T2407a - Northern Ireland Enterprise Support Service ‘NIESS’ Framework A (preferred Contractors) Growth and Scaling

Concepts

• northern ireland
• belfast
• management consultancy
• northern ireland enterprise support service
• new enterprise support service
• consultancy services
• niess’ framework a
• growth rates of new businesses
• re-tender of t2407- niess framework a
• growth support

Location

Northern Ireland: Derry City & Strabane District Council and Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council

Description

The Local Authorities in Northern Ireland have developed a new enterprise support service ‘ESS’ which aims to put in place a more ambitious approach to the delivery of start-up and growth support which seeks to revamp the current offer and increase the number, survival and growth rates of new businesses across the region. The service aims to provide a set of connected ESS where individuals, entrepreneurs or businesses can access a continuum of support to meet their needs, aligned with the relevant stage of their business. Given the varying needs of the individuals, entrepreneurs and businesses that will likely engage with this service across the business lifecycle, the Local Authorities have identified a need to put in place a framework of ESS, this NIESS Framework A, which will: a) Be proactive and flexible to address market needs. b) Incentivise market development activity. c) Provide a core programme of service delivery across the region. d) Provide access to specialists in certain sectors / target groups. e) Be flexible in responding to future variability in demand and funding. f) Provide quality services that meet user needs; and g) Support the Local Authorities strategic ambitions aligned with The Northern Ireland Draft Programme for Government, 10x Economy – Northern Ireland’s Decade of Innovation, Economy 2030, draft Green Growth Strategy for Northern Ireland, Invest NI’s forward business plans, the City/Growth deals, and inclusive growth focus of the individual Council community plans. The NIESS, which is described in greater detail in the Specification, will comprise the following three frameworks/ contracts which are being procured separately: a) NIESS Framework A (preferred Contractors) - Growth and Scaling; b) NIESS Framework A (preferred Contractors) - Engage and Foundation; and b) NIESS Framework B (Subject Matter Experts and Sector Experts). This procurement relates to the award of a contract to the Contractor for each of five (5) geographic Lots for NIESS Framework A (preferred Contractors) covering the Growth and Scaling requirement. The geographic Lots are based on groupings of the 11 Local Authorities and are for the provision of ‘growth and scaling’ level supports as further described in the Specifications and in section 1.4 of the ITT. Please note – this T2407a ITT is a re-tender of T2407- NIESS Framework A (preferred Contractors) which included ten (10) geographic Lots and the provision of both ‘engage and foundation’ and ‘growth and scaling’ level supports. The T2407 tender competition (Notice reference: 2023/S 000-009378) has been discontinued and following further engagement with the market has been split into 2 separate requirements: • T2407a - NIESS Framework A (preferred Contractors) Growth and Scaling i.e. this ITT • T2407b - NIESS Framework A (preferred Contractors) Engage and Foundation The re-design of the procurement strategy for T2407b is ongoing with separate tender to be issued, if deemed appropriate. The other 10 Local Authorities (Contract Users) included are: Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council Ards and North Down Borough Council Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council Derry City and Strabane District Council Fermanagh and Omagh District Council - Enniskillen Office Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council Mid and East Antrim Borough Council Mid Ulster District Council - Dungannon Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Enabling Growth is aimed at stimulating growth within existing businesses across the area. All businesses receiving support through this element have potential 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. The scaling element entails a hand-holding support for scaling companies in the early phases of their transition to other provision.

Lot Division

Renewal Options

The Contract for each Lot shall be effective from the date of award for an initial period up to 31st March 2025 (approx. 18 months based on contract start date of 1st October 2023). Any extension may be subject to further approval by the Council (including other Local Authorities) and funders for the relevant Lot, availability of funding and satisfactory performance of the Contractor. Funding has been secured for service activity up to 31 March 2025 initially. Any activity following this date will be subject to securing additional funding. The appointed Bidder for each Lot must have the potential to scale up or down to meet demand and availability of future funding. As such there is no guarantee of any delivery post the 31st March 2025 until funding has been secured. In addition to delivering Components 1 and 2 of the core service requirements as described in the Specification, throughout the Contract Period the Contractor may also be required to deliver one or more optional services which are additional to the core services described above. These optional services will be in areas related to the core services described above and may for example include (but are not necessarily limited to): • Intelligence gathering. • Business plan assessments and challenge. • Management of financial incentives and administering grant funding to businesses in the Growth Element with Lot Councils’ target markets (where relevant). Indicative number of grants per Council, for this have been included in Appendix 1 of the Specification. The average grant offer per business is £3,500. • Managing and monitoring access to finance for participants on behalf of the Lot Councils. • Collaborative space development and delivery; and • Managing access to test trading space. If required, these services will be agreed with the Contractor in advance and the costs for the delivery of the services will be agreed by reference to the daily rates contained within the Contract.

CPV Codes

• 79400000 - Business and management consultancy and related services

Indicators

• Restrictions apply to the lot award allocation.
• This is a one-off contract (no recurrence)
• Options are available.
• Renewals are not available.

Other Information

** PREVIEW NOTICE, please check Find a Tender for full details. ** Additional CPV codes associated with the procurement: 79410000-1 Business and management consultancy services. 79411000-8 General management consultancy services. 79411100-9 Business-development consultancy services. 79412000-5 Financial management consultancy services. 79413000-2 Marketing management consultancy services. 79900000-3 Miscellaneous business and business-related services. Belfast City Council, as Lead Council, shall enter into a Services Contract with the preferred Contractor in respect of each Lot. Each Local Authority that wishes to avail of that Lot shall enter into an SLA with Belfast City Council and the preferred Contractor that will detail the requirements of that Local Authority and the outputs required from the preferred Contractor. Each individual Local Authority shall then be responsible for liaising directly with the preferred Contractor in respect of the Services to be delivered to that Local Authority under the SLA. As Lead Council, Belfast City Council shall be responsible for Contract management with the preferred Contractor, and shall have legal responsibility for the Contract. Any contract disputes must be actioned through Belfast City Council.