Procurement

£2.72bn

contracts awarded to smaller and diverse-led businesses

2,800

contracts awarded to smaller and diverse-led businesses

30%

target for LAIN members to commit annual spend to smaller and diverse-led businesses

Goal

Support inclusive economic growth by buying a greater share of our goods and services from small, medium-sized and diverse-led local businesses  

Key deliverables

  • Running market engagement events for London’s smaller and diverse-owned businesses to connect directly with LAIN members to learn how to access procurement opportunities and enter their supply chains.   

  • Producing guides for small businesses on public sector procurement and demonstrating social value.   

  • Simplifying procurement processes to make them more accessible to SMEs.

  • Reserving contracts specifically for London’s smaller and diverse-owned businesses.

  • Developing a database of diverse-owned businesses to promote procurement opportunities. 

  • Producing e-learning modules for procurement officers to raise awareness of procuring from small businesses and how to reduce barriers they face.  

  • Removing barriers for SMEs to access procurement opportunities by simplifying procurement processes and documentation.

  • Piloting approaches to increase spend with SMEs including capacity building for smaller businesses through supply chain mentoring.

  • Better promoting procurement opportunities to London’s smaller and diverse-led businesses.    

Members

Greater London Authority ~ London Fire Brigade ~ Metropolitan Police Service ~ NHS London Procurement Partnership ~ Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) ~ Transport for London ~ University of London ~ Capital City College Group ~ London Legacy Development Corporation

Programme highlights

Key resources

Guide: Guide to Social Value

This guide is for London’s small businesses who supply, or are seeking to supply, their products and services to London’s largest organisations.

Brochure: Buyers Brochure
This brochure outlines commitments made by anchor organisations, what goods and services they buy and details of where their post their upcoming procurement opportunities.

Guide: How to Bid for Public Sector Contracts
This guide provides practical advice to London’s smaller business community on where to find commercial opportunities with London’s largest organisations.

Presentation: Presentation on the Procurement Act by Robert Vaughan, Department for Transport 
Presentation exploring implications of the Procurement Act 2023, highlighting opportunities and challenges for small and diverse businesses.

Case studies

Micro business wins big with University of London

Meet Matt, a micro business owner whose breakthrough contract with the University of London has paved the way for fresh ideas and cutting-edge innovation in medical science.

Hear directly from the team at Delatim Ltd as they share how working with Transport for London is helping them scale up, collaborate, and contribute to London’s essential infrastructure.

More than 100 small businesses came to the event hosted by London Anchor Institutions’ Network (LAIN) and MSDUK at the University of East London to learn about opportunities to supply goods and services to anchor organisations.

Events

Interesting reads

Delatim impove accessibility on London’s underground