Giving the little guy a break
1 min read
One of the recurring themes over the last few years has been the problems which small companies face when trying to get Government contracts.
It's a big opportunity; the Government's procurement budget has quite a few zeroes at the end. The problem is that small and medium sized companies – the SMEs that are the UK's life blood – are squeezed out of the action by multinationals. Why should our Government be placing orders with foreign companies, the reasoning goes, when there are home grown companies which can supply what's needed at competitive prices.
Part of the problem has been the bureaucracy involved; multinationals have well staffed departments dedicated to answering requests for quotations. SMEs are, understandably, more focused on the jobs at hand.
Yet the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), while welcomed, doesn't quite cut it. Rather than getting an even playing field when it comes to quoting for Government contracts, the SRBI is a competition. Submit your ideas and Government departments will buy them – if they like them.
Nevertheless, 20 so called 'funding competitions' will be launched this year, worth £40million. Health and Defence are the lead sectors. More competitions will be announced in the coming months, taking the total value to £100m.
As they say with the Lottery, if you aren't in it, you can't win it.
