Business and management consultancy and related services

Tender description

The Excelerate Labs is seeking to procure suitable delivery partners to support its application for continuation post December 2018. Delivery partners are invited from organisations that can provide client delivery and/or business support at a community based level and provide a minimum of 55 % match, and up to 100 % contribution to support service implementation. Once the full partnership is confirmed a standardised model of match may be applied. The total eligible budget available is up to GBP 5 000 000 (including any extension and dependent on EU Programme requirements). The programme is supported by European regional development fund. Excelerate Labs expect to offer partnership arrangements to between 2 and 12 organisations as a result of this invitation process. The purpose is to assist in the project’s continued development and implementation of an integrated pre-business startup and business growth support services in Greater Manchester City Region. Excelerate Labs delivery partners will enable and improve; — the capability of individuals who are considering starting their own business to be equipped with the personal financial knowledge and know how to help them establish and sustain their personal and family income levels in the early phase of their enterprise venture and on an ongoing basis. — overall business sustainability resulting from greater financial resilience and capability of the new entrepreneur. — overall business impact resulting from growth strategies and development of business infrastructure. — access to a range of advice services to support people moving into self-employment or starting their own business with a variety of issues personal budgeting and better of calculations, financial planning, transitioning from welfare benefits, access to state support in the initial period of business startup e.g. Council Tax, housing benefit and mortgage interest and universal credit / working tax credits. — the confidence levels of people thinking of enterprise as an employment option by ensuring that they can make informed choices and have realistic minimum income forecasts and expectations. — connectivity to local public and community based services to help create the operational conditions to support more residents to become economically included. — to improve connection with other support systems such as primary and public health and housing. — the breath and quality of the Excelerate Labs model to reflect the needs of client’s accessing Excelerate Labs services. — programme awareness and reach within individual neighborhoods across Greater Manchester City Region. — delivery of pre-start up and enterprise support within individual neighborhoods across Greater Manchester City Region. — programme awareness and reach with specific target groups across Greater Manchester City Region for example; people who have suffered domestic abuse, people who experience mental ill health and distress and people who benefit from specialist support services. — alignment with other support services that will facilitate residents social and economic inclusion and support enterprise creation e.g. Money advice service, Energy efficiency advice and Health and well being initiatives. — integration with other key mainstream services e.g. Domestic abuse, housing, community health and GP services. Excelerate Labs is a comprehensive community engagement, enterprise promotion and business support programme, which fosters the creation and growth of enterprises from pre-start to early stage businesses, growth oriented businesses and social enterprises. It achieves this through delivering an innovative package of services which helps prepare individuals considering creating or growing an enterprise or a social enterprise. Excelerate Labs deploys a number of measures and community development approaches including community outreach, awareness raising, advice, workshops, mentoring and network development to provide a holistic model of support. In addition, it is now seeking to expand its delivery partner collaborative to ensure that it is meeting client need and achieves additional community and neighbourhood reach and added value. Excelerate Labs provides support to a diverse target group of potential-entrepreneurs living in GMCR including men, women, employed and unemployed residents, BME and disabled residents and graduates mapped against the GMCR combined authority footprint and based on specific local authority geography. Excelerate Labs is led by the Women’s Organisation who will act as accountable body and managing partner.