A bit more info on those links from my previous post:

• Contracts Finder – Turns out that link’s a dud. Will keep looking for the correct one.

• Product Surgeries (http://bit.ly/o5nWMV) – Led by Stephen Allott, the Crown Representative for SMEs, surgeries are designed to enable selected SMEs to ‘pitch’ innovative products and services to a panel of senior decision makers in departments. The surgeries are not usually linked to specific procurements but are intended to improve government awareness of innovative SME offerings that could deliver better value for money.

• Dynamic Marketplace (http://bit.ly/NI6Qpc) – An online marketplace for government that provides a quick request for quotation (RFQ) service for contracts below the EU threshold of £100,000.

• SME Crown Rep website (http://bit.ly/nOBaOP) – Stephen Allott’s page: The role of the Crown Representative for SMEs is “to build a more strategic dialogue between HM Government and smaller suppliers – giving those suppliers a strong voice at the top table”

• Mystery Shopper Scheme (http://bit.ly/tnUkJq) – The Cabinet Office’s Supplier Feedback Service invites small businesses to become  ‘mystery shoppers’. Suppliers are asked about tenders they do not understand or instances of what they believed to be poor procurement practice, with a commitment that procurers would be challenged to be more transparent and open.

• Solutions Exchange (http://bit.ly/LxsGZE) – This is a pilot service for Government procurers to invite the market to respond, in advance of a formal procurement, to various Challenges based on emerging opportunities to deliver Government business more efficiently. Solutions Exchange also enables suppliers to pitch their own innovative, cost saving, proposals direct to Government via Themes that will help inform sourcing strategies.

And don’t forget to register on TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) for higher value contracts and other alerts.

Let me know what you think of these sites in the comments.

– Lyndsey