CO0044 SELEP COVID-19 Business Support Funding

Description

Essex County Council is managing this procurement process on behalf of SELEP. It is proposed that a framework will be established to allow access for SELEP, and those public sector organisations associated with SELEP, to the services being provided. Ordering and payment processes will be established at the commencement of this agreement. The SELEP area includes East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock with Essex County Council acting as the Accountable Body for SELEP. The key outcome of this tender is to ensure a co-ordinated, effective response to COVID-19. As such, we are seeking organisations that can support us through the delivery of services as set out in the Lots below. Interested Bidders are required to highlight which Lot(s) of work they are bidding for and is clearly marked when completing the Bidder questionnaire. Lot 1: Supporting pre-starts and start ups - The programme must provide structured and set- hour 1-2-1 and 1-2-many support to cohorts of pre-starts and start-ups that have the potential to operate during and/or beyond a COVID-19 climate. The programme shall include provision of learning, advice and mentoring to an audience that includes those made redundant or unemployed as a result of COVID-19. Lot 2: Digitising Business, supporting e-commerce and retail - The programme must provide a programme of webinars, 1-2-1 and 1-2-many advice and diagnostics to businesses looking to adapt and innovate through digitisation in order to remain viable during and/or beyond a COVID-19 climate. The programme will help businesses to build online presence and competitiveness/ marketing, rebuild supply chains, improve productivity, implement flexible working and/or new/hybrid business models, and employ tools to aid mental wellbeing. Lot 3: Supporting the Visitor Economy - Provision of a 100% grant scheme with a grant range of £1,000 - £3,000 for visitor economy businesses for the purchasing of tools, equipment and trading approaches needed to adapt or innovate, and facilitating a COVID-19 secure environment and the provision of a programme of support and training that will bring together and facilitate multiple businesses and organisations to curate a place-based offer, to increase visitor footfall and spend and regenerate the area. Lot 1: Supporting pre-starts and start-ups The programme must provide structured and set-hour 1-2-1 and 1-2-many support to cohorts of pre-starts and start-ups that have the potential to operate during and/or beyond a COVID-19 climate. The programme shall include provision of learning, advice and mentoring to an audience that includes those made redundant or unemployed as a result of COVID-19. The programme must include a small 100% grant scheme with a grant range of £500 - £2,000, available to businesses accessing sufficient learning, advice and mentoring through the programme. The programme should look to apply learning from similar programmes, such as target audience, key sectors and up-take demographics. Outcomes: Minimum of 100 businesses created or safeguarded Evaluation of the programme to measure impact and identify changes to ways of working and behaviours brought about by the process of adapting to the impacts of COVID-19. Skills and experience: Bidders will need to demonstrate through their bids that they have the skills and experience required to run the programme competently and successfully. Experience of working with and the ability to provide support to start-up businesses and new enterprises is important, and bidders should demonstrate their skills and experience in doing this. Bidders will need to show that they understand the challenges that many new businesses face, particularly in the current climate, and what support they need. This should include details of the proposed delivery model and how it will address these needs and challenges. Additional information: Lot 1 awarded to WSX Enterprise Limited Lot 2: Digitising Business, supporting e-commerce and retail Activity: The programme must provide a programme of webinars, 1-2-1 and 1-2-many advice and diagnostics to businesses looking to adapt and innovate through digitisation in order to remain viable during and/or beyond a COVID-19 climate. The programme will help businesses to build online presence and competitiveness/ marketing, rebuild supply chains, improve productivity, implement flexible working and/or new/hybrid business models, and employ tools to aid mental wellbeing. The programme must include a small 100% grant scheme with a grant range of £500 - £2,000 for the purchase of new IT hardware/software identified or recommended and that will enable the adoption of new to business technology and approaches, available to businesses accessing sufficient advice and guidance through the programme. Outcomes: Minimum of 100 businesses safeguarded. Minimum of 100 grants awarded to assist safeguarding of businesses and jobs, and to bring about operational/ behavioural change. Evaluation of the programme to measure impact and identify changes to ways of working and behaviours brought about by the process of adapting to the impacts of COVID-19. Skills and experience: Bidders will need to demonstrate through their bids that they have the skills and experience required to run the programme competently and successfully. Experience of working with and the ability to provide support to businesses is important, and bidders should demonstrate their skills and experience in doing this. Bidders will need to show their skills and experience in undertaking relevant diagnostics with businesses, identifying their business needs and how the business can digitise to meet them. Additional information: Awarded to WSX Enterprise Ltd Lot 3: Supporting the Visitor Economy Visitor Economy Support Element 1 - Visitor Economy Grant Scheme: Provision of a 100% grant scheme with a grant range of £1,000 - £3,000 for visitor economy businesses for the purchasing of tools, equipment and trading approaches needed to adapt or innovate, and facilitating a COVID-19 secure environment. Grants shall be awarded to businesses who have already accessed recognised support/advice on how to innovate and/or remodel. For example, though the Growth Hubs, South East Business Boost, the South East Business COVID Recovery (SEBCOR), the Sector Support Fund Project Rebuilding Confidence and Demand in the Visitor Economy Consideration will be given to the use of the Grant Scheme for the purchase of specialist support/ advice to enable businesses to adapt or innovate, if demand and/or a marketplace gap can be demonstrated at time of tender. Such proposals must align with complementary/ similar live schemes. Visitor Economy Support Element 2 - Rebooting the Visitor Economy in 2021: Provision of a programme of support and training that will bring together and facilitate multiple businesses and organisations to curate a place-based offer, in order to increase visitor confidence, footfall and spend and regenerate the area. The approach will provide a holistic and innovative approach to supporting visitor economy industries including creative, cultural, hospitality, leisure and accommodation, as they acclimatise to new trends and ways of working resulting from COVID-19. The campaigns and curation of place-based offers will align with other live place-specific initiatives, such as the SELEP Sector Support Fund Rebuilding Confidence and Demand in the Visitor Economy project, and Future High Street Fund projects. Outcomes: Minimum of 150 grants awarded to enable businesses to adapt and innovate, with potential for a minimum of 150 businesses and jobs to be safeguarded. Places supported to recover and regenerate through the curation of placed-based offers and associated campaigns, driven by business needs to increase visitor confidence, footfall and spend. Business needs will be identified and curated through the bringing together of a specified number (or numeric range) of relevant businesses and organisations, representative of the visitor economy, to generate a specified number of place-based offers that will shape the reboot campaigns. Evaluation of the programme to measure impact and identify changes to ways of working and behaviours brought about by the process of adapting to the impacts of COVID-19. Skills and experience: Bidders will need to demonstrate through their bids that they have the skills and experience required to run the programme competently and successfully. Experience of working with and the ability to provide support to relevant businesses is important, and bidders should demonstrate their skills and experience in doing this. Bidders will need to demonstrate a good understanding of the particular challenges and issues faced by the visitor economy and show both their skills and experience in working with key visitor economy industries or sectors, and facilitating collaborative place-based activities. Additional information: Awarded to Visit Kent Ltd