The Public Sector Supply Ready accreditation, (PSSR) has been developed by Go4Growth and is available to all SME’s (Small to Medium Enterprises including micro and sole traders) and voluntary organisations, community groups and social enterprises (VCSEs).
As a business support service, Go4Growth aims to assist smaller organisations in developing the skills and confidence they need to win public sector contracts. The new PSSR status will act as an industry indicator to show that a business has met the required standards, making contracts in the sector much more readily accessible to smaller businesses and voluntary organisations.
The PSSR accreditation has been developed to increase the quality and quantity of SME applications in the public sector, as the vast majority of the UK’s 6 million small businesses do not have any experience of working with organisations in the public sector; many currently do not consider them potential customers.
As well as aid SMEs and VCSEs the accreditation is also expected to support public sector procurement staff by helping them to easily identify suppliers that have invested in their knowledge of the procurement process and are ready to apply for opportunities.
To apply for PSSR status, businesses begin by completing a Standard Selection Questionnaire and then work through two simple stages that aim to look at the basic building blocks any organisations would need in order to credibly take part. The process allows the provider to evidence that they have the necessary tools, knowledge and understanding of processes to work in the public sector.
If any businesses require further application assistance to achieve the status, Go4Growth is also stood by to provide free guidance and training through events, tailored content, and general support to help each business achieve the PSSR Status.
Gillian Askew, Director at Go4Growth said, “Increasing work with SMEs and VCSEs in the public sector will not only help to grow the local economy, but also create job opportunities, whilst fulfilling the public sector’s commitment to supporting local enterprise. This new accreditation will provide the perfect platform for many SMEs and VCSEs to access the public sector market, and to get over any obstacles that may have previously stood in their way.
“Go4Growth’s core purpose is to help smaller organisations develop the skills and confidence to grow their business and win public sector contracts. We hope that this new, free opportunity to gain supply ready status, will provide a gateway into doing exactly that.”
In addition to the PSSR accreditation service, Go4Growth has also launched a new carbon net zero action plan, which is a free and easy-to-use planning tool, designed to help SMEs reduce their carbon emissions and provide evidence in public sector bids.