Northern Ireland's councils, health and social care trusts, the Housing Executive, the Education Authority and government departments buy through a small number of portals and under one rule that matters a lot to bidders: social value is scored on every larger contract.
Most Northern Ireland public bodies advertise and run their tenders on eTendersNI, which is free to join. Some health and other bodies use their own e-tendering systems, named in the notice. Higher-value notices also appear on Find a Tender, so every open Northern Ireland tender we can see, of any size, is listed here by trade.
Few Northern Ireland notices say whether a contract suits small firms, so lists that filter on that flag show almost nothing from there. Judge each one on its size and what it asks for.
Less competition than you might think. Open competitions run by Northern Ireland public bodies drew a median of 3 bids, and 40% drew two or fewer (172 competitions with a published bid count on Find a Tender, June to October 2026). Across all UK open competitions the figures are 5 bids and 23%. The figures and the method.
Under the Department of Finance's procurement guidance (PPN 01/21), tenders for works above the UK procurement threshold and for services above £500,000 (including VAT) must give at least 10% of the total award criteria to social value. Buyers can give it more weight, and can score it on smaller contracts too, so expect the question often.
Social value here means wider benefits to people, communities and the environment: paid jobs for people who are out of work, training and apprenticeships, work with schools and voluntary groups, and environmental action. Make offers you can actually deliver, put a number on each, and say how you'll report them. Buyers track delivery during the contract. How buyers score this kind of question.
Many Northern Ireland firms already work across the border. Public bodies in Ireland advertise on their own national portal, and InterTradeIreland's programmes are built for firms that want to tender on both sides.
Northern Ireland buyers use frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems for regular work, so being on the right list matters. Open dynamic markets and DPSs across the UK are listed here.
Go-2-Tender, run by InterTradeIreland, offers workshops and mentoring on public tendering in Northern Ireland and Ireland for eligible small and medium-sized firms. Check the current eligibility on InterTradeIreland's site: it has been aimed mainly at manufacturing and tradable services firms. Councils also run their own "meet the buyer" and supplier events.
Found a Northern Ireland tender that might suit you? Send me the link. I'll tell you what it asks for and whether it's worth your time. It's free.
Email [email protected] · Northern Ireland tenders open now · Should we bid? checklist
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Guidance changes: always read the buyer's own documents and the current Department of Finance procurement guidance notes.