By Nick Sturge – Here in Bristol (UK) we know more than most the economic spin offs that come from the public sector – as the engine room of the South West, Bristol has always had regional government and agency offices.
The public sector is still a money spinner. UK bodies from central government departments and agencies (such Highways and Environment) to NHS trusts, the MoD, plus regional and local authorities spend more than £100billion annually on a bewildering range of products and services.
Yet still relatively few small businesses are getting a slice of this lucrative cake. In fact, it’s been estimated that little more than one percent of the total spend, still around £1billion, reaches small businesses each year from public coffers.
So how does a Bristol business get a piece of the action?
If you’re looking at the more modest end of the market (anything up to £100,000) then the first stop is the government’s supply2.gov.uk website. For contracts worth more than this figure, visit the website of the Official Journal of the European Union.
It costs nothing to register on supply2.gov.uk and you will be able to:
- search for contracts
- receive a daily email alert matching your business sector
- publish your supplier profile to promote your company
- access guidance to public sector procurement
For specialist contracts it’s best to visit the websites of public-sector bodies directly. For a fee you can receive tender updates by e-mail using such online services as govex.eu (*), bipsolutions.com, tendermatch.co.uk or tendersdirect.co.uk. You’ll also find that Bristol’s local press will regularly carry notices of local authority tenders.
Of course, it’s not enough to simply spot the opportunities. The real work starts with the completion of the tender application which will involve a lot of time and effort.
You need to make sure you have total understanding of what you are being asked. Read, read and then re-read the questions and carefully study every bit of information several times.
Remember, you may be asked about more than your ability to fulfill the contract – in some cases, you will be asked to provide evidence of your equal opportunities, environmental and health and safety credentials.
It’s common for tenders to be “marked” with a scoring system attached to tender questions. Maximise your marks by answering explicitly and putting your answers in context. It’s quite common for tender applications to be assessed by different people in different parts of an organisation who will only look at the sections relevant to them.
Include credible business references and list any relevant achievements where asked. Be sure to adhere strictly to tender rules and deadlines. If you don’t, you risk being disqualified
Make sure you check your tender application before sending it off. Just like going over your exam paper before you hand it in!
Remember, too, all public-sector contracts can be viewed under the Freedom of Information Act. If you want to safeguard commercially sensitive information, you must ask for a non-disclosure agreement.
After that, it is fingers crossed and wait for a decision. But if it doesn’t go your way always ask for feedback – you’ll learn each time and be able to improve future applications so that hopefully part of that £100 billion pot will be eventually be yours.
A newer avenue is the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) which can fund demand-driven innovation – government departments putting out calls for innovative solutions to problems, providing funding (up font!) for developing those solutions, from feasibility through to proof of concept. For small and large technology companies this could be a real opportunity to kick-start new avenues for your business.
I do not recommend going into public tendering blind. Get some advice and don’t expect easy wins. Hopefully this will change – the Technology Strategy Board, who run SBRI, really understand the challenges with public sector tendering and things should change for the better.
Article by Nick Sturge on Bristol247.com
About the author : Nick Sturge is the Chairman of the Bristol branch of The Institute of Directors
(*) : Govex provides you a tenders alert service for belgian and european public tenders. Receive each morning the tenders in your activity by email. Go to the website …
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Just surfed in, and have to say that his is a great post.