Identifying Tender Opportunities Jenny LawsonEmma Petre Enterprise Europe NetworkBradford MDC

Outline of the Workshop Different types of contract opportunities Invitations to tender from “Official Journal” Other sources of tenders information Supplier & Contract Management System Questions

Enterprise Europe Yorkshire Launched 2008 (replacing Euro Info Centres and Innovation Relay Centres) Offer information & advice on European rules & regulations and doing business in Europe (including innovation) Information service based here in Bradford

Contract Opportunities Public sector buys everything from baked beans to bridges! Services, supplies and works (construction) Two main kinds of contracts: –Those covered by the EU Directive on public contracts (over certain values) –Those covered by other rules on best value and fair treatment (below the values in the Directive)

Current EU Contract Values Full EU rules apply to contracts above: –£3.49m (works) –£90.3k / 139.8k (services / supplies) If above these values, most contracts must be advertised EU-wide in the Official Journal Some exceptions for certain types of service contracts Note: it may be possible to bid for parts of the larger contract (“lots”) It’s also possible to submit bids in consortia

Contract Opportunities in the Official Journal of the EU Often known as OJEU or OJ Available online at Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) Updated 5 days a week (Tues-Sat) Covers UK and all other EU countries Average of 600 – 800 notices per day!

Other Sources of Tenders Information (1) Bad news: no one source to turn to!.....but there are lots of ways to identify tender opportunities: Personal contacts (especially for very low value contracts) Meet the Buyer / Exhibitions Approved lists

Other Sources of Tenders Information (2) Local and regional press –E.g. Bradford Council uses T&A (or Yorkshire Post if wider coverage needed) Trade press / specialist press –Examples used by Bradford Council include: “Caterer & Hotelkeeper” (Culture, Tourism & Sport Services) “Arts Professional” (Marketing Services) “Motor Transport” (Fleet Services) “Regeneration & Renewal” (Regeneration & Culture, Tourism & Sport Services)

Other Sources of Tenders Information (3) Contract information services Offered by number of commercial suppliers Enterprise Europe Yorkshire’s Tenders Information Service: –Daily searches (Monday – Friday) of the OJEU and other local sources –Personalised search profile –Results sent by (or post if preferred) –Back-up help and assistance (e.g. enquiry service, training, guides etc)

Other Sources of Tenders Information (4) Websites: Websites of the individual organisations (often have a “Procurement” or “Doing Business with XX Council” section) (Olympics)

Supplier & Contract Management System (SCMS) SCMS is a website designed to give suppliers & contractors information to be able to trade more easily with the Councils in the Yorkshire & Humber Region. In addition it also gives direct access to a wide variety of procurement opportunities. Bradford Council advertises all its contracts valued over £75,000 on the system.

Supplier & Contract Management System (SCMS) Continued… Anyone can register with the system (and its free!), you will just need access to the internet. You can then specify which council’s you are interested in working with and which categories of work your organisation undertakes – if there are approved lists for these categories you can apply for them via the system. You are able to search the system for tenders to apply for, view and download the tender documents and submit them back electronically via the system. We have laptops and internet access available today so you can have a go at registering and searching for tenders with help from the staff present from the Councils here and the SCMS helpdesk. Alternatively there is a helpdesk set up to specifically deal with questions and problems anyone is having with the system – they can talk you through registering and searching for tenders over the phone or respond to questions via s – contact details on next slide

For further information Enterprise Europe Yorkshire: –Tel: SCMS Helpdesk:

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