Council workshops aiming to help North East Lincolnshire businesses succeed

A series of workshops ran by the Council are hoping to help local businesses secure more opportunities.

InvestNEL, part of North East Lincolnshire Council, will be running the two workshops which will focus on bid writing and how to effectively apply for tender opportunities.

Delivered by Tender360, the workshops will empower businesses with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to identify, respond to, and win public and private sector contracts, including those issued by Local Authorities and their partners.

Session 1 – Thursday 16 October, 09:30 – 12:30, Europarc Innovation Centre, Innovation Way, Grimsby, DN37 9TT

Intro to Public Sector Tendering

• What is public sector procurement?
• Key legislation
• Who buys what and how?
• Common procurement portals (Contracts Finder, Find a Tender, regional portals)
• Buyer expectations and terminology
• Top Tips

Preparing Your Business to Bid

• Getting tender ready: policies, insurances, accreditations, and references
• Developing a bid ready document
• Understanding buyer evaluation criteria (quality, price, social value)
• Avoiding common readiness pitfalls

Session 2 – Thursday 23 October, 09:30 – 12:30, Europarc Innovation Centre, Innovation Way, Grimsby, DN37 9TT

Finding and Assessing Opportunities

• How to identify relevant contracts
• Bid/no bid decision-making frameworks
• Understanding specifications and requirements
• Intro to frameworks, DPS, and open tenders

Writing a Strong Tender Response

• Understanding the invitation to tender (ITT) structure
• Responding to method statements
• Demonstrating capability, capacity, and added value
• Practical tips for writing clearly and persuasively

Pricing, Commercials, and Social Value

• Understanding pricing models  
• Basics of commercial strategy
• Social value in practice (local employment, environmental impact)
• Evaluation scoring and weighting

These workshops are eligible to businesses with a registered address in North East Lincolnshire. The two workshops combine to form the complete programme, it is not possible to register for only one workshop session.

There are a limited number of places available on the workshops. To register your interest please contact [email protected], including:

• Registered business name and address
• Number of years trading
• Number of staff employed
• Please include any details about your businesses past experiences with tendering and bid-writing
• Confirmation your business can commit to both workshop dates

Businesses offered a place on the workshops are asked to provide a £25.00 deposit. This refundable deposit will be returned on completion of both workshops. Workshops are funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.