Deliver change through public sector frameworks

Getting listed on a public sector framework is a great first step in unlocking the market. It enables government buyers to compliantly and quickly procure your services or products.

However, there’s a lot more work to be done after getting on to a valuable route to market (this goes for Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS) too!).

This includes making sure the framework or DPS you’re using is firmly implanted into your Marketing and Sales Strategy. You’ve to market your work as a GovTech supplier just like you would to the private sector. This means:

• Doing your research and making sure you’re communicating to your audience effectively.
• Getting involved in discussions, via social media and events.
• Making sure you’re informing your potential buyers where they can procure your solutions faster (pssst, the frameworks!).
• Having everyone in your team in the know, especially sales and marketing.

There are a lot of different technology frameworks utilised across the public sector. Some are more niche to departments, others more technology-specific.

One of the organisations most commonly used is Crown Commercial Service. They run big flagship frameworks such as G-Cloud, Digital Outcomes, Network Services, and more.

That’s not to say there aren’t other bodies in charge of frameworks and Dynamic Purchasing Systems too. Organisations such as NHS SBS create important agreements for the health sector.

You’ll need to research into which ones are best for you. To stay in the know with key technology routes to market that pop up on our pipeline, sign up for our free email Framework Alert Service.

Suppliers listed on the Digital Outcomes framework have to respond to relevant opportunities posted by buyers. These opportunities will outline the requirements, timeline, budget, and main info needed to qualify whether it’s right for you.

If you’re not seeing success through the framework, it could be that you’re not getting your bids right. Meaning you’re missing out on getting past Stage 1.

We created a very useful Guide to DOS Tenders, originally for the Digital Outcomes & Specialists framework, that is still relevant now. Helping you qualify, outline how to respond, and get started with winning bids.

We’ve worked on every iteration of G-Cloud, and very quickly started supporting our clients with Digital Outcomes & Specialists.

In its first year, G-Cloud only had 700 suppliers listed on the framework, so contracts were few. However, by 2022 we’ve seen that number grown to over 3000. And with that, the amount of money in contracts has also massively increased.

You can see just how much is going through G-Cloud and Digital Outcomes & Specialists via our interactive Spend Data dashboards.

When we support companies with accessing the public sector market, or help them fine-tune their strategy, we always suggest utilising social media.

The main two avenues are Twitter and LinkedIn, and for two different reasons.

Twitter gives you a good platform to demonstrate your expertise and to engage with important discussions happening within your sector (from buyers, competitors and fellow providers). Whereas LinkedIn provides you with access to the key positions that you’re looking to target. Helping you directly connect and engage with them.

In fact, to understand better how to work with social media when it comes to the public sector, you can download our social media guide.