The council is one of the first authorities in the country to set up a special section on its website for companies to gain easy access to information about business opportunities with the council.
It means that small businesses, as well as large ones, can find out more about working with the council and which contracts and tenders are in the pipeline.
The website portal is given as an example of best practice in a new document published by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
The Small Business (SME) Friendly Concordat, which has the backing of the Local Government Association and the Small Business Service, aims to show how local authorities can best frame and deliver their procurement strategies to ensure that suppliers of all kinds are treated equally.
Councillor Tony Reid, lead member for corporate resources at East Sussex County Council, said: “We set up the portal about a year ago and have seen a marked increase in the number of small firms expressing their interest in doing business with us.
“They had traditionally been at a disadvantage because of their relative lack of marketing resources or knowledge of how to become a supplier or who to talk to about opportunities. The web portal has helped to level up the playing field for them.
“Now we’re looking to develop it further in partnership with organisations such as Sussex Enterprise and Business Link. And we’ll also be involving the voluntary sector in our next phase.
“Meanwhile, we are delighted that our efforts have been recognised by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.”
The East Sussex County Council procurement portal can be viewed under Doing business with us.
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