Through the Innovation Launch Pad, Stephen Allott, the Crown Representative for SMEs in the Cabinet Office, invited SMEs to pitch their business proposals for products and services to deliver better value for money for Government. At the end of the submission phase in April, SMEs had submitted a total of 351 proposals. The aim was to stimulate new, open competitions in Government markets in which SMEs will be able to participate.

Stephen asked civil servants from across Government to help choose the best proposals from all those submitted. The results were then analysed to identify the proposals to be taken to the next stage. After intensive mentoring from a team of senior business leaders such as Sherry Coutu, Andy Richards, David Cleevely, Mike Lynch, Jon Moulton and several others, nine SMEs were invited to present their proposals at a Product Surgery in Whitehall on 19 July. The nine were selected as exemplars of the innovation and value that government can get from SMEs. The Cabinet Office is extremely grateful to Sherry Coutu and all the mentors who volunteered to support this initiative.

Click on the news button for more information. To find out more about the Crown Representative for SMEs click here.