Published date: 7 February 2018
Last edited date: 7 February 2018
Closed opportunity - This means that the contract is currently closed. The buying department may be considering suppliers that have already applied, or no suitable offers were made.
Contract summary
Industry
Software programming and consultancy services - 72200000
Location of contract
South West
Value of contract
£30,000 to £50,000
Procurement reference
GFL/17/103/GH
Published date
7 February 2018
Closing date
20 November 2017
Contract start date
5 December 2017
Contract end date
31 March 2022
Contract type
Service contract
Procedure type
Open procedure (below threshold)
Any interested supplier may submit a tender in response to an opportunity notice.
This procedure can be used for procurements below the relevant contract value threshold.
Contract is suitable for SMEs?
Yes
Contract is suitable for VCSEs?
No
Description
One of the key assets of the Growth Hub service is the Business Directory, which contains listings for recognised Support Providers, as well as businesses in general. This is a key tool in ensuring that clients of the Growth Hub can be signposted to an independent and impartial collection of solution providers that might be able to help them, from which they can make their own decisions on how to proceed. However, the potential of having this database of businesses and engaged users goes beyond just search and consideration, which is why we are looking to turn the business directory into a transactional community in which Gloucestershire businesses, whether clients of the Growth Hub or not, can advertise or respond to requests for help or specific contracts, so as to provide an active platform upon which businesses can grow.
The target audience for this solution will be members of the Growth Hub business community. This will be primarily made up on Growth Hub business support clients, but the Growth Hub website is available and accessible to any Gloucestershire business that wishes to explore it. We will be actively promoting the business directory and hope to have over 10,000 businesses listed on it and interacting with it by the end of March 2022. The procurement portal will be a key feature in enabling this to happen.
Whilst the procurement platform will not be part of a business' initial interaction with the Growth Hub, we do see it as playing a key role in the later stages of their business support service as well as being the primary reason for a businesses to want to engage with the Growth Hub website once they have received all of the fully funded support available to them. We envisage users will come to recognise that the Growth Hub website as a single portal whose sole purpose is to offer a platform for growth, whether it be through support and guidance, or a forum within which business can be sought and won, whether locally or further afield.
Finally, we are keen to explore ways in which procurement can be made simpler, increasing the chances for micro and SME businesses to competitively participate in procurement activity, including removing the need to duplicate information. At the very least however, the platform must be optimised for mobile use and ideally offer real-time communication and notifications, so that users are empowered to engage with the service as when then both want and need to do.
More information
Attachments
-
- 1. 103 - ITT v1.docx
- Tender notice
- Procurement Portal ITT document
-
- 103. Procurement Portal Procurement Clarification Questions.xlsx
- Clarifications to bidders questions
- Clarification Questions_FINAL_14_11_2017_UPDATED
About the buyer
Address
Oxstalls Campus
Oxstalls Lane
Gloucester
GL2 9HW
England
Website
Share this notice
Closing: 20 November 2017