Supplier readiness, backed by evidence and shared by consent.
ICRI™ helps suppliers assess their commercial readiness, organise the evidence behind it and see where to improve. When a supplier chooses to share, authorised buyers and project teams see that readiness and evidence, so engagement and supplier development decisions start from facts.
Participation Infrastructure™ · Works alongside your existing procurement and supplier systems
Finding suppliers is easy. Seeing the evidence behind their capability is harder.
Supplier lists, industry networks and tender portals tell you who is out there and what they say they do. They rarely show what a business can demonstrate today, or the gaps it still needs to close. Suppliers, meanwhile, explain the same capability again for every buyer, often without knowing what buyers look for.
Closing that gap matters for every supplier, and especially for meaningful Indigenous participation in procurement and major projects.
Three steps, with the supplier in control
- 01
Build the evidence
The supplier completes a structured readiness assessment and adds the evidence behind it, such as licences, insurances, a capability statement and past projects.
- 02
Understand readiness
ICRI shows the supplier where they are strong, where the gaps are and what to work on next. Where there is not yet enough information, ICRI says so rather than guessing.
- 03
Share on the supplier's terms
The supplier chooses which buyer can see which parts of their record, for what purpose and for how long. They can withdraw access at any time and see when their record was viewed.
How a supplier and a buyer use ICRI
Coastline Civil is a fictional 14-person civil works business in regional Queensland.
- 01
Coastline builds its record
It completes the ICRI assessment and adds its capability statement, licences, insurance certificates and three past projects.
- 02
Coastline sees where it stands
ICRI shows clear strengths in delivery, flags that an insurance certificate has expired, and points out an area with no evidence yet. Each gap comes with a practical next step.
- 03
A head contractor asks to see it
A contractor Coastline works with is planning a regional road upgrade and asks for access. Coastline shares its readiness and evidence summary with that contractor, for that project, for 90 days.
- 04
The contractor sees the facts
Its procurement team sees Coastline's readiness, the evidence behind it, what is still under review and the open gaps. It uses this to decide who to meet early and where supplier development support would help. The decision, and the due diligence, stay with the contractor.
- 05
Coastline stays in control
Coastline can see when its record was viewed, renews the certificate, and can end the contractor's access whenever it chooses.
Illustrative example. Coastline Civil and the contractor are fictional.
Value for suppliers and for buyers
For suppliers
- See your commercial strengths and gaps
- Keep the evidence of your capability in one organised place
- Know what to work on next
- Share it with the buyers you choose, and withdraw it when you choose
- Explain your capability once, instead of starting again for every buyer
For buyers and project teams
- See a supplier's demonstrated readiness, not just a self-description
- See the evidence behind it, and what is still under review
- See gaps early, so development support goes where it is needed
- Look across the suppliers who have shared with you, project by project
- Decide with better information: ICRI informs the decision, you make it
An evidence layer alongside the systems you already use
ICRI™ does not replace supplier networks, procurement systems or certification bodies, and it does not make procurement decisions. It adds the evidence in between.
- Supplier networks and directories
- Who is out there, and what they say they do
- Procurement systems
- Running the tender and the contract
- Certification and registration bodies
- A business's status and eligibility
- ICRI
- What a supplier can demonstrate today and where the gaps are, kept current and shared only with the supplier's permission
For any supplier, in any industry or region
ICRI, the Indigenous Commercial Readiness Index, began with a specific purpose: strengthening the commercial readiness and participation of Indigenous businesses. The same approach works for any supplier, and ICRI keeps that original commitment at its centre.
Major projects
Understand the readiness of the local and Indigenous suppliers a project wants to engage, before packages go to market.
Corporate supply chains
See readiness across a supplier base, and where development support would make the most difference.
Government and supplier-development programs
Support capability building with evidence of where suppliers stand and what they need.
Industry and regional organisations
Help members build a readiness record they can take to any buyer.
Suppliers decide who sees their record
- Suppliers choose who sees their record, which parts, for what purpose and for how long.
- Buyers see nothing a supplier has not shared.
- Access is recorded, and suppliers can see who viewed their record.
- Portal access uses role-based permissions and multi-factor authentication.
ICRI presents evidence and readiness. It does not certify suppliers, confirm Indigenous identity or make procurement decisions. How we handle data and evidence
ICRI was founded by Louise Vangestel, who spent more than two decades in procurement, project delivery and supplier participation before setting out to close the gap between finding suppliers and understanding their readiness. It is developed and operated by Regional Advantage Group, a woman-led Australian business.
About ICRIChoose the conversation that fits
A 30-minute session on how suppliers and buyers use ICRI, then a conversation about your context.
We will contact you about getting set up and what to prepare.
A conversation about where ICRI could add an evidence layer to what you already run.