Consider partnering with or subcontracting to a larger company or bundle of companies that have public sector experience and can fulfill technical and financial requirements. Collaborating can also help you score higher on applications. Register in procurement databases so that you get notifications about new opportunities. CPV-codes will help you get notified of relevant opportunities for your startup. If you are in a traditional category, it is probably easy to find your CPV-codes. But if you are a less traditional company, it is harder to match up with the correct codes. In this case, you will have to do some research and talk to people to align with the best codes for your startup. Get to know the market and people to present your solution to well before the process starts. Seek out people in the city who need your solution, and be sure to also share with the purchasing head who is leading the procurement process. Read procurement requirements closely to ensure you qualify before diving into the application process. Consider partnering with or subcontracting to a larger company or bundle of companies that have public sector experience and can fulfill technical and financial requirements. Collaborating can also help you score higher on applications. Pull out key words written in the tender documents and address them specifically in your tender. The devil is in the details. Ask for a meeting to better understand why you were rejected in cases of unsuccessful tendering.

It is OK to start small instead of going for the big deal. It’s tempting to think you are going to win one large contract, but the City of Oslo is split into different parts with separate purchasing units, so you should plan on contacting them individually. Be purpose-driven. Go on study trips to get to know people and the challenges they want to solve. Approach the municipality as a partner and ditch the supplier-vendor mentality. Speak their language. Think national, act local. Identify a common challenge across municipalities with an aim to replicate and scale your solution. Read publicly available MOUs and meeting notes to understand needs and generate leads. Build, test, learn, iterate. Test your assumptions, try to kill your idea early on, test with your warm network, and seek out critical minds who can offer feedback and potentially become champions.

Pitch how you are going to solve a problem, not the solution. Adapt your marketing and sales strategies to public sector clients. Be aware of the different roles in the public entity. For example, you might have been talking to someone who is really enthusiastic, but this person might not be involved in the procurement process. You need to build relationships with both the target user and buyer in the municipality. Whether your solution is developed and ready to be implemented, or needs more development or adjustments and testing, public entities are obliged to consider how the rules of public procurement apply to be able to acquire/buy it. Public entities need problem-solving, not just solutions. Encouraging suppliers and public entities to gather around a specific issue can be a great way to spark dialogue, meet the right people, and for suppliers to present their problem-solving abilities. This might be a challenge for relatively new businesses because you might not have a network within your sector. Creating this starting point might be helpful for the public entities, because it can be an eye opener to understand the private sector, startups and scaleups better.

Sometimes it’s more important to qualify out of the competition rather than investing time and resources in something for which you are not well qualified. To help you decide whether or not to pursue a new business opportunity with the City of Oslo: Check out the city's website for suppliers where they publish needs, criteria, competitions, and financial support for development projects. Make a strategic choice of delivering to the public sector. Is the public buyer a good partner for your company? Do you have the time and resources to deliver and participate in a procurement process? Can you deliver or do you need to partner with other companies? Watch this video on innovative procurements (it's in Norwegian) Participate in market dialogues and supplier conferences that are announced on DOFFIN or this calendar. Listen to the needs and goals that are communicated by the public buyer. Network. Showcase your solutions and give input on how your company can contribute.