Selling to the public sector business programme out now

The programme is completely free of charge and is part of Council’s Business Innovation and Growth (BIG) Programme which is part-funded by Invest NI and the European Regional Development Fund under the Investment for Growth and Jobs Northern Ireland [2014 – 2020] Programme.

The Selling to the Public Sector programme will be delivered by Full Circle Management Solutions and involves three workshops aimed at laying the foundations for business growth.

The workshops will cover understanding the public sector landscape in Northern Ireland, preparing to respond to a public sector quoting / tendering opportunity, and keeping focused on public sector opportunities following completion of the programme. These workshops will take place from December 2020 to February 2021.

Participants will also have access to bespoke one-to-one mentoring from an experienced consultant who will work with them to help them to gear up to explore and target new business opportunities with public sector buyers. In total, businesses will be entitled to three days one-to-one mentoring through the programme.

The workshops and mentoring sessions will all be delivered through Zoom due to Covid-19 restrictions.

To apply, businesses must be based in the Council area, employ less than 50 employees and have growth potential over the next few years.

Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Cllr Brian Tierney, encouraged all to take part: “Every year, public sector organisations, such as government departments, local councils and other agencies, spend more than £2 billion on a massive cross section of products and services.

“Whilst many people still believe that it is only the largest businesses that can win public sector contracts, this is far from the case. In fact, public sector buyers actively encourage small businesses to bid for contracts.

“The core aim of the Selling to the Public Sector Programme is, therefore, to highlight how accessible public sector sales opportunities are for small businesses in Northern Ireland and to show participant businesses how to move from talking about targeting public sector customers to actually doing it.

“This is an excellent free programme being delivered as part of our wider BIG programme, and at a crucial time for all businesses – especially smaller ones – it will provide helpful and useful support and guidance and could transform the way that you work. I would encourage all eligible businesses to apply as soon as possible because spaces are certain to go very quickly.”

To apply, email Patrick at Full Circle [email protected] or 07932 569698. Deadline for expressions of interest is 1pm on Friday, November 27.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you