Germany - Business and management consulting

Description

The start-up ecosystem in North Rhine-Westphalia has developed positively in recent years: It has a significant size with over 1,600 start-ups registered on https://startups.nrw. The dense university landscape as well as the high concentration of international corporations and export-oriented SMEs ensure a high-tech environment as well as a significant local sales market, especially in the field of industrial technology and B2B business models.A study commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy of North Rhine-Westphalia (MWIDE) nevertheless concluded that the North Rhine-Westphalian ecosystem lags significantly behind in the development of larger tech start-ups - the so-called "scale-up segment" - especially in international comparison.The North Rhine-Westphalian ecosystem has so far lacked the positive effects that emanate from strongly developed scale-up segments - in terms of investments, economic value development and labour market effects. In addition, the ecosystem lacks "role models" that motivate people interested in starting up and encourage founders to take the next step - ideally to the international market. For these reasons, it is also not possible to systematically build up scaling experience and scaling knowledge.This call for proposals is looking for a contractor to conceptualise, build and implement a scaling programme for start-ups in North Rhine-Westphalia. The program should address existing weaknesses and target start-ups that have a demonstrably successful and scalable business model, but are not yet systematically exploiting their potential nationally and internationally.The program should make a decisive contribution to ensuring that a substantial segment of scale-ups develops by 2025 and that North Rhine-Westphalia joins the group of the top 10 start-up ecosystems in Europe. This in turn should trigger a positive pull effect for the entire start-up ecosystem in North Rhine-Westphalia, i.e. it should trigger a noticeable increase in start-ups.
The object of the contract is the conception and subsequent development and implementation of a scaling programme for start-ups in North Rhine-Westphalia.1. conception of the "scaling programme "The concept must include the following services:a) Development of a suitable name and an appealing word/image brand.A suitable name must be found for the scaling programme and an appealing word/image brand must be developed. The proposals for the name and the word-image trademark should be innovative and generate both a high level of attention and a high recognition value, both nationally and internationally.b) Design of the scaling program:The scaling program should be understood as a highly selective program for the best start-ups in North Rhine-Westphalia that are already generating sustainable sales and have a significantly large and experienced management team and personnel. The participants should be start-ups with the potential to develop into an internationally operating company.The client currently assumes a cohort-based program. A cohort of 10 to 20 start-ups is to be launched per year. The program duration per cohort is expected to be 12 to 24 months. The program needs to articulate a clear and transparent value proposition that will convince founders to commit to the program for a period of 12 to 24 months.The program shall include the 4 building blocks of mentorship, peer2peer learning, seminars/workshops and soft landing pad. The client attaches a prominent importance to the mentorship module.Further tasks of the contractor concern the areas:- Participant acquisition and selection process,- Attraction/activation of investors,- Involvement of the North Rhine-Westphalian start-up ecosystem,- Implementation of/participation in start-up events.In addition, it is expected that the scaling program will have a centrally located representative office in North Rhine-Westphalia, where on-site meetings with program participants in the context of mentoring and peer-2-peer learning as well as semi-nars and workshops and smaller events can be held.The polycentric structure of North Rhine-Westphalia must be taken into account in the program design. Not only as a consequence of the Corona pandemic, but also to bridge spatial distances, the scale-up program is to be developed as a format consisting of both face-to-face and virtual meetings of the program participants.c) Media concept:The contractor's task is also to promote the scale-up program. The goal is to make the scaling program known to the target group as well as to the numerous players in the start-up ecosystem of NRW and also to national and international multipliers and investors and to continuously increase the level of awareness and the reputation of the program. Additional ongoing media activities are necessary to provide timely information on the progress and successes of the participants.The contractor should motivate the actors of the start-up ecosystem NRW and other multipliers to promote the scale-up programme within their portfolios/areas of influence. The measures should be as innovative as possible and attract a high level of attention. The media concept to be presented should also aim to position North Rhine-Westphalia nationally and internationally as a top location for start-ups and digitisation.2Implementation of the concept:As part of the development and implementation of the scaling programme in accordance with the concept to be developed with the elements a) to c) described above, the following services are to be provided:- Development and implementation of the scaling programme with the outlined programme modules and the additional service modules,- Implementation of the media concept,- Budget control, monitoring and accounting,- Effectiveness control of the scaling programme by means of a system of key figures to be developed with the client and an ongoing planning, budgeting and reporting process,- Continuous coordination with the client.Detailed information on the contract content can be found in the award documents.Service delivery is to begin no later than September 1, 2021. The first cohort is to start in the program as early as possible, no later than Q1 2022. A second cohort is to follow in Q1 2023. Service provision will end upon completion of the second cohort. The contracting authority has the option to extend the contract twice optionally to commission a third and a fourth cohort.

Opportunity closing date

10 March 2021

Value of contract

to be confirmed