Increasing access

Leeds Beckett University will work with YORhub to create a supply chain engagement toolkit. This aims to increase the number and diversity of regional SMEs with access to public sector procurement frameworks, reducing the over-dominance of large firms and introducing innovative solutions in a sector that is slow to change. It is a two-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership part-funded by the government through Innovate UK.

YORhub is a collaboration between Leeds City Council, Sheffield City Council, North Yorkshire Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council, supporting the delivery of quality construction procurement frameworks to the public sector.

It is the biggest framework in Yorkshire and the Humber, with the largest number of projects of any construction procurement framework.

Across Yorkshire and Humber, approximately £2.5bn is spent annually on capital construction, with £460m procured through YORhub frameworks.

Professor Mohammed Dulaimi, Project Leader and Head of Engineering in the School of Built Environment, Engineering and Computing at Leeds Beckett University, said: “Ensuring competitiveness and diversity in the supply chain is a national challenge. Framework managers are hindered by legislation that stifles innovation and plays to the strengths of large consulting firms and construction companies, leaving SMEs with lower-value contracts.”

As well as boosting the growth of SMEs, the partnership aims to benefit the local economy and the environment by focusing on regional contractors, which in turn reduces carbon emissions.

Image credit | John Kees