Enterprise Europe Network

Selling to the Public Sector in Northern Ireland and Beyond

Current Tender Opportunities

Useful websites are listed in the table below, but most are available from the home page of the Central Procurement Directorate – www.cpdni.gov.uk – see the section in yellow called Current Tender Opportunities. Following all the links on that section will take you to current opportunities in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and further afield, including the larger contracts published in Tenders Electronic Daily – http://ted.europa.eu.

The council websites sometimes advertise current tenders, or at least tell you where to find them – see examples below: 

* http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/faqs/answer.asp?id=54

* http://www.derrycity.gov.uk/Tenders/index.htm

* https://www.e-hub.com/epublic/displayframe.asp 

* http://www.fermanagh.gov.uk/tenders/index.cfm?website_Key=47&Category_key=140 

There are also commercial alert services to which you can subscribe:- 

* Commercial Information Company - http://www.cicireland.com/ 

* Construction Information Services - http://www.cisireland.com/ - this is available to try out in the Business Information Centre at Invest NI Headquarters – just ring 9069 8135 to make an appointment.
 
* Contrax Weekly - http://www.contraxonline.com/cw_ireland.shtml - also available for the UK
 
* Tenders Ireland - http://www.tendersireland.com/

How to Sell to the Public Sector

Public sector suppliers and buyers must both abide by strict rules, ensuring that the procurement process is conducted as fairly as possible. If you are new to public sector tendering, you will need to prepare yourself and your company before bidding for the first time. To do this, you can:

* read the guidance that is available – see below,
 
* go on a training course – see below, and 

* find out about what relevant tenders have been published in the past – often you will find a link to past tenders from the page giving current tenders. This is important because if a public body draws up a contract for 3 years, then it will not be issuing another one for that length of time. It is also a useful tool when planning your marketing strategy – e.g. you may decide to develop joint bids with another company. Companies new to public sector tendering may find that partnering with a more experienced company is an effective way of building up the skills and knowledge necessary to apply to the larger tenders.

Entry criteria 

Please note that for the large contracts which appear in the Official Journal, companies need to have 2 years of audited accounts. However, younger companies may find opportunities from smaller value contracts offered by councils.

Key advice is available from: 

* Central Procurement Directorate - www.cpdni.gov.uk
 
* NI Business Info http://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/bdotg/action/layer?r.l1=1073861169&topicId=1074033478&r.lc=en&site=191&r.l2=1073858827&r.s=tl

Training is provided by Intertrade Ireland –

http://www.intertradeireland.com/index.cfm/area/information/page/Go2Tender
The Go2Tender programme deals with practical activities such as how you fill in a tender, giving information about the public sector in Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland.

Invest NI – 

The workshops consist of one-day sessions delivered by industry-renowned trainers, costing £75 per participant. You must register in advance for the series. – For more information about these courses contact Rowan Geddes. T: 028 9069 8066 E: rowan.geddes@investni.com

Contacts for Tenders Alert Service

Contact:

Derval Mooney
T: 028 9069 8134
E: derval.mooney@investni.com

Or Helen McKee
T: 028 9069 8788
E: helen.mckee@investni.com