Businesses who supply goods and services can find opportunities by submitting tenders to other businesses and/or the public sector.

Contract opportunities can be found in the private sector by building up contacts with potential customers, advertisements in trade magazines and the press, and by networking with other businesses.

See adjacent Section Trading – Local Opportunities for some useful local business contacts.

Contract opportunities in the public sector can be found by following up contract notices published in newspapers and trade magazines, and by applying to join the Select List of Approved Suppliers of individual public sector bodies.

Generally, public sector contracts fall into two categories:

1. Smaller sub-threshold contracts that are dealt with through local arrangements by the procurement teams within individual public sector bodies.

2. Contracts above certain threshold levels that need to comply with national and EU open competition arrangements.

The following sections provide more specific advice and contact points.