Public procurement provides a market with tremendous potential for innovative products and services, especially from SMEs.
A business owner Karen Yates who said this, says her success proves the point.
Yates owns a digital, design and display company called Zing, which has bagged several public sector contracts by using innovation in the design and delivery of its services.
In a bid to gain value for money and to help SMEs successfully compete for tenders, there has been an increasing stress on the need for enhanced public procurement practices to help promote market uptake of innovative products and services.
Yates said, "It is great to see that more SMEs are now getting involved in procurement and winning tenders – the process has now been opened up and people understand it. There is a great opportunity for the Northern Ireland Executive, and for public bodies who provide tenders, to look at how innovation can be highlighted in the procurement process. Currently, the rules are restrictive which means that if a company has an innovative service or product, no allowance is made within the tender to describe it or elaborate on it. There are opportunities here not only for small businesses to compete, but also for government and larger businesses to save money and run more efficiently.”
She said this after the launch of 'Growing Something Brilliant: An Action Plan to Grow the Northern Ireland Economy' by the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
A business owner Karen Yates who said this, says her success proves the point.
Yates owns a digital, design and display company called Zing, which has bagged several public sector contracts by using innovation in the design and delivery of its services.
In a bid to gain value for money and to help SMEs successfully compete for tenders, there has been an increasing stress on the need for enhanced public procurement practices to help promote market uptake of innovative products and services.
Yates said, "It is great to see that more SMEs are now getting involved in procurement and winning tenders – the process has now been opened up and people understand it. There is a great opportunity for the Northern Ireland Executive, and for public bodies who provide tenders, to look at how innovation can be highlighted in the procurement process. Currently, the rules are restrictive which means that if a company has an innovative service or product, no allowance is made within the tender to describe it or elaborate on it. There are opportunities here not only for small businesses to compete, but also for government and larger businesses to save money and run more efficiently.”
She said this after the launch of 'Growing Something Brilliant: An Action Plan to Grow the Northern Ireland Economy' by the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry.