular model and we do not assume a small team of full time paid sabbatical officers. No decision has been taken on the number or type of roles. Other research is gathering students’ views on separate questions at the same time, so we will ask you to avoid online surveys and to propose methods that will not clash with it.
Working with us beyond this year
We expect this to be the start of a two year relationship rather than a single report. The first year takes us to the referendum, and the second, through 2027-28, completes whatever the first stage leaves open. We would expect to carry on with the same provider, subject to satisfactory delivery and to the funding being agreed. The budget below covers the first year only.
Budget
Up to £8,000 for the first year, inclusive of VAT and expenses, covering the whole of that year’s scope. We will weigh what we are being offered against the price rather than simply taking the lowest bid, but the £8000 figure is a hard ceiling. Any second stage in 2027-28 is funded separately. We will ask for an indicative cost for it, and it is not scored.
Working alongside our insight research
We have a second commission out to tender at the same time, for student insight research into what students want from their Students’ Union. The two answer different questions but run over the same weeks with the same students, and because the insight research is decided a fortnight before this one, we are not asking anyone to bid for both. What we would like to understand is how you would work with the provider appointed to it, so that the two pieces of work strengthen each other rather than compete for students’ attention. Please tell us how you would share plans, avoid duplicating fieldwork and make use of each other’s findings.
Timescale
We are working to a fixed timetable. Submissions close at 12 noon on Monday the 24th of August 2026, with appointment on the 28th of August, the work starting in early September, early findings discussed by mid-October and the final report delivered by mid-November 2026. That reporting date cannot move, because the findings feed our new constitution and By-laws, which go to students in a referendum in early February 2027.
How to express interest
If this sounds like the right fit, get in touch and we’ll send you the full invitation to tender, which sets out the detailed scope, deliverables and evaluation criteria. Completed tenders should reach us by 12 noon on Monday the 24th of August 2026.
Contact
To request the full invitation to tender, or to discuss the work first, please contact Andy Morwood, Interim CEO, at a.morwood@bradford.ac.uk.