What does the CSIR buy most often?

Laboratory and test equipment, scientific consumables, calibration and instrument maintenance, information technology and computing capacity, and the facilities services that keep its campuses running. Subcontracted research and specialist engineering support appears regularly alongside those.

Must I be an authorised distributor to supply equipment?

Frequently, yes. Where a specification names an instrument class with a short list of manufacturers, the CSIR generally wants evidence of manufacturer authorisation, local service capability and spares availability, because an uncalibrated or unsupported instrument is useless to a research programme.

Where are the sites that this work is delivered to?

The main campus is in Pretoria, with further sites and facilities elsewhere in the country, including high performance computing capability in Cape Town. Notices normally state the delivery or site address, which matters whenever the scope involves installation or commissioning.

Is construction work tendered here at all?

Some. Laboratory refurbishment, cleanroom construction, electrical and mechanical upgrades and general campus maintenance do come to market, and those notices carry CIDB grade and class requirements in the ordinary way. They are a minority of the list rather than its centre.

How is a research subcontract evaluated?

Usually on technical capability first: the qualifications and track record of the people who will do the work, the method proposed, and whether results can be delivered inside the parent programme timeline. The CSIR treats price as one factor among several here.

Can I follow this buyer automatically?

Yes, and the keyword field is what does the work here. A saved search matches on trade categories, province and keywords, so terms such as calibration, spectrometer or instrumentation are what catch these. Worth setting on the CSIR, where a relevant notice may surface a handful of times a year.

National research council

CSIR tenders — open bids and awards

What the CSIR buys is driven by the research contracts it happens to be executing, which makes its tender list less repetitive and far less predictable than any infrastructure buyer on the feed.

Open now: 9
On record: 68
Awards published: 23
Total awarded: R 19 309 505

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Open the CSIR tenders

Request for Information (RFI) on market capability, indicative timelines and costs for a feasibility study for the CSIR…
Services: Professional · National · closes 2026/09/23
Request for Quotation (RFQ) for monthly market monitoring and benchmarking of computer hardware pricing for supply and…
Professional, scientific and technical activities · National · closes 2026/09/23
Request for Proposals (RFP) For the Supply of Electronic Components, PCB Sourcing, Assembly, Testing, Cable Harnessing…
Professional, scientific and technical activities · National · closes 2026/09/25
Expression of Interest (EOI) For the supply of Spherical Metal Powders with size distribution between 45 µm and 150 µm…
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products · Gauteng · closes 2026/09/28
Request For Information (RFI) CSIR is requesting information from interested service providers, product suppliers…
Other professional, scientific and technical activities · National · closes 2026/09/30
Request For Quotation (RFQ) for the repairs of Sewer drains at CSIR, Durban campus.
Construction · KwaZulu-Natal · closes 2026/09/30
Request for Quotation (RFQ) for the supply of breathing Simulator (BS) machine to the CSIR
Professional, scientific and technical activities · National · closes 2026/10/08
Request for Proposals (RFP) for The provision of Cube Satellite Bus Design, and Verification Testing to Integrate an…
Other professional, scientific and technical activities · Gauteng · closes 2026/10/09
Request for Proposals (RFP) for The provision of Mirror Steered System Electronics Design and Manufacture to the CSIR
Professional, scientific and technical activities · National · closes 2026/10/09

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Largest published the CSIR awards

Open work by category

4 Professional, scientific and technical activities
2 Other professional, scientific and technical activities
1 Construction
1 Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products
1 Services: Professional

Open work by province

6 National
2 Gauteng
1 KwaZulu-Natal

About the CSIR procurement

Scientific instrumentation is the signature category. Spectrometers, lasers and optics, analytical and test equipment, cleanroom and laboratory fit-out, calibration services and consumables appear constantly, and specifications are written tightly around a measurement requirement. Price alone rarely decides these: the CSIR weighs whether the instrument meets specification, who can service it locally, and what the calibration traceability is.

A second stream comes from the campus itself. The Pretoria site is effectively a small town, with laboratories, offices, conference facilities and a data centre behind it, so building maintenance, electrical reticulation, standby power, cooling, network infrastructure, catering, cleaning and security all reach the feed as ordinary works and service contracts.

The third stream is subcontracted research and specialist engineering. Because the CSIR delivers contract research for departments and industry, it buys in modelling, prototyping, precision machining, field survey and testing capacity it does not hold internally. Those notices suit a small technical consultancy better than anything else on the feed, and they are easily missed because they do not read like tenders at all.

Where the CSIR is tendering

Open tenders right now. Counts come from the same feed as the list above.

Questions about the CSIR tenders

What does the CSIR buy most often?: Laboratory and test equipment, scientific consumables, calibration and instrument maintenance, information technology and computing capacity, and the facilities services that keep its campuses running. Subcontracted research and specialist engineering support appears regularly alongside those.
Must I be an authorised distributor to supply equipment?: Frequently, yes. Where a specification names an instrument class with a short list of manufacturers, the CSIR generally wants evidence of manufacturer authorisation, local service capability and spares availability, because an uncalibrated or unsupported instrument is useless to a research programme.
Where are the sites that this work is delivered to?: The main campus is in Pretoria, with further sites and facilities elsewhere in the country, including high performance computing capability in Cape Town. Notices normally state the delivery or site address, which matters whenever the scope involves installation or commissioning.
Is construction work tendered here at all?: Some. Laboratory refurbishment, cleanroom construction, electrical and mechanical upgrades and general campus maintenance do come to market, and those notices carry CIDB grade and class requirements in the ordinary way. They are a minority of the list rather than its centre.
How is a research subcontract evaluated?: Usually on technical capability first: the qualifications and track record of the people who will do the work, the method proposed, and whether results can be delivered inside the parent programme timeline. The CSIR treats price as one factor among several here.
Can I follow this buyer automatically?: Yes, and the keyword field is what does the work here. A saved search matches on trade categories, province and keywords, so terms such as calibration, spectrometer or instrumentation are what catch these. Worth setting on the CSIR, where a relevant notice may surface a handful of times a year.

All tender awards · Tender alerts · CIDB matching