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Survey for UK SME Suppliers

Go Diverse (funded by Innovate UK) with Brunel University, London has developed an AI-powered platform to help connect SMEs with relevant contracts based on your complete business context than just the keyword/industry tags, and make the government tendering easy for you. Your honest feedback will directly shape this solution further.

12 questions - 4 minutes - £500 prize draw (5 x £100) + extended free trial of the platform for every participant

Section 1: Business Profile

Q1. What is your business's approximate annual turnover?

Q2. What sector or industry does your business operate in?

Q3. How long has your business been operating?

0-2 years

3-5 years

6+ years

Section 2: Public Sector Procurement Experience

Q4. Have you ever bid for or won a contract with a UK public sector organisation (e.g., local councils, NHS, government departments, schools, police, prisons)?

Yes, we have won contracts

Yes, we have bid but never won

No, but we are actively considering it

No, and we are not currently interested

Section 3: Barriers and Challenges

Q5. What are the biggest barriers your business faces when trying to win public sector contracts? (Select up to 5)

Don't know where to find relevant opportunities

The administrative burden of registering on multiple 3rd-party portals (e.g., Proactis, Jaeggar, SAP ) just to access tender documents

Tender processes are too complex or time-consuming

Bureaucratic Hurdles (e.g., ISO Certifications, Cyber Essentials, Carbon Reduction Plans)

Contract sizes are too large for our capacity

Payment terms are unfavourable (e.g., long payment periods)

Social value requirements are unclear or burdensome

Too much competition from larger established suppliers

Perceived risk aversion / preference for known suppliers

Lack of feedback when bids are unsuccessful

Lack of time or resource (staff or budget) to prepare bids.

Technical specifications are overly complex

Past performance requirements/ Lack of prior public sector experience

Disproportionate financial requirements (e.g., Turnover thresholds, £5M+ Insurance caps for small contracts)

Other

Q6. On average, how much time does your business typically spend preparing a single public sector bid?

Less than 5 hours

5-10 hours

10-20 hours

20-40 hours

40-80 hours

More than 80 hours

Q7. Have you ever decided NOT to pursue a public sector opportunity that you were otherwise qualified for?

Yes

Haven't Bid

Section 4: Support Needs and Product Feature Validation

Q8. If you could only have THREE of the following features in a new procurement platform tool, which would you choose? (Select top 3)

Universal Document Access (View all docs without registering on external portals)

'Instant Eligibility Checker' that scans a tender and immediately flags reasons you might be ineligible (e.g., 'Turnover too low', 'Insurance requirement too high') BEFORE you spend time reading it

Auto-fill profile feature (stores your company info, policies, insurance, social value, case studies) that auto-completes standard PQQ/SQ questions be for your business

Bid Writing Assistant (AI that rewrites technical notes into "tender-speak" based on your company profile)

Social Value Self- Assessment (Helps articulate your community work into scoring answers)

Competitor Intelligence (Insights on incumbents and likely pricing)

Buyer-Supplier Connect Hub (Direct Buyer Engagement Alerts/ Meet the Buyer events and pre-tender engagement event alerts)

Other

Section 5: Budget & Investment in Tendering

Q9. What is your estimated ANNUAL budget for pursuing public sector contracts?
(Think about: staff time spent on bids, external consultants, software tools, training, and any other tendering-related costs.)

Q9. What is your estimated ANNUAL budget for pursuing public sector contracts?(Think about: staff time spent on bids, external consultants, software tools, training, and any other tendering-related costs.)

£0 - £1,000 (We do it on a shoestring)

£1,000 - £5,000

£5,000 - £10,000

£10,000 - £30,000

Over £30,000

Not sure / We haven't tracked this

Q10. Which of the following do you CURRENTLY use for finding and bidding on public sector contracts?
(Select all that apply)

Q10. Which of the following do you CURRENTLY use for finding and bidding on public sector contracts?(Select all that apply)

Free government portals only (Contracts Finder, Find a Tender Service, Local Council Websites)

Paid tender alert services (e.g., Tenders Direct, Supply2Gov, Tenders4U, Tracker Intelligence)

Bid writing consultants or agencies

Business support organisations (e.g., FSB, British Chambers of Commerce, local growth hubs)

Procurement platform subscriptions (e.g., BiP Solutions, Delta eSourcing, In-Tend, Proactis)

eProcurement portals (e.g., Jaggaer, SAP Ariba, Oracle) - for accessing/submitting tenders

Procurement intelligence tools (e.g., Tussell, Tracker Intelligence) - for market research/competitor analysis

None of the above

Other paid tools:

Q11. If you use paid services (alerts, consultants, or tools), what is your TOTAL annual spend AND how do you feel about the value for money?

Annual spend on external support:

Q11. If you use paid services (alerts, consultants, or tools), what is your TOTAL annual spend AND how do you feel about the value for money? Annual spend on external support:

£0 (free tools only)

£500 - £2,000

£2,000 - £5,000

£5,000 - £15,000

Over £15,000

Not sure

Value satisfaction:

Very satisfied - delivers excellent ROI

Adequate - worth the cost

Dissatisfied - overpriced or missing key features

N/A (don't use paid services)

Q12. Imagine a platform that combines the features you selected in Section 4 (smart alerts, document access, eligibility checking, bid writing AI, social value guidance). What would be FAIR VALUE annually?
(Consider time saved, increased win rates, and current costs)

Q12.  Imagine a platform that combines the features you selected in Section 4 (smart alerts, document access, eligibility checking, bid writing AI, social value guidance). What would be FAIR VALUE annually?(Consider time saved, increased win rates, and current costs)

£1,200-£2,400/year (£100-£200/month)

£2,400-£5,000/year (£200-£400/month)

£5,000+/year if it significantly increased our win rate

Under £1,200/year - I need low-cost options

Not Interested - I would only use free tools

Other

Q13. Which ONE feature would make you MOST willing to pay for a platform?
(Select your top priority)

Q13. Which ONE feature would make you MOST willing to pay for a platform?(Select your top priority)

High-probability alerts (only notified when you have a strong chance of winning)

AI bid writing assistant (transforms your notes into professional tender responses)

Universal document access (no more portal registrations)

Auto-fill profile (stores your info, auto-completes standard/ tender draft questions)

Social value guidance (helps you articulate impact and score points)

Eligibility scanner (flags disqualifying requirements before you waste time)

Buyer engagement opportunities (Meet the Buyer event alerts)

Not-interested

Q14. Is there anything else you'd like to share about your experience with or thoughts on public sector procurement? Any pain points, wins, or suggestions for improvement?

Section 6: Open Feedback

One last thing, Vishal here…

Thank you for your insights! To say thanks, I’d love to enter you into our £500 prize draw (5 x £100 winners) and invite you to our Pilot Program when we launch.

Yes, Count Me In!

No, Thank You- Just Submit Please