The all-island public procurement market is worth approximately £10.4bn/€12.1bn, representing an untapped market for small firms to increase their sales and win steady business. However, some companies still struggle when it comes to tendering says Caroline Sweeney, InterTradeIreland’s Public Tendering Programme Manager.

SMEs often comment that they don’t know where to go to identify contract opportunities in the public sector, or are cautious about tendering. The irony is that public sector buyers are keen to work with SMEs. There are significant opportunities for small organisations to break into this lucrative market. Here are some useful tips to help you find tendering success.

Registrations are now open for our online Meet the Buyer event with NI Water on Wed 24 March. Connect with NI Water buyers and contract managers to find out more about upcoming tender opportunities worth over £100m in 2021!  You will also have a chance to discuss sub-contracting opportunities with existing NI Water suppliers. All you need to do is register and book appointments with your preferred buyers or suppliers. First come, first served so don't miss out!

InterTradeIreland’s latest business monitor (Q4 2020) shows that unsurprisingly many businesses are continuing to struggle, as the Brexit transition ends in the middle of Covid. Half of firms report that they are now contracting, winding down or surviving at all costs, compared to just 13 percent at the same point last year. While no sector is immune from the ongoing challenges, the data reveals that cross border traders and exporters are beginning to see sales losses moving in the right direction 

Do you need some help to get your business back to some kind of normal?

InterTradeIreland's Emergency Business Solutions Programme offers funding of up to £2,000/€2250 to help firms address key business challenges related to Covid-19. This support can be used for staff training, financial guidance, HR issues and Health & Safety as well as help with products.

If you are more focused on growing your online business, the E-Merge programme provides up to £2500/€2,800 funding to help you develop online sales and E-Commerce solutions.

Cancer has no borders, only by working together can we tackle the biggest killer on the island of Ireland. This virtual event will celebrate the re-signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the partners of the Ireland-Northern Ireland-NCI Cancer Consortium. 

Date: 16 March 2021

Time: 15:00 – 16:15 (UTC)

Where: Online

Hear from high profile senior leaders and health ministers from Ireland, Northern Ireland and the US, along with local experts in the cancer sector. The event will focus on what the consortium has achieved over the last 21 years and will look forward to new opportunities for collaboration.

A key ingredient for surviving the downturn and prospering in the recovery is 'agility' and 'adaptability', according to Professor Alan Ahearne, Director of the Whitaker Institute at NUIG. 

Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from Professor Ahearne, who helped guide the Irish government out of the 2008 financial crisis and in July 2020 was appointed as senior economic advisor to Taoiseach, Micheál Martin.

The Irish launch event for the new Horizon Europe funding programme will take place on 25th March from 9.30am to 1.30pm.

Running from 2021-2027, Horizon Europe will be the most ambitious research and innovation programme in the world with a budget of €95 billion. Building on the achievements of Horizon 2020, it offers a broad range of opportunities for Irish researchers, innovators and Irish companies of all sizes in the pursuit of new discoveries, scientific and technological advancement and innovation.

This event will provide an overview of the new programme, and offer practical advice for researchers and innovators on submitting competitive applications in Horizon Europe.