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We are delighted to announce that Optimal has been named as a supplier on Government Commercial Agency's (GCA) G-Cloud 15 framework, making our full research platform available to public sector teams across central government, local authorities and the NHS.
GCA is the UK's central commercial and procurement organisation, connecting public and private sectors to achieve the best outcomes for the UK and its citizens. GCA uses its commercial expertise to create a simpler procurement experience that redirects valuable resources into essential public services – creating value for the nation.
Optimal is listed under Lot 2b: Software as a Service (SaaS), where public sector buyers can access our UX Research Platform – a self-service, cloud-hosted platform covering usability and prototype testing, interviews, live-site testing, surveys, card sorting, tree testing, first click testing, and built-in participant recruitment.
As a GCA supplier, Optimal can be procured by government teams through the same framework they already use, without new supplier onboarding or a separate tender process. G-Cloud is how the UK public sector buys cloud software, so for research and service teams working under tight timelines and Cloud First policies, being listed removes a step that usually slows things down.
Already a trusted partner across UK government
This isn't Optimal's first time supporting public sector work. Optimal is used by government and public sector teams around the world, including across the UK.
When the NHS team needed to turn Covid-19 guidance into clear, accessible information at national scale, they turned to Optimal – recruiting 100 research participants within 48 hours and moving from concept to launch in four weeks. The resulting Covid-19 information hub served approximately 80 million visitors at its peak.
That's the kind of pace public sector teams need, and it's what Optimal is built for.
Everything a government research team needs, from discovery to live service
Optimal is an enterprise, end-to-end research platform supporting the full range of UX research and testing methods government teams rely on: usability and prototype testing, interviews, live-site testing, surveys, card sorting, tree testing, first click testing, mixed methods and qualitative insights. Participant recruitment is built in, with access to multiple panel providers to find niche and hard-to-reach audiences – the specific communities, first-time service users and specialist groups that public sector research so often depends on.
It's everything a government research or service team needs, from early discovery through to live service, in a single platform rather than a patchwork of separate tools.
Security and compliance built in
Optimal complies with the requirements of the Cyber Essentials scheme, the UK government-backed certification that validates foundational security controls across firewalls, secure configuration, access control, malware protection, and patch management. Independently assessed by an IASME-certified assessor and certified across our whole organisation since September 2026, this recognised standard gives our customers, partners, and stakeholders confidence in how we protect our systems and handle their data.
Alongside Cyber Essentials, Optimal holds ISO/IEC 27001 for information security and ISO/IEC 27701 for privacy, and maintains a SOC 2 Type II report on our controls. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and our infrastructure is penetration-tested annually by independent auditors. You can review all of our certifications in our security center.
For information governance teams, that means the security review is largely done before the conversation starts.
Find us
Public sector teams can find Optimal’s Digital Marketplace listing, or talk to us directly about working with your team.
