Mayor of London and London Councils launch new platform for public sector tech procurement

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan

London’s world-leading tech sector and the capital’s public bodies will benefit from a new city-wide platform for tech procurement, thanks to a new initiative from the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, and London local government.

Thirty3 brings together all the contracting opportunities from across London’s 33 local authorities into one place, making them searchable, understandable and useable for the capital’s tech businesses.

Funded by the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP) and the London Growth Hub, the platform, has been developed by the London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI) – a collaboration between the Mayor of London, London Councils, 16 London local authorities – and tech startup Nitrous, the delivery partner for the project.

More than 90 per cent of London’s public sector technology contracts are held by just 15 suppliers – Thirty3 is aimed at changing that and will become London’s key hub for technology-focused public sector procurement.

The platform gives SMEs an aggregated view of procurement opportunities and offers boroughs and governmental bodies clearer information on what products are available.

It also visualises relevant information about the sometimes intimidating public sector procurement process, empowering SMEs to make better procurement decisions.

Thirty3 is an example of a shared commitment to supporting SMEs across London – and giving government organisations greater buying power, more customizability and more choice when procuring technology to ensure London remains a centre of innovation.

Thirty3 will be launched at London Tech Week on Thursday September 10 at two events – one targeted at start-ups and SMEs, and one targeted at boroughs.

London’s Chief Digital Officer, Theo Blackwell, said: “Thirty3 will make London more open to innovation by creating a city-wide platform to understand technology needs across the public sector for the first time. This will diversify London’s tech infrastructure, improve services for Londoners and help public bodies save money.”