SMEs, not-for-profit organisations and voluntary sector
The council actively engages with organisations such as the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and local Chamber of Commerce and Business Improvement Districts to ensure procurement processes are considerate of all types of organisations to encourage interest from potential suppliers, regardless of size. The council will continually look at ways to make our procurement processes easier to follow for potential suppliers during a tendering process, particularly those with limited resources and will offer meet the buyer events and a 'suppliers guide' to support potential suppliers on procurement matters. The ‘supplier’s guide’ has been written with the above aims specifically in mind and more changes are envisaged following the implementation of the Procurement Act 2023 during 2025.The council will continue to update processes and these pages in line with this as necessary so please check back regularly but in the mentime here are some useful links:
https://www.winchester.gov.uk/business/information-support-and-advice
A series of supplier Knowledge Drop videos have been devleoped to give suppliers a broad understanding of the Procurement Act and the key changes. There are also dedicated SME and VCSE videos as part of the series. You can view all Knowledge Drop videos here