Small businesses in Luton are set to benefit from more than £10 billion pounds worth of investment in the town through airport and the London 2012 Olympic business contracts.
The new partnership developed between Luton Borough Council and Network Luton recently held a free breakfast seminar, called Winning through Collaboration, to share its knowledge with small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
The massive investment planned for Luton, especially through London Luton Airport and the 2012 Olympic business contracts, means there are huge amounts of potential commercial opportunities.
The seminar looked at ways in which smaller and medium sized businesses can increase their chances of successful bidding for contracts by working in partnership rather than alone.
Collaborative bidding for tenders requires that teams develop the correct structure and the right mix of tools and define the opportunities before engaging with the tendering opportunity.
The seminar focussed on these key issues and helped businesses to identify if they are tender-ready.
Mal Hussein of Luton Borough Council's Business and Economy Team said: "Collaborative bidding is being highlighted by both Government and local government as a means for SMEs to participate in the tendering process and win larger contracts than you would normally expect to pitch for by joining forces, pooling resources, sharing workload and working together to win public and private sector tenders through a collaborative (consortia) bid.
"The Winning through Collaboration breakfast compliments other business events that we are holding throughout the rest of the year including the recent 'Meet the Buyer' where new and local suppliers had the opportunity to meet with buyers from the Airport bases businesses."
"This seminar gave SMEs the opportunity to learn about the potential and challenges of collaborative bidding as will as providing an excellent chance to network and meet bid partners," said Steve Whiting of Network Luton.
"Skilled bid professionals were on hand to give advice and share their experiences of working on tenders and collaborative bids."
If you would like more information about upcoming business events and advice about the support and funding available contact the Business and Economy Team on 01582 54 64 39 or email