South Derbyshire District Council - Business Advice Service

Tender description

South Derbyshire District Council (the 'Authority') is issuing this invitation to tender ('ITT') in connection with the competitive procurement of a Business Advice Service. The South Derbyshire Business Advice Service was launched in 2012. The Service offers free, independent, face-to-face, one-to-one business advice to entrepreneurs and companies in the District (or those planning to relocate to, or establish in the District). It complements support provided by agencies and organisations such as the Department for International Trade and the D2N2 Growth Hub, along with specific business support projects. The service raises awareness and make referrals to these other forms of assistance, aiming to maximise their take up and so the benefits for South Derbyshire. It particularly benefits new start and smaller businesses which are not in a position to pay for business advice services from commercial providers. The service consists of one-to-one, face-to-face, independent advice to new and established businesses, workshops/training for groups of businesses, such as for those 'thinking of starting a business' and 'Surgery' sessions, as appropriate, particularly for new start businesses. How to Express Interest in this Tender: 1. Register your company on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once) - Browse to the eSourcing Portal: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/noecpc and click the link to register - Enter your correct business and user details - Note: your username will be the email address you have entered - you will also then shortly receive an email confirmation. 2. Once registered access the site and from the Home page hover over 'Tenders' on the tool bar and select 'current tenders' from the drop down options 3. Express Interest in the tender you are interested in - Select `Express Interest` within the Tender Details ( located at the bottom of the synopsis). On doing so, you will instantly have access to the Tender Management area for that tender. Any available documentation will be available via the various relevant tabs. You can access this area at any point by logging in, navigating to `My Tenders` and selecting `View Details`. 4. Responding to the tender - There will be a tab allocated to any tender stage (e.g. SQ and/or ITT). Under the `My Tender Return` area, you will be required to complete any mandatory questionnaires and upload any requested documentation. You can now use the `Correspondence` function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification (any clarifications will be found within the `Clarifications` tab). - Note the deadline for completion, then follow the onscreen instructions to complete and submit your response. - There may be a mixture of online and offline actions for you to perform (there is detailed online help available). You must then submit your reply using the `Submit Return` button at the bottom of the page. If yo