A partnership of local government and economic-development groups is offering two free programs in Bellingham on Wednesday, Oct. 30, to help business owners access government contracts.

The events are presented by the Economic Alliance Snohomish County and Shorebird Creative, in partnership with the Port of Bellingham, Western Washington University’s Small Business Development Center, the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the city of Bellingham.

Both programs will be held in the Port of Bellingham’s Harbor Center Conference Room at 1801 Roeder Ave.

“Government Contracting 101: Doing Business with the Government,” which is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., will concentrate on giving attendees insight into the government marketplace and the various aspects of doing business with public agencies.

“Proposal Development,” from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., will provide information and tools needed to prepare bids for government requests for development projects, including how to read various requests, how to preposition, how to plan a response, how to set up files, and how to target a response. Organizers recommend that attendees for the second program have government contracting experience, or have taken Government Contracting 101.

Information on registration, which is required, is online at washingtonptac.org/events-workshops/.

For more information, contact Jean Hales at 425-248-4223 or snohomish@washingtonptac.org.