SS14 90 Kent & Medway Growth Hub Services

Kent County Council (the council) is the largest county council in England covering an area of 3,500 square kilometres. It has an annual expenditure of over £900m on goods and services and a population of 1.3m.

The Council provides a wide range of personal and strategic services on behalf of its residents, operating in partnership with 12 district councils and 289 parish/town councils. Earlier this year, Kent and Medway Economic Partnership (KMEP) made a commitment to establishing a Kent and Medway Growth Hub.

This would provide a single gateway to all public-sector business support services across the county, alongside telephone-based and one-to-one signposting to available services. The core Growth Hub service is outlined by Government as: raising awareness of the availability of local and national business support, providing a single access point for businesses and providing a diagnostic and signposting service to make sure that every business, no matter what its size or sector, knows what is available and can access the right support.

The Government has stated the three key objectives of Growth Hubs as: ·Improving the awareness and co-ordination of local and national business support; ·Providing clear signposting and diagnosis to help businesses find the right support easily; and ·Improving the impact and value for money of business support. Further background and technical information can be found within the tender documentation.

Expression of Interest and Tender Process Expressions of interest will only be accepted via the Kent Business Portal. In order to submit your interest in this opportunity please select the 'Login and Express an Interest' button located at the bottom of this page.

Note that in order to successfully submit your interest you will first need to register for an account. After registration is complete and you've received your login details you should return to the advert for the opportunity and express your interest.

You will then be emailed an invitation to submit a tender. Questions and Communication Please direct all questions and communication through the Kent Business Portal via the discussions facility. Further guidance can be can be found within the guide located at the bottom of this page.