UK SBS CR18066 BEIS Professional & Business Services Sector - Creating Further Demand and Growth outside London

The final date and time for the submission of bids is Friday 8th June 2018 year at 14:00pm. The Industrial Strategy was published in November 2017 and identified Places - together with People, Infrastructures, Ideas, and Business Environment - as one the five foundations of the UK's approach to a transformed economy.

Cities, towns and rural areas have competitive advantages that will be essential to shaping our economic future. Yet many geographic areas in the country are not realising their full potential.

The aim of this research is to create an evidence-based strategy to set future industry and government strategy to bolster the Professional and Business Services (PBS) Sector outside London. The research will also contribute to our understanding of local Industrial Strategies and suggest ways to unlock support from industry.

This research study should also test the idea that the sector has the potential to support regional economies and help them to thrive. The research should assess two contrasting areas: one with higher concentration of PBS firms and potential for accelerated PBS growth from its current position of strength and one where the PBS sector has a lower level of presence and could be expanded.

This would provide an indication of the differing level of change needed with attendant impact on the local economy. Please ensure you review all attached information to ensure a full understanding of this requirement.

All attachments can be found with the RFx attachments tab within the Emptoris System. This contract will be awarded based on the evaluation criteria set out in the ITQ document.

How to Apply As part of the strategic alliance between UK Shared Business Services Ltd (UK SBS) and Crown Commercial Service (CCS), UK SBS will be using the CCS eSourcing Suite for this procurement. To register on the CCS eSourcing portal please follow the details contained within the Additional Information section of this notice.

Additional information: DO NOT APPLY DIRECTLY TO BUYER All submissions will be assessed in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, for procurement values that exceed Regulation 5 (Threshold amounts) Responses must be received by the date in the bid documents. Responses received outside or concurrently using the eSourcing process will not be accepted or considered further for this opportunity.

How to Register on the CCS eSourcing Suite Full details of this opportunity can be found on the e-sourcing portal please follow instructions below. If you have not yet registered on the eSourcing Suite, this can be done online at https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk by following the link 'Register for CCS eSourcing'.

Please note that, to register, you must have a valid DUNS number (as provided by Dun and Bradstreet) for the organisation which you are registering, who will be entering into a contract if invited to do so. Once you have registered on the eSourcing Suite, a registered user can express an interest for a specific procurement.

This is done by emailing expressionofinterest@crowncommercial.gov.uk. Your email must clearly state: • name and reference for the procurement you wish to register for; • name of the registered Bidder; • name and contact details for the registered individual sending the email.

Crown Commercial Service will process the email and then enable the Bidder to access the procurement online via the e-Sourcing Suite. The registered user will receive a notification email to alert them once this has been done.

The Sourcing documents can then be accessed on the eSourcing Suite at: https://gpsesourcing.cabinetoffice.gov.uk using the instructions detailed in the Specification documents within Contracts Finder. As a user of the e-Sourcing Suite you will have access to Emptoris email messaging service which facilitates all messages sent to you and from you in relation to any specific RFX event.

Please note it is your responsibility to access these emails on a regular basis to ensure you have sight of all relevant information. For technical assistance on use of the e-Sourcing Suite please contact Crown Commercial Service Helpdesk: Telephone: 0345 010 3503 Training documents to support Bidders to utilise Emptoris CCS eSourcing are available in the Contracts Finder Tender documents section.

About UK Shared Business Services UK Shared Business Services Ltd (UK SBS) brings a commercial attitude to the public sector; helping our customers improve efficiency, generate savings and modernise. Our broad range of expert services is shared by our customers.

This allows our customers the freedom to focus resources on core activities; innovating and transforming their own organisations. For full details of our partner base please review the following link: http://www.uksbs.co.uk/services/procure/