21/08/2014

Firms Given Help To Construct Tender Bids More Successfully

A new wave of the council's Smarter Procurement Programme is now open to help businesses develop skills to construct tender bids more effectively.

The programme will support up to 20 small companies or social enterprises in Belfast with little or no experience of trading with the public sector. It will help them identify and take advantage of new sales opportunities within the public sector and is funded by Belfast City Council, Invest Northern Ireland and the European Regional Development Fund under the European Sustainable Competitiveness Programme for Northern Ireland.

It will combine a number of elements – a tender audit; workshops focusing on increasing participants' awareness of the procurement processes; individual business mentoring and assistance to identify and schedule sales meetings with potential buyers in the public sector.

Councillor Deirdre Hargey, Chair of Belfast City Council's Development Committee, said: "I'm delighted to launch the next wave of the Smarter Procurement Programme. Through the programme, we are supporting local businesses with no experience in tendering and procurement and helping them develop the skills and knowledge which will allow them to enter into this market.

"Targeting the public sector, in particular, can be a daunting prospect for many small businesses and social enterprises, and require tendering knowledge many are unfamiliar with.

"This programme also links with the council's Investment Programme aimed at increasing local procurement spend and supporting growth in key sectors."

(CD/JP)

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