Official UK procurement notice
WM Collaborator fund- Networks and Leadership Programme pre-market engagement
Authority: West Midlands Combined Authority (Local council)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionWest Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) are looking to complete a further Pre-Market Engagement (PME) to gather information from the market around the Creative industry.
The West Midlands has a large and diverse creative economy, characterised by a high proportion of small organisations, micro-businesses and freelancers operating across different creative subsectors and places. While there is already a range of business, skills and sector support available, evidence informing the development of the WM Collaborator Fund has identified gaps in the support available to help creative businesses, organisations and individuals progress, scale and access higher-value opportunities.
WMCA is undertaking this pre-market engagement exercise to better understand current challenges, test the proposed approach, identify effective delivery models, and gather feedback that will inform the design of any future programme and associated procurement activity. Feedback will help shape the scope, outcomes and delivery approach of any intervention that may be commissioned.
**Suppliers are invited to attend an engagement event held via Microsoft Teams on 26th October at 1:30pm. Suppliers who submit an interest in this PME by 5pm on the 23rd will be sent an invitation link.
PLEASE NOTE – This is an information gathering exercise rather than a call for competition and therefore publication or response does not commit WMCA or respondents to a future procurement, nor provide any process exemptions or preferential treatment to any parties expressing an interest.
Please also note that this is not a formal PQQ or expression of interest in a tender exercise. This Pre-Market Engagement is to be used purely by WMCA to gather information.
** Please Note that suppliers should not contact officers of the WMCA directly regarding this opportunity, all questions should be submitted through the Bravo Portal.
Portal Website:
https://wmca.bravosolution.co.uk
Bravo Solution Project Reference: project_1254
Pipeline notice- ocds-h6vhtk-06e69b
CPV: Corporate finance and venture capital services · Financial consultancy services · Project-management services other than for construction work
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Planned
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 9 Oct 2026, 14:58 BST
- Last source update
- 9 Oct 2026, 14:58 BST
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-095749- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0784efFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
4 published dates · Europe/London- Planning notice publishedearlier today9 Oct 2026, 14:58 BST
- Market engagementin 28 days6 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMTWest Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) are looking to complete a further Pre-Market Engagement (PME) to gather information from the market around the Creative industry. The West Midlands has a large and diverse creative economy, characterised by a high proportion of small organisations, micro-businesses and freelancers operating across different creative subsectors and places. While there is already a range of business, skills and sector support available, evidence informing the development of the WM Collaborator Fund has identified gaps in the support available to help creative businesses, organisations and individuals progress, scale and access higher-value opportunities. WMCA is undertaking this pre-market engagement exercise to better understand current challenges, test the proposed approach, identify effective delivery models, and gather feedback that will inform the design of any future programme and associated procurement activity. Feedback will help shape the scope, outcomes and delivery approach of any intervention that may be commissioned. **Suppliers are invited to attend an engagement event held via Microsoft Teams on 26th October at 1:30pm. Suppliers who submit an interest in this PME by 5pm on the 23rd will be sent an invitation link. PLEASE NOTE – This is an information gathering exercise rather than a call for competition and therefore publication or response does not commit WMCA or respondents to a future procurement, nor provide any process exemptions or preferential treatment to any parties expressing an interest. Please also note that this is not a formal PQQ or expression of interest in a tender exercise. This Pre-Market Engagement is to be used purely by WMCA to gather information. ** Please Note that suppliers should not contact officers of the WMCA directly regarding this opportunity, all questions should be submitted through the Bravo Portal. Portal Website: https://wmca.bravosolution.co.uk Bravo Solution Project Reference: project_1254 Pipeline notice- ocds-h6vhtk-06e69b
- Tender notice expectedin 59 days7 Dec 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 219 days17 May 2027, 00:00 BST
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Notice history
2 events · 1 release on Find a Tender · since 9 Oct 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published9 Oct 2026, 14:58 BSTUK2
- First planning notice published9 Oct 2026, 14:58 BST
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender