Enterprise eco systems

How can enterprise ecosystems enhance SME capability to tender for public sector contracts?

Centre for Tendering has been commissioned to conduct this project  between March and June 2020.

The effective exclusion of most SMEs from public sector supply chains, or their positioning at lowest end of value chains, impedes productivity by: 

1. undermining SME growth and local economic development; 

2. inhibiting innovation and competitiveness in public supply chains;

3. wasting scarce SME resource in unsuccessful tendering. 

To date, policy innovation has focused on simplifying procurement processes. However, even after Brexit, the UK is likely to retain a political commitment and obligation (under new trade deals) to principles of transparency, fairness, quality, best value and ethics/sustainability that demand formal and complex procurement processes. A productive economy depends on SMEs developing capability to tender for public sector contracts and enterprise ecosystems that develop that capability. We believe we are building knowledge that will enable agencies to rise to this important productivity challenge. It will conduct an analysis of how well the Greater Manchester enterprise ecosystem supports SMEs to develop tendering capability. 

• Research will be conducted by The Centre for Tendering, shaped and eased by a carefully composed advisory group with key representatives from the public and private sector; including Local authority leaders, Good Employment Charter, Growth Company, Manchester Met Uni, Health Innovation Manchester(HInM),Trustech,  Barclays Eagle Labs and GMCA.

• An outcome of this research is to create a dashboard of priorities that will illustrate what changes to enterprise ecosystems are likely to enhance SME learning to be capable tenderers

• This project can powerfully inform commissioning of SME business advice, the SME plan and the GM Working Together strategy, among other things. GM will also be used as a case study to discuss how enterprise ecosystems could support SME tendering in an event in Whitehall. We are hoping our Advisory Group will become involved in these conversations.

• We seek to include BEIS in the project and distribute findings across LEPs.