Business Gateway Argyll and Bute - One to Many and One to One Specialist Support Framework Agreement – 2023 – 2025-7

Tender description

The Council requires to establish a framework contract for the provision of specialist support to SMEs, across a variety of subjects and in a variety of ways. Subject areas include: Marketing, PR, Digital (including DigitalBoost), Finance and Funding, Business Strategy - Growth & Resilience, HR, Internationalisation, Procurement & Supplier Management and an Intensive Growth Programme. Lot 1: Marketing Lot 1 - Marketing – developing a marketing plan, competitor and market analysis, customer profiling and segmentation, develeoping the marketing mix, reviewing and improving current marketing activity, branding and brand development, implementing offline marketing activity, choosing and briefing marketing contractors. Lot 2: PR Lot 2 - PR – planning and delivering PR, storytelling and practical techniques for writing content (marketing literature, press releases, blogging), managing negative PR, reviewing and improving current PR activity choosing and briefing PR contractors. Lot 3: Digital (including DigitalBoost) Lot 3 - Digital (including DigitalBoost) – content management tools, website building, development and review, using social media for business, online trading. Planning digital marketing, social media platforms, improving website performance, SEO, digital and video content creation, app development and usage, new technologies. IT connectivity, cyber security, infrastructure and communication equipment, choosing and briefing contractors. Lot 4: Finance and Funding Lot 4 - Finance and Funding – understanding book-keeping requirements and management accounts, financial analysis, mergers and acquisitions, financial business planning. Funding support - identifying the funding needed, different types of funding (traditional lending, public sector, venture capital, new funding models such as crowdfunding), supporting the preparation of a proposal/application. Tax obligations for SMEs, including self-assessment. Profit analysis, debt and winding up procedures. Lot 5: HR Lot 5 - HR – becoming an employer, managing staff, legislation, leadership, managing change, performance management, redundancy. Lot 6: Business Strategy - Growth & Resilience Lot 6 - Business Strategy – Growth & Resilience – setting objectives and organisational goals, evaluating current performance, identifying and assessing opportunities, defining priorities, creating action plans to achieve growth and resiience and identifying the resources required. Lot 7: Internationalisation Lot 7 - Internationalisation – preparing for export, choosing markets, identifying opportunities, international sales online, finding agents, distributors and suppliers, legislative requirements, importing. Lot 8: Tendering and Supply Chain Lot 8 - Tendering and Supply Chain – understanding and preparing for the tender process (private & public sector), creating tender documents, analysis of tender feedback and improving bids, managing supply chains, expenditure analysis, sourcing suppliers, contracts and agreements, added value and community benefits. Lot 9: Intensive Growth Programme Lot 9 - Intensive Growth and Resilience Programme – to help business owners achieve a step change in their approach through a short, structured, intensive programme of support. It should be aimed at businesses looking to increase their ability to cope with a changing business environment, including rising costs, and identify the right opportunities to develop to grow the business. The programme should combine using a range of tools and techniques with expert support, and be tailored to participants, facilitating them to create a practical and deliverable approach to driving growth and sustainability in their business. The programme should include the following key stages: exploration of current performance and evaluation of opportunities, identification of development priorities for selected opportunities, scoping requirement, confirming strategy and identification of further support for development By the end of the programme participants should have defined the capabilities, capacity and resources needed to develop opportunities and build resilience, and be clear on their next steps to deliver. This will be supported by a 3-month review of progress and ongoing Business Gateway adviser support. Where a requirement for additional expert advice of more than half a day on a topic covered by this framework is identified during the Intensive Growth Programme, a referral should be made via Business Gateway to the appointed supplier on the framework for that topic.