Business and management consultancy and related services

Tender description

Contract to appoint an economic operator to provide Business Support Provision and Consultancy Service. Destination Staffordshire is a public/ private sector cooperative venture of a type known as a Destination Management Partnership or Organisation (DMP or DMO). Its area of concern and activity is the promotion and coordination of the Staffordshire visitor economy for the benefit of its private sector members, i.e. businesses operating in the various parts of the tourism industry in Staffordshire, e.g. accommodation providers, attractions, food and drink providers. The local authority partners are: Cannock Chase District Council, Lichfield District Council, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, Stafford Borough Council, Tamworth Borough Council, South Staffordshire District Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, East Staffordshire Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council. Staffordshire County Council is acting as the lead and sole authority for this procurement. The Partnership is shortly expecting formal confirmation of funding (508 000 GBP) from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to support its work in developing the Staffordshire visitor economy (leisure and business) over the period 1.11.2016 to 31.10.2019. Although only unofficial approval has been received, the Partnership wishes to initiate this tender process but respondents must be clear that should official confirmation of the funding not be received as expected, contracts will not be issued irrespective of the stage of the tender process reached. The funding allows for support for the development of SMEs within the sector and this is the subject of this particular tender. To deliver the ERDF programme, the DMP wishes to appoint through competitive tender an external supplier/ agency to deliver support to the leisure tourism sector. The funding is to be matched on a 60:40 basis from ERDF and Destination Staffordshire partners respectively. Contract period: 1.11.2016 to 31.10.2018, with the option to extend for a further 12 months to 31.10.2019. The value of the contract is a range from 650 000 GBP to 850 000 GBP over the total 3 years.