The Enterprise Hub is seeking to procure suitable Delivery Partners to support its application for continuation post 11.2018. The purpose is to assist in the project’s continued development and implementation of an integrated pre-business startup support services in Liverpool City Region.

Enterprise Hub Delivery Partners will enable and improve:

— the capability of individuals who are considering starting their own business to be equipped with the personal financial knowledge and know how to help them establish and sustain their personal and family income levels in the early phase of their enterprise venture and on an ongoing basis,

— overall business sustainability resulting from greater financial resilience and capability of the new entrepreneur,

— access to a range of advice services to support people moving into self-employment or starting their own business with a variety of issues personal budgeting and better of calculations, financial planning, transitioning from welfare benefits, access to state support in the initial period of business startup e.g. Council Tax, housing benefit and mortgage interest and universal credit / working tax credits,

— the confidence levels of people thinking of enterprise as an employment option by ensuring that they can make informed choices and have realistic minimum income forecasts and expectations,

— connectivity to local public and community based services to help create the operational conditions to support more residents to become economically included,

— to improve connection with other support systems such as primary and public health and housing,

— the breath and quality of the Enterprise Hub model to reflect the needs of client’s accessing Enterprise Hub services,

— programme awareness and reach within individual neighborhoods across Liverpool City Region,

— delivery of pre-start up and enterprise support within individual neighborhoods across Liverpool City Region,

— programme awareness and reach with specific target groups across Liverpool City Region for example: people who have suffered domestic abuse, people who experience mental ill health and distress and people who benefit from specialist support services,

— alignment with other support services that will facilitate residents social and economic inclusion and support enterprise creation e.g. Money Advice Service, Energy Efficiency Advice and Health and Well Being Initiatives,

— integration with other key mainstream services e.g. Domestic Abuse, Housing, Community Health and GP services.

Enterprise Hub is a comprehensive community engagement, enterprise promotion and business support programme, which fosters the creation of new enterprises from pre-start to early stage businesses and social enterprises. It achieves this through delivering an innovative package of services which helps prepare individuals considering creating an enterprise or a social enterprise. Enterprise Hub deploys a number of measures and community development approaches including community outreach, awareness raising, advice, workshops, mentoring and network development to provide a holistic model of support. In addition, it is now seeking to expand its Delivery Partner collaborative to ensure that it is meeting client need and achieves additional community and neighbourhood reach and added value.

Enterprise Hub provides support to a diverse target group of potential-entrepreneurs living in LCR including men, women, employed and unemployed residents, BME and disabled residents and graduates mapped against the LCR Combined Authority footprint and based on specific local authority geography.

From 12.2018 the Enterprise Hub will be led by The Women’s Organisation who will act as accountable body and managing partner. Enterprise Hub is part funded through the European Regional Development Fund.