Government organisations never do business with small companies!

Untrue. Many small companies already do business with government. In fact, the government is interested in attracting more SMEs to the public sector marketplace. Here's what the Office of Government Commerce (which is specifically charged with improving and modernising government procurement) says:

“Much could be gained by enabling more SMEs to compete. The benefits to the public sector can include better levels of service, innovative business solutions and increased competitiveness in the longer term. In return SMEs could gain by having access to a large and stable market.”

Office of Government Commerce and Small Business Service. ‘SMEs … Better Value for Money?’

Don't they always go for the cheapest option?

Public sector organisations only buy on cost alone with regard to commodities (such as food) where it is a straightforward matter to define the product and where there is an active marketplace that competes on price. One of the reasons the Compulsory Competitive Tendering policy was abolished was because buying cheapest goods and services lost money. Best Value principles are designed to inform all purchasing decisions; whole life costs have to be considered. Organisations in the public sector that have continual procurement needs for tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of goods have to take into account the life-time cost of a product or service, and in order to do that it might be necessary to spend more money in the short term to save money over the medium and long term.

What's Modernising Government?

Modernising Government is a programme of initiatives designed to bring the public sector up to a par with the private sector - both in the quality of its internal operational processes and in its external service delivery. It uses technology and new ways of thinking to implement its agenda. To find out more please visit the Modernising Government page on this website.

Why do you offer a subscription service?

Since companies that work in the public sector have specific ongoing information requirements we provide a subscription service to meet those needs. Information that was relevant six months may no longer be relevant now; we cut out much of the arduous work companies would need to do to locate business opportunities, meet common criteria and build up complex public sector databases. The success generated over the course of a year should more than demonstrate the benefit of our service.

How do I search Government Online?

It is possible to search by region (eg South East or South West), alphabetic listing, by the Government Online map, and by organisation type. On the Secure Site it is also possible to search for decision makers via tailored database (eg Chief Executive).