Pre- Market Engagement to inform the Northern Ireland’s proposed Entrepreneurship Support Service on behalf of 11 NI councils.

Tender description

The purpose of this Prior Information Notice is to notify the market of the 11 NI Council’s intention to hold a pre-market engagement with interested parties to help shape and inform the development of the future Entrepreneurship Support Service for Northern Ireland. The scope of the services includes activity to be delivered under four elements, representing a continuum of support that will be required from pre-start support, through start-up and the growth journey thereafter. Each element may comprise of a range of projects or initiatives, each with their own area of focus and expertise to help individuals, entrepreneurs and businesses. Engage -Engage will focus on identifying individuals with entrepreneurial aspirations, as well as encouraging people to consider starting a business as a viable option for them, drawing on partnerships with organisations already active in this space. Foundation - The foundation element of the project will focus on more intensive support geared to establishment of ‘employer enterprises’ (Higher Value/ VAT+ Potential starts). Key activities will include business planning, a programme of masterclasses, 1 to 1 advice to refine business plan, support with access to finance and further peer support/networks. Enabling Growth - This element of the project is aimed at stimulating high growth. All businesses receiving support through this element are expected to be ‘employer enterprises’. They will receive differentiated and tailored support focused on cohorts such as SME start-up enterprise founders, who can be the life blood of high streets and local economies; and innovation-driven enterprises with a strong aspiration to grow, with a focus on regional/ export markets. Support would include; access to ‘live’ masterclasses, post-start mentoring, connections to sources of finance and ‘grow-on’ accommodation; and peer support/ networks. Scaling - The scaling element entails account management support for later stage acceleration (for start-ups typically over 2 years old). Lot 1: The purpose of this Prior Information Notice is to notify the market of the 11 NI Council’s intention to hold a pre-market engagement with interested parties to help shape and inform the development of the future Entrepreneurship Support Service for Northern Ireland. As part of this process Belfast City Council will host a pre-market engagement consultation on the 19th January 2023 to provide further detail to interested parties of the proposed procurement strategy and to gather information and feedback from the market which will be used to inform the finalisation of the Council’s procurement approach and structure. The procurement(s) will help support the 11 NI Councils to deliver an Entrepreneur Support Service which will provide the full continuum of support for potential entrepreneurs and businesses across Northern Ireland. Belfast City Council therefore seeks to gather information from the market, which will help inform how the procurement(s) will be structured and managed. The Council will be holding a consultation session on 19th January 2023 via MS Teams. Anyone interested in attending this session is required to register their interest by e-mailing Phoebe Croft at croftphoebe@belfastcity.gov.uk no later than COP 17th January 2023. A maximum of 2 individuals per organisation can register to attend, further detail will be issued to registered attendees in advance of the session.