Small businesses and charities in Wales and Ireland will be in a stronger position to compete for public sector contracts thanks to a €3.75m project which is set to get underway.
Winning in Tendering aims to transform smaller suppliers’ ability to win contracts and ensure home-grown organisations win a greater share of public sector business.
Collaborating on the project, Bangor University, Dublin City University and the Irish Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management will focus on improving the tendering skills of charities and Small to Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) and removing unnecessary barriers they face.
Part funded by the Ireland Wales Programme, the project builds on previous research work undertaken by Bangor University Law School, which has had a major influence on public procurement reforms taking place in the United Kingdom. The team at Bangor works in partnership with Dublin City University Strategic Procurement Unit and the Irish Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management.
Welsh Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and European Programmes, Alun Davies AM, said:
“Helping our smaller organisations to successfully tender will ensure they can maximise their full potential, delivering more services and securing new business opportunities. I am pleased that this EU-backed initiative is assisting these organisations to thrive and flourish, in turn, delivering benefits to the wider economy.”
The joint university team has developed five training packages tailored to address the needs of smaller organisations and designed to encourage economic growth. Support for the project has also come from a number of major organisations across Ireland and Wales.
Rebecca Budski, director of Gelli Civil Engineering Ltd based in Penrhyndeudraeth Wales, says her company is already reaping the rewards of enrolling on one of the programme’s pilot training packages.
“We are delighted we took advantage of the opportunity to be involved,” said Rebecca.
“The Tender Review Report we received has been a great help; it was constructive, honest, thorough, totally bespoke and confidential to us, and above all understandable. It clarifies exactly what we need to do to win more public sector business. I’m pleased this project will help more companies like ours to secure new contacts.”
Bangor University Vice Chancellor Professor John Hughes will launch the project in Bangor on June 23. A second launch will be held at Swansea’s Liberty Stadium on June 24. For further information about the launches, visithttp://www.winningintendering.com
source: http://www.irelandwales.ie