Re-Opening the Nation
Gillian Askew • May 28, 2020
Re-opening the Nation
There’s a real juxtaposition when I think about the re-opening of society and what the ‘new normal’ will look like. Economically we need to recover. The economic devastation COVID-19 has and continues to cause is as widespread as the disease itself. But the cost of human life will always be too high a price to pay and so balancing economic recovery and the need to protect life feels to me like a balancing act like no other.
The Public sector is open for business?
I’ve been really impressed by the MAT board I recently joined, as we look at the guidelines being set out by the government. Pragmatically working out how we can best prepare for and support the children and parents of those year groups included to return to school first, but also how we do so with everyone’s safety in mind too. And of course like many other schools, ours also never actually closed.
Small businesses all over the country are in perilous financial positions – some have already gone under. I saw a post this week on Twitter saying the public sector is open for business. But I wonder, is it really? It took a while for the bid notices to slow down granted but I haven't personally seen them come increase significantly yet. I have a ton of questions right now in terms of what the market will look like post COVID; including how we recover economically, how long will it take and who needs to do what?
Supporting the small business community
These are all questions our Special Interest Group are asking during our content meetings. We’re working hard on behalf of and in conjunction with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), to develop a suite of resources to support small businesses who either want to start a commercial relationship within the public sector, or want to grow their existing business within the public sector and of course now, we’re considering how we support small businesses to recover. What is clear from some of the networking groups I’m part of is that there’s a real focus within the public sector on supporting the small business community as we try to re-start the economy. This is good news, no doubt about it, but ‘how’ we go about remains a bit elusive, which is why our Special Interest Group is looking focussing on the ‘how’. How can we help small businesses recover; grow, and in time thrive? Our brief has always been about widening participation for small businesses within the public sector but what COVID-19 has done is really move this topic up the agenda within the public sector itself.
Navigating through uncertain times
In virtual meetings all across our nation we’re individually and collectively trying to address the question of local supply chains and how the public sector can support local economic recovery in the short term. But also to build more stable, agile and scalable local supply chains so that should we ever be faced with a crisis of this magnitude again, local economies are prepared for it, withstand it and come out the other side intact.
It's not a simple ask. Not least because the data environment simply doesn't exist in the way that it should. There’s no single data set that lays out what the local business landscape looks like, nor is there one single public sector pipeline and these things make recovery difficult to navigate. It’s also worth remembering that in the midst of COVID-19, is our exit from the EU and the need to reform the public contracting regulations which will also change how we do business in the UK.
Working at pace
Our Special Interest Group is working at pace to create recommendations for the FSB on how we can support small businesses, where we need to influence government policy, where we need to lobby for changes in legislation and what tangible help might look like. Then of course, we need to assess how quickly we can get that available help to the small business community.
This virus has caused untold devastation to our nation and we are duty bound to make sure some good can come out of it where possible. If, as a result of all this, the small business community becomes more visible and more integral to the supply of the public sector, that’s one positive. Also making the process of engaging local business more simplified and accessible would be a very long overdue win and I truly hope this happens. My colleagues in the Special Interest Group and I are doing all we can to help make it that way.
Procurement Isn’t Becoming Less Human — It’s Becoming More Demanding
In 2019 I approached the Federation of Small Businesses asking if I could work with them on trying to make it easier for small businesses to access and work in the public sector. They invited me to set up and Chair a Special Interest Group (SIG). The SIG is made up of small businesses and public sector organisations and our one exam question is centred around that widening participation agenda. We have 4 activity streams in the SIG, one of which is SME/VCSE development program. We've called it Go4Growth and it's a free (forever) program and community. Go4Growth as a team is made up of several small businesses working together to help other SMEs and VCSEs to navigate the sometimes complex world of the Public Sector. We have a built a program that we believe can help any smaller business, regardless of type. Here are just a few of our current focus areas: 1. Helping businesses to grow in the Public Sector 2. Building relationships or taking the first steps to supply the Public Sector 3. Collaborative working or consortia/partnerships 4. Building greater economic resilience for the future 5. Recovering from the impacts of COVID-19 6. Dealing with Brexit, environmental or other issues Our program offers support in various ways; our aim is to ensure it's accessible to everyone, personalised to your business so support is given in a way that makes the most sense and adds the most value to you. I'm really proud to be Go4Growth, I'm proud of the program, how quickly we have developed it and how only a few weeks in we are seeing more and more businesses get involved so already we're identifying barriers and helping businesses to overcome them. For any small businesses or VCSEs out there reading this blog, give me a shout. The program is there to help you grow in the public sector and connect you with a fast growing business community. Gill gill@go4growth.co.uk www.twitter.com/Go4Growth_UK www.LinkedIn.com/Company/Go4Growth www.facebook.com/Go4GrowthUK www.facebook.com/groups/Go4Growth