FOI - OpenMarkets.london licensing application scheme [Feb 2023]

Your request

I would like to have the following information regarding the tenders process that was used for the street trading licensing platform called "open markets. London" allowing the London local authorities to provide the market trader with a single point of access to apply for a street trading license.

1. What is the body that initiated the request for the need platform (the London market board) for example,
2. What was the process consultation process, and how were companies invited to tender?
3. What is the total amount of the deal, including initial
4. payment (cost) charged for developing the platform,
5. Did the rewarded company generates (or will generate) further income from developing or running the platform such as:

• Users fee (local authorities or traders)
• Implementation fee and hosting fee
• Maintenance fee.

Our response

1. In 2021 the Greater London Authority ran an open innovation challenge programme in partnership with NESTA Challenge Work and funded by the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP) called the “Mayor’s Resilience Fund”. It asked innovators to submit proposals focussed on helping London emerge stronger from Covid-19. One challenge area was led by Hackney Council which was looking for innovators to develop solutions that would tap into the entrepreneurial spirit of London’s market traders and increase the resilience and diversity of London’s markets. Hackney Council acted as the funded resilience partner lead, supported in-kind by a consortium of local authority market teams including Tower Hamlets, Camden and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea councils. The consortium was able to provide expertise and access to existing systems and draw on the operational expertise of strategic bodies, including the National Association of British Market Authorities, the National Markets Traders Federation and the London Markets Board
2. An open call for innovators took place where individuals or organisations were asked to submit proposals responding to the challenge brief with how they planned to address and solve these challenges. Within the public markets challenge area, there were 3 submissions, from which Openmarkets.London was selected as the finalist by a panel of judges. You can find further details of the challenge, judges, and finalists on Mayor’s Resilience Fund - Winners | Challenge Works. As such, Openmarkets.London was competitive even if it was not developed through a conventional funding call or procurement process.
3. The initial stage of the programme saw up to four innovators for each of the 10 challenges receive up to £10K each in grant funding to refine their solutions; out of those 10 organisations were selected to be awarded an additional £40,000 in grant funding to further develop their solutions during a 3-month prototyping phase. Openmarkets.London was one of the innovators that successfully went through both rounds and therefore received a total of £50K in grant funding to develop their platform.
4. The GLA does not have this information