Business Gateway Fife Contracted Business Advisers Framework

Description

This prior information notice is to inform the market that Business Gateway Fife intends to procure a framework of contracted Business Advisers to provide business support and advice to businesses in Fife. As part of the pre-procurement process, Business Gateway Fife is looking to gauge the level of interest in the contract to help inform the procurement strategy and feedback on the specification. Lot 1: Business Gateway Fife, a company limited by guarantee and wholly owned by Fife Council, is the delivery agent for Business Gateway services in Fife. Business Gateway is a publicly funded service contributing to the economic wellbeing of Scotland by providing access to free business support services. We give assistance and impartial advice to people starting or growing their business through a combination of: -Online support – a comprehensive website with practical information and useful guides. -A programme of fully funded local workshops and events held throughout Scotland. -Advice to suit specific business needs through a network of experienced business advisers. -Business information – a dedicated team providing information and support on all aspects of starting and growing a business. Business Gateway Fife’s team of Business Growth Advisers consists of a mixture of employees of the company and self-employed contractors. Since April 2016, the contracted Advisers have been part-funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). That funding comes to an end on 31st March 2023 and will be replaced, from 1st April 2023 by funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Purpose The purpose of this contract will be to procure a framework of contracted Business Growth Advisers to provide high quality growth advice and support to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Fife, maximising their growth potential and contribution to the economy. Successful bidders will be tasked with: -Providing support, advice and aftercare to SMEs with growth potential. -Developing and implementing sustainable growth strategies for businesses they work with to support their growth aspirations and increase competitiveness. -Leading the delivery of support to businesses in their portfolio from external providers, understanding the whole support offering in Fife/Scotland. -Identifying, progressing and evaluating business support opportunities and programmes, including sourcing external funding and liaising with banks and other intermediaries. -Supporting and advising businesses with the application process for funding. -Developing stakeholder relationships with local and National bodies to help drive the effectiveness of business support in Fife. -Maintaining records of all supported businesses via the Business Gateway Customer Relationship Management system and local data recording solutions. -Comply with Business Gateway Programme Rules and service delivery standards. Contract Period and Value The framework will be part-funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and will run from 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2025. The contract is being offered at a fixed rate of 40GBP per hour exclusive of VAT. This rate is inclusive of all costs associated with delivering the contract. Contractors will be provided with a Business Gateway Fife laptop for the duration of the contract. There will be an expectation that contractors are available no more than 45 weeks of the year. Contracts will be offered based on an annual number of hours which will equate to a certain number of days per week for 45 weeks at 7 hours per day (for example, an annual contract of 945 hours would equate to 3 days a week at 7 hours per day for 45 weeks). The relationship of successful bidders to Business Gateway Fife will be that of an independent contractor and nothing in the contract will render them an employee, worker, agent or partner of Business Gateway Fife. The maximum contract available will be 1,260 hours, equivalent to 4 days a week at 7 hours a day for 45 weeks, on the basis that contractors will require to be available to undertake work for other customers and will not provide their services exclusively to Business Gateway Fife. Additional information: Successful bidders will periodically be required to attend scheduled meetings at the above noted address and will have access to a desk and interview rooms as required from Monday to Friday during normal office hours, however, the role will primarily be delivered through remote working and visits to clients’ business premises.