Northern Ireland Entrepreneurship Support Service (NIESS) Enquiry Handling Service

The Northern Ireland Enterprise Support Service (NIESS) will provide enterprise support provision across four pillars (Engage, Foundation, Enabling Growth and Accelerated Scaling) for the whole of Northern Ireland. To manage enquiries across each of the pillars an Enquiry Handling Service is required, to direct individuals/entrepreneurs on their ‘customer journey.’ The service will cover all 11 Councils in Northern Ireland. There are significant outcomes expected for the NIESS service. However, it is accepted that the majority of enquiries to the call centre will largely be at the ‘Engage’ and ‘Foundation’ stage of the entrepreneurship journey. Clients will have the opportunity to make initial enquiries via several options: • Call centre/Tele handling • Completion of an enquiry form on the new web portal • Walk in enquiry at a relevant delivery location or Council Office. • Directly with a preferred supplier delivering services on behalf of councils. It is anticipated that the primary aim of the Enquiry Handling Service is to facilitate a projected total of 9,000 enquiries annually. It is anticipated that this will be split across inbound calls, outbound calls, and web site enquiries. It is expected that the Enquiry Handling Service will be in place to manage all telephone enquiries to the service. Additional information: The Contract shall be effective from the date of award for an initial period of 18 months (until March 2025). Initial funding has been secured in principle, for the 18 months to March 2025. Future delivery beyond March 2025 will be subject to funding to support the delivery of the service.