Norfolk County Council Made Smarter Consultancy Procurement

Norfolk County Council is the Accountable Body for the £1. 2m Made Smarter Adoption East of England Programme covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire. This is a pilot programme for the East of England commencing on 1st April 2025 for one financial year, which could be extended for a longer duration subject to Government funding and satisfactory performance.

The Made Smarter Adoption Programme is multi-faceted, providing support for manufacturing and engineering SMEs and their employees to enhance their digital readiness. Support included within the programme includes a digital roadmap, industrial digital technology advice, grant funding for the adoption of new industrial digital technologies, Leadership and Management Training, support for the operations and workforce through training and matchmaking SMEs with colleges and universities across the region to support internships.

Norfolk County Council - Growth & Investment Team are seeking to engage a Contractor to help support them in the delivery of this programme over the 12-month period. The intention is for the successful Contractor to play a pivotal role in working with pre-identified regional Manufacturing & Engineering SMEs from across the East of England to provide a digital roadmap / action plan with a short, medium and long-term vision and follow-on intensive support around industrial digital technologies to enhance the adoption and implementation of game-changing digital technologies within these businesses, including sourcing solutions. The role of the Contractor will also be to help support those business apply for grants which at present offer up to a maximum of £20k match funding opportunity per business. The Contractor will be measured against the successful grant applications awarded as a direct result of their interventional support. It is noted that the Contractor’s role is one of presenting recommendations to the business and these may or may not be accepted.It is noted that the businesses which will be referred via NCC will come via a pre-established registration pathway, meaning that the Contractor will not be commissioned to market or seek out businesses for the programme. (Saying this if the Contractor knows of any potential businesses, they are able to signpost them for the registration process via the Central Made Smarter Adoption website). At present there are 131 businesses which have registered their interest and will potentially require road-mapping and support services from the commencement of this Contract (April 2025 onwards). This number is expected to increase over the coming weeks and months as we progress with the programme delivery. Additional information: The contract is for 12 months with the right to extend by a further 12 months.