Programme Diagnostics - Liverpool City Region Integrated Business Support

Tender description

LCRIBS Programme The five Liverpool City Region Local Authorities and Liverpool Vision came together with the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership and a number of Chambers of Commerce to form a consortia to bid for European funding under ‘Priority Axis 3 : Enhancing the Competitiveness of SME’s’. The resulting business support programme, ‘The Liverpool City Region Integrated Business Support Project’ (LCRIBS), will provide a range of no-cost business support services designed to build both the capacity and confidence within those SME’s reluctant to engage with existing business support providers for either lack of knowledge or understanding or simply because they are reluctant to pay for, or do not perceive the value of, existing commercial provision. The Liverpool City Region Integrated Business Support Project will be positioned between ‘pre-start/start-up/post-start support’, delivered by a consortia led by the Women’s Organisation, and more specialist or bespoke support delivered by the private sector The Project will provide participating SME’s with the following demonstrable outputs:- ? An intensive Business Diagnostic undertaken by suitably experienced and qualified, competitively procured, external consultants ? An Action Plan for Growth focused upon the initial steps that a company must take, or the issues that the SME must address, to realise sustainability and growth ? The provision of a dedicated contact person within either Halton Borough Council or Halton Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise, who will initially work with the company to begin the process of delivering the Action Plan for Growth but who will support the company with any other elements of their development. Critically, that person will, wherever practical, remain a constant in the life of the business. ? The provision of an informed and managed Brokerage Service, complementing the service provided by the Liverpool City Region Business Growth Hub, which will connect participating SME’s with additional, follow-on, commercial business support. ? The Project will provide additional, more intensive, business support where a participating SME lacks the capacity, expertise or resources to begin the initial roll-out of their individual Action Plan for Growth. Support will be tailored to meet the needs of each individual SME and will focus upon the fundamental elements which businesses must have in place in order to be firstly, sustainable and secondly, to grow. Intensive support will be delivered by suitably experienced and qualified, competitively procured, external consultants In summary, the provision of a no-cost service by the Liverpool City Region Integrated Business Support Project will provide a valuable resource which will act as a pathway and catalyst for businesses in order that they are able to establish the financial and strategic foundations for future investment in their own sustainability and development. The Halton element of LCRIBS is contracted to deliver the following outputs:- Output Target No. Of Enterprises receiving support (C1) 123 No. Enterprises receiving information, diagnostic & brokerage support (P13) 123 Employment increase in support of enterprises (C8) 123 The Halton delivery of the LCRIBS requires a consultant or consultants to support individual Halton businesses by: • carrying out a business diagnostic exercise which will identify areas from which the business would benefit additional support. For example: o Sales and Marketing (including e.trading\social media\brand management) o Manufacturing and Process Efficiency o Procurement and Tender Readiness o Financial Management (including access to finance and investment readiness) o HR Practices and Procedure (including recruitment support) o Environmental Performance o ICT (including maximising the benefits of superfast broadband) o Risk and Business Continuity Management o Strategic Business Planning • establishing a baseline assessment against which future business growth can be measured • producing an Action Plan for Growth • producing prioritised recommendations for further business support which can be considered by HBC • ensuring that documentation is completed which will ensure the compliance of the programme with ERDF requirements Based upon the recommendations and priorities contained within the Strategic Plan for Growth Halton Borough Council will endeavour to procure specific business support to facilitate second stage growth within the business subject to the constraints of overall programme resources. The business diagnostic exercise will be based upon a standard set of topics and questions developed by project partners across the city region. The standard topics are: • Financial Position • Financial Controls • Management of the Business • Operations • Product/Service Development • Marketing and Sales • Marketing Reach • Supply Chain Development • Workforce Development / Recruitment • Human Resources, Policies • Future Business direction • Future Investment / Growth Plans The use of a standard diagnostic approach will ensure consistency of delivery across the Liverpool City Region. It is important to note that this project is funded by the European Union using ERDF (European Regional development Fund) and the supplier will be required to complete and submit a range of monitoring and output forms as required by the funders. Given the importance of the collection and maintenance of ERDF documentation it is essential that the supplier is able to demonstrate that they have the experience, business processes and adequate resources available to manage ERDF requirements. This will include: • Monitoring progress with each client to ensure the completion and submission of all required ERDF documentation • Sufficient resources who are experienced in the collection and monitoring of ERDF documentation and are available to undertake these tasks • The ability to create and deliver progress reports on the status of each client diagnostic as and when requested by Halton Borough Council Programme performance in delivering the diagnostic component of the project will be closely monitored by Halton Borough Council. Performance will be measured and monitored as part of the contract management in line with agreed KPIs. Where performance is identified to be inadequate the Council reserves the right to cancel the contract with that provider. The daily rate for this service shall not exceed £300 / day. This daily rate is inclusive of all expenses incurred by the appointed supplier. The authority does not guarantee that the supplier will be allocated any set number of diagnostic projects. The number of diagnostic projects allocated to the supplier will be determined by demand from SMEs and the performance of the supplier. HBC reserves the right to award the contract on the basis of a single supplier Keywords: business, business efficiency, diagnostics, business support, business planning