I am writing to invite expressions of interest from Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) who wish to join the initial cohort of up to 30 companies to be supported by the Office for Small Business Growth to help test and shape its initial service offering.  If you are interested please complete the Office for Small Business Growth - Expression of Interest Form by 14 December.  

This is an opportunity to help shape one of the key commitments made in the Defence Industrial Strategy and is central to making defence an engine for UK economic growth.  Our vision is that the Office for Small Business Growth, working as a key part of the National Armaments Director group, will deliver real improvement, making it easier for SMEs to find, compete for, and win defence work, improving the diversity and resilience of UK defence supply-chains and acting to simplify MOD policy and entry routes.

The MOD has set a challenging, but achievable, target that its spending both directly and indirectly with SMEs will increase by £2.5Bn a year by 2028.  This represents a 50% increase on the 2023/24 baseline and demonstrates the scale of our ambition.  Delivering against this target requires major transformation, at a time where generational change is required given the threats we face. By expressing your interest, you will be putting yourself forward to help us shape and deliver this change.

As part of the initial cohort you will benefit from the initial service offering available through the office, including the contact centre, the provision of advice and guidance to support your business, and help with understanding the regulatory and compliance regimes that are required by defence.  The offering provided will start with a limited but growing offering.  You will also be contributing to the development of a full operating capability for the Office by sharing feedback of  your experience working with the Office and the services that it is providing.  We will ask you to nominate a lead contact within your company for us to work with who will engage openly with us to provide feedback.  We may also seek your support to publicise the work of the office. 

The initial cohort will run from January to May 26, and the output from this phase will help shape the future operation of the Office. 

For this initial cohort we are seeking a balanced group of suppliers representing:

• Both new entrants to the defence market and existing suppliers to defence
• Established businesses, start ups and scale ups
• Would benefit or value services from the Office for Small Business Growth Shape and Advice services
• Representative of all parts of the UK
• Covers a range of market sectors

To be eligible, you must be an SME within the definition of the Procurement Act.

MOD is committed to building an Office for Small Business Growth that makes a difference for SMEs. My thanks in advance for your interest in making this happen.

With thanks

Tim Ketton-Locke

Deputy Director of the Defence Office for Small Business Growth