CREME’s case study strategy with SMEs bidding for public sector contracts in Leicester – Any suggestions?
CREME is currently working on the Selling to the Public Sector project, as discussed in previous posts on this blog[1]. The Project will support SMEs across Leicester and Leicestershire, specifically targeting female, disabled and BME owned SMEs in Leicester’s disadvantaged areas, to access procurement and supply chain contracts from public and private sector buyers. The main type of support that is on offer to SMEs at the moment includes seminars and 1-2-1 specialised support from consultants with previous experience in the field.
This project is looking at several key areas that include:
- Evaluating procurement opportunities vs. SME capacity to fulfil them
- Improving communication between certain buyers and suppliers
- Simplifying the procurement process (especially the initial stages)
- Easing the future implementation of the Single Equalities Bill (if passed in 2010)
- Improving access to supplier opportunities
- Diversifying the supply chain while evaluating the size of contracts
- Improving pre-qualification methods and communication
- Providing better feedback
- Building supplier capacity
CREME’s main role within the project will be to identify and engage with 6 diverse SMEs throughout Leicester City. We have already approached 1 ethnic minority business in the housing sector and will be looking to identify the remaining 5 case studies over the upcoming weeks.
We will be looking to interview a mix of ethnic minority, female owned and disabled owned businesses and SMEs based in disadvantaged areas throughout Leicester. We will also look to compare companies with previous success in the tendering process vs. those who have won few, if any, public sector contracts in the past.
The main themes / areas that we will be looking into will include:
- Identifying the profile of companies interviewed and how these compare with companies that Leicester City Council have procured to in the recent past
- Identifying the strategy of these companies when it comes to tendering for public sector contracts
- Finding out detailed information about their relationship with Large Purchasing Organisations (balanced vs. unbalanced, position in the supply chain)
- The effects of tendering for public sector contracts on personnel and human resources
- Key barriers and challenges faced in the public sector procurement process
- And effects of external business support, including support provided in the project
We will be collecting data via:
- Semi-Structured interviews
- Participant Observation (Observing companies in action)
- Documentary Sources (documents from SMEs)
- Archival records (organisational charts, budgets)
- Any others?
- Action research journal (reflections)
If there are any themes / areas we should further look into or if you have any general suggestions, please contact me (Alexander Kiselinchev) at: akiselinchev@dmu.ac.uk.
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