Cornwall Development Company TEN488 Invitation to Tender Cornwall Trade & Investment: Export Support Services Oct 2020 - Sept 2021

Cornwall Trade and Investment (CTI) is part of Cornwall Development Company (CDC), an arms-length economic development provision of Cornwall Council and part of the Corserv Ltd group of companies. CTI is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Cornwall Council.

CTI exists to help grow Cornwall's economy - focusing on three key themes; attracting innovative, high growth SME businesses to locate in Cornwall; marketing Cornwall as a progressive, viable place to do business, and, from 2018, supporting Cornwall based SME's to export their products/services to new national and international markets.

The CTI project is measured on three key outputs; inward investors secured in Cornwall, businesses supported through the export service and number of jobs created as a result of support received.

CTI is looking to appoint an experienced international trade support provider to deliver key aspects of CTI's revised virtual export programme (as detailed in Section 5). The successful tenderer will design and run the virtual export workshops, carry out market intelligence, as well as providing the most promising 'top 15' businesses enhanced support through access to potential buyers/customers.

The successful tenderer must demonstrate a thorough understanding of the Cornwall business landscape and export opportunities that exist for Cornwall based businesses.

It is expected that 35 businesses will be supported through this revised virtual service. The trade support provider will work closely with the CTI team to ensure all project activity is focused on delivering the virtual trade service, and is ERDF compliant.

4.1 Virtual Business Support CTI is seeking to support 35 businesses in up to five virtual trade missions between November 2020 and the close of the project in September 2021. CTI is seeking to work with high-growth, ambitious, businesses to ensure the projects meets its job creation target of 150.

4.2 Physical Trade Mission support (not part of this tender) A further five businesses will be supported in a separate trade mission in 2021 delivered in partnership with Aerospace Cornwall and Spaceport - providing travel is safe and viable at that time.

4.3 Output requirements As stipulated in CTI's project funding, each business needs to receive a minimum of 12 hours of support. It is expected that approximately six to eight hours will be delivered by the successful tenderer through businesses attending the virtual workshops, and the remaining four+ hours to be provided by CTI's Trade & Investment Managers who will work with businesses on a one to one basis offering further market penetration support.