Official UK procurement notice
Export Support · UK public procurement notice
Authority: West Midlands Combined Authority (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Export Support Programme aims to support high-growth businesses in the West Midlands (WM) manage their exporting activity more sustainably, to increase the pace of growth and its duration. It will do this through a range of potential interventions including, but not limited to, intensive one-to-one coaching, peer-to-peer support, and workshops.
Initial contract period is for September 2026 - March 2027.
x2 additional 12-month extension options for:
1st April 2027 - 31st March 2028
1st April 2028 - 31st March 2029
- How the procedure runs: This competitive flexible procedure will be conducted in seven (6) stages. The six (6) stages are described in more detail below. Stage 1 - Preliminary Check - Verification that the submission is complete and compliant with the instructions in this Invitation to Tender. Stage 2 -Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ), Conditions of Participation Assessment (COP) and Financial Assessment Checks - Pass and Fail review of Procurement Specific Questions and ensure the Supplier satisfies the criteria outlined in the Procurement Specific Questionnaire including Mandatory and Discretionary Exclusion Grounds. Those who fail any of the COP/ PSQ Questions, will not be taken through to the technical quality assessment (Stage3). Suppliers will be notified at this point if they have passed/failed. Stage 3 Technical/ Quality and Social Value Assessment - Completion of independent quality evaluation by the Panel and Moderation. Completion also of social value assessment as per Appendix E. Stage 4 - Commercial (Price) Assessment - Assessment of Financial submission. Stage 5 - Total Score & Ranking - Final Quality Score and Commercial Score are combined and Bids ranked to identify the Most Advantageous Tender (MAT). Stage 6 - Notification & Due Diligence - Notification of the tender outcome and due diligence checks completed with successful supplier prior to entering into contract.
- No preliminary market engagement: No market engagement has taken place for this contract due to that this will be the third iteration of the programme tendered. This ensures that there is a confident knowledge of the market and supplier base, and no further input is required into the specification of need to shape and finalise this.
CPV: Business and management consultancy and related services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£2,126,250
- Economic & financial standing
1.6.1 - Insurance Cover
Please confirm whether you already have, or can commit to obtain, prior to the commencement of the contract, the levels of insurance cover indicated below:
Employer's (Compulsory) Liability Insurance = £10,000,000
Public Liability Insurance = £5,000,000
Professional Indemnity Insurance = £2,000,000
1.6.2 - Confirmation of or intent to secure insurance
Please attach a copy of an existing Insurance certificate that meets or exceeds the requirements above for the duration of the contract or a letter/quotation from an insurance company confirming that they would offer the required level of insurance to the supplier.
If you cannot produce either one of the above at this stage you will be deemed to have failed the WMCA's Conditions of Participation in relation to this opportunity and will not have your Technical or Commercial submissions evaluated.
1.7.1 - Supplier Declaration
Please acknowledge your acceptance and understanding of the Financial Self-Assessment process, and provide confirmation that:
- You have completed your self-assessment in line with the guidance provided, using the most recent set of financial results available through the CDP.
- You understand that if you fail any metric of the self-assessment you will need to engage with the WMCA Finance Team immediately (via the ProContract messaging facility) to agree a range of mitigations that will enable you to either progress to the shortlisting stage or have your tender submissions evaluated.
1.8.2 - Terms and Conditions
The Terms and Conditions related to this contract are non negotiable, either during the clarification period, standstill or post award. Please confirm that you agree to the terms and conditions we have provided you with in full.
WMCA reserves the right to amend the published terms and conditions if for example an error has been identified. In this case all suppliers will be notified of the amendment immediately. The WMCA also reserves the right to extend clarification and/or tender submission dates resulting from a change to the Terms and Conditions if we feel that the amendment warrants it.
Suppliers providing a 'no' response will be deemed to have failed the WMCA's Conditions of Participation in relation to this contract
- You understand that any engagement with the WMCA Finance Team can only take place during the clarification period, if you cannot agree suitable mitigations then you should not submit a Tender response as it will be rejected.
Any supplier answering 'No' will be deemed to have failed the WMCA's Conditions of Participation in relation to this opportunity and will not have their PSQ/ITT responses evaluated further.
- Technical & professional ability
5.1 - Please demonstrate previous experience of supporting exporting businesses within the West Midlands region which enabled them to achieve positive growth.
Please provide two separate contract examples, and for each contract example, you must cover and evidence all three of the listed evidence points below:
Positive growth achieved by the business supported (please make specific reference to outcomes such as jobs created, increased productivity and other relevant metrics)
The support offered and its direct impact on this growth
Businesses within the targeted clusters as set out in the Plan for Growth
5.2 - Please demonstrate recent experience of supporting exporting businesses.
