Business development consultancy services

Tender description

Derry City and Strabane District Council and its partner Donegal County Council seeks to appoint a suitably experienced Contractor to support trade mission companies, provide a results oriented service and assist the companies convert prospects into sales. The services will be aimed at Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) seeking to develop their export capabilities, export potential and ultimately increase export sales by commencing or increasing their trade in the NE USA market specifically, the City of Boston, Massachusetts. The objective is to help companies to sell outside Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland for the first time into the USA, and to assist these companies enter new markets through growing their export sales in the NE USA. The partner Councils of Derry City and Strabane District in Northern Ireland and Donegal County Council in the Republic of Ireland are proactively taking a leadership role to profile Ireland Northwest as an investment location in NE USA market. The Ireland NW region is a cross-border gateway region centred on the Derry-Letterkenny cross border city region providing opportunities for businesses and global companies seeking to establish a gateway to both the UK and EU markets. The Councils have a combined investment strategy which incorporates raising the region’s international profile, developing relationships with key education, political and economic stakeholders in key markets and assisting domestic companies to do business in export markets. The partner Councils have identified the continued need for specialist for specialist USA market consultancy by way of a Boston based Foreign Direct Investment and Export Sales agency whose role will be to sustain efforts in the Boston Massachusetts market and increase the profile there of the Ireland Northwest region’s economic development and trade capabilities through strategic outreach. The appointed provider will be responsible for the delivery of activity to secure investment in the Ireland NW Region and ensure a relevant, coherent message is delivered to potential investors. They will also have the necessary market knowledge and skills to organise relevant company specific trade visits for businesses from the Northwest. There are sectors identified by Ireland Northwest for strategic targeting in the near to medium term which includes: Life and Health Sciences (LHS), Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering (AME), Business, Professional and Financial Services (BPFS), Digital Tech and Culture/Tourism. The specialist will use extensive knowledge of these Ireland Northwest key sectors to promote Ireland NW as a preferred location. The NE USA is a key market of interest for the region as a result of the strong economic, cultural and heritage links between the 2 countries. Over the past 10 years the partner Councils have actively developed strategic relationships with the Boston based business community and the City of Boston itself. The Council have successfully ran two trade and investment missions in 2016 and 2017 introducing 32 local companies to the NE USA market. The partner Councils have also successfully delivered the annual Golden Bridges Conference, 2018 will be its 10th conference which celebrates the trans-Atlantic relationships between the 2 city regions. The trade and investment mission coincides annually with the Golden Bridges conference. There are 3 strands to the programme of work: trade relationship development, FDI lead generation and market sales channel development. Objectives: — to enhance the competitiveness of companies operating in the Ireland Northwest region through overseas trade in NE USA, — to attract quality foreign direct investment into the Ireland Northwest region, — to raise the profile of the Ireland Northwest region as a prime location in the UK/EU market for foreign direct investment, — to establish connections and partnerships for Ireland Northwest partners in NE USA. Specifically the services to be provided will include the following: — Trade Relationship Development, — Foreign Direct Investment Lead Generation, — Market Sales Channel Development.