Help for community groups with tendering opportunities
A number of workshops for community groups looking at the process of tendering for contracts in the public sector are taking place in Belfast this month.
The workshops which are free of charge will provide an overview of the procurement process, information on how to research upcoming tenders and an insight into how to use the public sector procurement portal system – eSourcingNI.
They will be held in The MAC on Monday 10 March and Tuesday 18 March (9am-4.30pm) and are open to community and voluntary groups from Belfast as well as areas which fall within the new council boundary in 2015 from Castlereagh, Lisburn and North Down.
A third workshop which will address the basics of forming a Consortia and Joint Ventures will also take place in The MAC on Thursday 27 March (9am-4.30pm). This workshop will look at the practical steps that need to be taken to form a consortia or joint venture to bid for tenders.
Councillor Deirdre Hargey, Chair of Belfast City Council’s Development Committee, said: “These free workshops are important as they will give community groups the chance to find out about procurement and tendering for contracts.
“Under our Investment Programme, we have pledged to increase the amount we procure locally and have introduced a range of initiatives, including more targeted sessions like these, to help us do this.
“In the future, across the public sector, community groups will experience some changes as to how the sector is funded with a move towards competitive tendering, so gaining an insight and knowledge on how the procurement process works is very worthwhile.
“They will also learn about joining with others to form a Consortia or Joint Venture to compete for a tender which may have seemed out of reach before.”
Registration is essential for the three workshops and interested community groups should contact the council’s Economic Development Unit at or call 
.
For more information on the workshops, you can visit the council website at http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/business/businessevents/businessevents.aspx