Please provide two separate contract examples, and for each contract example, you must cover and evidence all two of the listed evidence points below:
Delivery of an Export Support Programme to SME's in the last 3 years
Delivering small group (to between 5-10 individuals) / peer to peer workshops to SME's and 1-2-1 business support during the programme(s)
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (3)
- Technical: 60%
- Commercial: 30%
- Social Value: 10%
Published award criteria (3)
- Technical
- Social Value
- Commercial
- Economic & financial standing
1.6.1 - Insurance Cover
Please confirm whether you already have, or can commit to obtain, prior to the commencement of the contract, the levels of insurance cover indicated below:
Employer's (Compulsory) Liability Insurance = £10,000,000
Public Liability Insurance = £5,000,000
Professional Indemnity Insurance = £2,000,000
1.6.2 - Confirmation of or intent to secure insurance
Please attach a copy of an existing Insurance certificate that meets or exceeds the requirements above for the duration of the contract or a letter/quotation from an insurance company confirming that they would offer the required level of insurance to the supplier.
If you cannot produce either one of the above at this stage you will be deemed to have failed the WMCA's Conditions of Participation in relation to this opportunity and will not have your Technical or Commercial submissions evaluated.
1.7.1 - Supplier Declaration
Please acknowledge your acceptance and understanding of the Financial Self-Assessment process, and provide confirmation that:
- You have completed your self-assessment in line with the guidance provided, using the most recent set of financial results available through the CDP.
- You understand that if you fail any metric of the self-assessment you will need to engage with the WMCA Finance Team immediately (via the ProContract messaging facility) to agree a range of mitigations that will enable you to either progress to the shortlisting stage or have your tender submissions evaluated.
1…
- Technical & professional ability
5.1 - Please demonstrate previous experience of supporting exporting businesses within the West Midlands region which enabled them to achieve positive growth.
Please provide two separate contract examples, and for each contract example, you must cover and evidence all three of the listed evidence points below:
Positive growth achieved by the business supported (please make specific reference to outcomes such as jobs created, increased productivity and other relevant metrics)
The support offered and its direct impact on this growth
Businesses within the targeted clusters as set out in the Plan for Growth
5.2 - Please demonstrate recent experience of supporting exporting businesses.
Please provide two separate contract examples, and for each contract example, you must cover and evidence all two of the listed evidence points below:
Delivery of an Export Support Programme to SME's in the last 3 years
Delivering small group (to between 5-10 individuals) / peer to peer workshops to SME's and 1-2-1 business support during the programme(s)
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Closed
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 2 Apr 2026, 12:10 BST
- Last source update
- 9 Apr 2026, 16:53 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 20 Aug 2026
- Authority reference
PRT-ECDVDE-ESG-2025-0004- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-030824- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-067bacFind a Tender
- How it runs
This competitive flexible procedure will be conducted in seven (6) stages. The six (6) stages are described in more detail below.
Stage 1 - Preliminary Check
- Verification that the submission is complete and compliant with the instructions in this Invitation to Tender.
Stage 2 -Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ), Conditions of Participation Assessment (COP) and Financial Assessment Checks
- Pass and Fail review of Procurement Specific Questions and ensure the Supplier satisfies the criteria outlined in the Procurement Specific Questionnaire including Mandatory and Discretionary Exclusion Grounds. Those who fail any of the COP/ PSQ Questions, will not be taken through to the technical quality assessment (Stage3). Suppliers will be notified at this point if they have passed/failed.
Stage 3 Technical/ Quality and Social Value Assessment
- Completion of independent quality evaluation by the Panel and Moderation. Completion also of social value assessment as per Appendix E.
Stage 4 - Commercial (Price) Assessment
- Assessment of Financial submission.
Stage 5 - Total Score & Ranking
- Final Quality Score and Commercial Score are combined and Bids ranked to identify the Most Advantageous Tender (MAT).
Stage 6 - Notification & Due Diligence
- Notification of the tender outcome and due diligence checks completed with successful supplier prior to entering into contract.
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 11 May 2026, 16:00 BST
- Clarification deadline
- 23 Apr 2026, 16:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
2 Apr 2026 → 2 Sept 2026 · 6 dates- Tender notice published209 days ago2 Apr 2026, 12:10 BST
- Latest notice published202 days ago9 Apr 2026, 16:53 BST
- Clarification questions by188 days ago23 Apr 2026, 16:00 BST
- Submission deadline170 days ago11 May 2026, 16:00 BST
- Award decision expected by69 days ago20 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts57 days ago2 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 2 Apr 2026- Tender notice published2 Apr 2026, 12:10 BSTUK4
- Tender notice published9 Apr 2026, 16:53 BSTUK4
- Deadline moved to 11 May 2026, 16:00 BST9 Apr 2026, 16:53 BST+6 days · was 5 May 2026, 16:00 BST
Published amendments (1)
This is an edited notice - the enquiry deadline and deadline for submission have both now been amended as per this notice.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender