Local council tenders are a great way for SMEs to enter the public sector procurement market. They are small enough for small businesses to feel confident they can capitalise on tender opportunities, but large enough to make all the time and hard work worth it.
The local council tender process is also simpler than central UK government contracts, although you still have to tick all the boxes, especially regarding risk management, social value, and regulatory compliance.
We’re going to provide five tips that will help you win local council contracts and establish your company as a business force to be reckoned with in the public sector.
5 Local Council Procurement Tips
Before you start tendering for local council projects, you should know the difference between straightforward council tenders and council frameworks. Tenders are your typical contract opportunities, the ones you immediately think of when it comes to public sector procurement.
Frameworks are contract agreements that require suppliers to join a select supplier pool. Only approved suppliers are granted access to the framework. This means public sector bodies are assured that everyone in the supplier pool is qualified to meet contract requirements. Suppliers are in a position to win long-term or recurring contracts without having to go through the entire process each time tender or contract opportunities crop up.
This post on how to bid on local council contracts provides tips to bid on tenders and frameworks to increase your market share.
1) Understand Local Council Priorities
Local councils prioritise different sectors. One might focus on education-based projects, while another focuses on transport infrastructure. You must research their specific goals and make sure you fully understand their needs in relation to those goals. But, you also need to be sure that it matches your business offerings. You want to save time and resources by only bidding on relevant contracts.
Their website should be the first port of call when researching the council. Websites contain a wealth of information about the services they provide, as well as their missions, goals, values, and even previous tenders.
Look for existing initiatives or projects to get a better idea of what’s required and how outcomes are delivered. Then create a bid that aligns with the council’s mission, including enhanced social value projects that support their mission and uplift the local community.
2) Demonstrate Social Value
Speaking of social value in the public sector and local council tenders; the Procurement Act 2023 mandates social value in all public sector contracts, giving it a minimum weighting of 10%.
Social value is divided into three sectors: Social, Economic, and Environmental.
It helps if your project includes two or all three sectors. For example, developing a community vegetable garden encourages people to work together to produce enough vegetables to sell at local markets. There’s a social aspect – collaboration. There’s an economic aspect – the sale of produce. And, there’s an environmental aspect – they don’t rely on lorries to deliver fresh produce, which reduces their carbon footprint and works towards the country’s net zero goal.
3) Build Relationships with Procurement Teams
Local public sector bodies occasionally host “Meet the Buyer” events. It’s strongly advised to attend these events to, literally, get to know the procurement officers responsible for evaluating and awarding contracts in the different sectors of government services.
Early engagement helps agencies to establish relationships with key decision-makers, create trust, and get the inside scoop on future contract opportunities.
4) Focus on Compliance and Quality
Local councils have specific regulations that require full compliance, including ISO 9001, which guarantees a high level of quality management. There are other legal and procedural requirements, for example, data security and risk management.
You must clearly demonstrate your compliance with local council tenders, and relevant contracts, especially when it comes to quality and data security.
Non-compliance results in severe penalties, including fines and debarment, which prohibits you from bidding on similar or any other projects. You can reverse the decision, provided you can prove you have addressed the issues that caused the debarment.
5) Leverage Local Knowledge
As a local business, you should have a good idea of what kind of social value projects will help address local challenges, while aligning with the council’s goals in a specific contract. For example, don’t talk about beautifying a local park when the contract relates to transport infrastructure.
It’s a good idea to research existing initiatives related to your business’s industry before you even enter the procurement market. It’ll give you a headstart when you start responding to tender opportunities and enable you to collaborate with existing ventures instead of starting to create something from scratch.
Bonus Tip: How to Find Local Government Tenders for SMEs
All the preparation in the world is worthless if you don’t know where to find local government contracts for small businesses and other business enterprises.
The size of the contract can determine which government contract notice platform you should use. For instance, contracts worth over £12,000 are advertised on Contracts Finder while high-value contracts worth more than £139,688 are published on Find a Tender.
There are also independent tender alerts platforms that publish contract notices for all values. Supply2Gov, for example, is a tender alerts platform linked to the largest database of active contracts in the UK, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland. It’s even bigger than the UK’s two platforms, Contracts Finder and Find a Tender.
Packages are pay-as-you-grow, so you only pay for the option that suits your size and growth rate. Local alerts are free, so register now and you’ll be up and running in no time – no strings attached.