Business Support North East Framework

What the buyer is asking for

Business North East is a new region-wide approach to business support developed by the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority (North East MSA) in partnership with the seven constituent local authorities. It will provide a simplified, coordinated and accessible business support system for entrepreneurs and businesses across the North East. The model will include a regional hub and use local authority networks to maintain strong relationships with businesses. The wider Business North East programme is expected to operate through five integrated areas of activity across the business lifecycle: Inspire - increase entrepreneurial awareness and aspiration, particularly amongst younger people and underrepresented groups. Explore - improve enterprise readiness and strengthen the quality of business propositions entering the support system. Start - increase business creation and improve business survival prospects through tailored support and business development assistance. Succeed - improve productivity, innovation, technology adoption and business resilience amongst established businesses. Grow - support ambitious businesses to scale, create jobs, access finance and enter new markets. The North East MSA intends to establish a framework to provide a flexible route through which a range of specialist business support, enterprise and related services may be commissioned in support of Business North East and wider regional economic priorities. It is anticipated that the framework will encompass a broad range of services, across five separate Lots: 1. Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and Business Start-up 2. Business Growth, Productivity and Specialist Support 3. High Growth, Scale-up and Investment 4. Sector, Cluster and Supply Chain Development 5. Business Engagement, Training and Programme Support These areas reflect the anticipated breadth of Business North East, which is intended to respond to business needs including access to finance, productivity, workforce development, innovation, digital adoption, mentoring and growth support. The Framework is intended to enable the North East MSA and constituent local authorities to identify suitably qualified suppliers with the capability and experience to deliver services within one or more of these areas. The approach is intended to accommodate a diverse supplier market, including organisations capable of delivering broad business support programmes alongside specialist providers with expertise in particular sectors, business needs or forms of intervention. It will also support the development of new and emerging provision as business needs, economic conditions and regional priorities evolve. Please see the Market Engagement event recording below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPiuaxY_5JE

How this is scored

Published by the buyer. A winning response is written to these weightings, not to the question.

• 100%qualityQuality

5 lots

You can usually bid for one lot without bidding for all of them.

• Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and Business Start-up Support

  The North East MSA is seeking proposals for the design, mobilisation and delivery of an integrated programme to provide a coordinated pathway supporting individuals from the earliest stages of considering self-employment or entrepreneurship through to business start-up, early trading and progression into wider business support provision as part of the Business North East offer. The service is intended to support the creation of sustainable new businesses across the North East and contribute towards increased entrepreneurial activity, higher business start-up rates and improved business survival rates. Delivery should support the MSA's objective of ensuring that enterprise support is visible, accessible and responsive to all communities and places across the region. The programme is expected to operate across all seven local authority areas and form an integral part of the wider Business

• Business Growth, Productivity and Specialist Business Support

  The North East MSA is seeking proposals for the design, mobilisation and delivery of a Succeed in Business: Access to Expert Specialists programme as part of the Business North East offer. The programme would provide established businesses with access to specialist expertise, practical support and targeted interventions designed to address barriers to survival, resilience, growth, productivity and innovation. The purpose of the programme is to help existing businesses identify and implement solutions to the key issues limiting their performance, enabling them to improve competitiveness, strengthen operational capability, operate successfully and realise sustainable growth opportunities. The service is intended to support the growth and development of businesses operating across all sectors of the North East economy. Whilst specialist sector knowledge may be required in some circumstances

• High Growth, Scale-up and Investment Support

  This Lot covers the provision of intensive and targeted support for businesses with the ambition and potential to achieve significant growth, scale their operations, access investment or expand into new markets. Services commissioned under this Lot may include high-growth diagnostics; strategic growth planning; scale-up and accelerator programmes; leadership and management development for growth; investment and equity readiness; access to growth finance and investor engagement; innovation and commercialisation; internationalisation and market expansion; executive mentoring and coaching; peer learning; and connections to investors, professional advisers and specialist networks. Services may be delivered through individual, cohort, accelerator or other intensive models, and the Lot may also be used for new or emerging forms of high-growth and scale-up support designed to accelerate the dev

• Sector, Cluster, Supply Chain and Market Development

  This Lot covers the provision of services that strengthen sectors, clusters, supply chains and wider business ecosystems, including activity designed to develop collective capability, stimulate collaboration and enable businesses to respond to existing and emerging market opportunities. Services commissioned under this Lot may include sector and cluster development; cluster management and capability building; sector-specific business support; supply-chain development and supplier readiness; industry and business-to-business collaboration; innovation networks; market and commercial opportunity development; sector events and networking; and the design and delivery of interventions aligned to priority sectors or areas of economic opportunity. The Lot may also be used to commission research-led, developmental or responsive activity that identifies and addresses emerging sector, cluster, supp

• Business Engagement, Development and Programme Delivery Services

  This Lot covers a broad range of enabling, engagement and delivery services required to support the effective development and implementation of business and economic development programmes and interventions. Services commissioned under this Lot may include business engagement and outreach; programme activation and participant recruitment; local or place-based engagement; business events, networking, workshops and seminars; training, mentoring and coaching programmes; peer networks; adviser development; development of business support content, tools and digital resources; programme and intervention design; fund and programme management and delivery; programme and project evaluation, and associated marketing and communications activity. The Lot is also intended to provide flexibility to commission cross-cutting, pilot, innovative or responsive business support activity where requirements e

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Timeline

3 published dates · Europe/London

1. Tender notice published17 days ago

   20 Oct 2026, 11:32 BST
2. Submission deadlinein 7 days

   13 Nov 2026, 17:00 GMT
3. Award decision expected byin 24 days

   30 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT

Commercial outcome and contract awards

Nothing awarded yet

Notice history

3 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender

1. Pipeline or early engagement notice25 Sept 2026, 15:25 BST091097-2026
2. Tender notice19 Oct 2026, 17:57 BST098708-2026
3. Tender updated20 Oct 2026, 11:32 BST098898-2026

Documents

• OPEN-PR-02102026122317339
• Tender notice on Find a Tender