Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

Tender description

In anticipation of significant reductions in funding from the Government, Harrow Council started implementing a Commercialisation Strategy in early 2015. It was understood that existing ways of offsetting funding gaps were not going to work alone and with a wide definition of commercialisation, Harrow has started a number of initiatives that impact every part of the organisation. Some of these are: — Setting up of 2 wholly owned trading companies — Expanding the Legal Service beyond Harrow's borders — Starting a lettings agency with an pitch to the entire lettings market — Investing in commercial property — Embarking on an ambitious regeneration plan including PRS housing — Partnering with a regional start-up to provide a local deals platform for the benefit of residents, businesses and the council — Investigating joint venture options to exploit the council's intellectual property — Commercialising our MOT testing centre — Designing a procurement shared service model Harrow Council is seeking a commercial partner that can assist in delivering commercial programmes to other organisations and can provide a credible, flexible workforce to deliver results for customers. It is Harrow's aim to procure a partner that will jointly market, execute and deliver successful commercial programmes for other organisations. These commercial programmes would encompass: — Internal capabilities assessment — Base lining current organisational strengths and income position — Brainstorming income generation ideas — Business case development — Utilising skills, experience and proven tools to provide a quicker route to market — Driving culture change within the organisation to become more innovative and commercial — Setting up trading companies where appropriate — Advising on organisational governance to influence stakeholders — Driving the creation of a commercial income strategy to underpin these activities The above is not an exhaustive list. By 2019/20, the public sector and local government in general is going to be experiencing significant financial pressures as a result of reductions in funding from the Government. In response, authorities will be faced with making difficult decisions on which services can continue to be provided to the local community. Generating additional and non-traditional sources of income will become a key way of mitigating some of these cuts and as a leading commercial authority, Harrow Council has already started down this path. Other authorities can benefit from the expertise and tools that have been developed to short-cut their journey along a similar path. At this stage the Council is considering the use of the Competitive Procedure with Negotiation. Pre-procurement market discussions will be held with potential bidders to assist in determining the specification and route to market. Please expression your interest by sending an email to procurement@harrow.gov.uk