It's commonly believed that public sector tendering is very different from tendering for private sector contracts. In reality, though, they are very similar, in that the tenders must be clearly written and give the client exactly what they need. In general, public sector tendering is more complex due to the various policy - and political - pressures of the public sector organisation (PSO).
Public Sector Buyers
Public Sector Organisations operate in a politically driven landscape, spending taxpayer's money to provide services that benefit society. Their have procedures and policies which set the limits within which they must work. In addition because of the political nature of the environment, their decisions are influenced by many organisations. This means they operate a form invitation to tender process to help ensure fairness.
How to Tender
Successfully bidding for public sector contracts involves more than simply writing a good bid. You need to understand why the client is asking for the piece of work i.e. what internal and external policy objectives they are trying to meet and which stakeholder organisations have/will influence the process.
Your tender needs to show success in providing similar work in the past, in a similar geographical region. You may need to consider filling any gaps by working with similar organisations.
Winning Tender Partnerships
The last risk management issue for the PSO is that of size. Usually, PSOs like to place contracts with organisations where the project represents between 5-30% of their yearly turnover. The reason is straightforward. If the project is too small a proportion of the providers' turnover, the PSO as a customer may not be important from strategic viewpoint. If too big a proportion of the provider's turnover, then they may be over exposed. Also, if the provider is too large it will be hard for the PSO to apply pressure to get what they need.
One solution is to form a consortia to bid for the contract. Here the combined turnover and capabilities can normally be counted.
The best tender writers
The most important piece of wisdom we can provide: READ the question
READ the question
ANSWER the same question
The biggest mistake is simply failing to answer the questions properly. One last piece of advice - get your proposal evaluated by an independent proposal evaluator who was not involved at the writing stage. In addition, you may wish to consider tender writing training.
Finally get your proposal evaluated by an independent proposal evaluator who has not written the tender If you want to be more successful in tender writing then tender writing training will definitely help.
Public Sector Buyers
Public Sector Organisations operate in a politically driven landscape, spending taxpayer's money to provide services that benefit society. Their have procedures and policies which set the limits within which they must work. In addition because of the political nature of the environment, their decisions are influenced by many organisations. This means they operate a form invitation to tender process to help ensure fairness.
How to Tender
Successfully bidding for public sector contracts involves more than simply writing a good bid. You need to understand why the client is asking for the piece of work i.e. what internal and external policy objectives they are trying to meet and which stakeholder organisations have/will influence the process.
Your tender needs to show success in providing similar work in the past, in a similar geographical region. You may need to consider filling any gaps by working with similar organisations.
Winning Tender Partnerships
The last risk management issue for the PSO is that of size. Usually, PSOs like to place contracts with organisations where the project represents between 5-30% of their yearly turnover. The reason is straightforward. If the project is too small a proportion of the providers' turnover, the PSO as a customer may not be important from strategic viewpoint. If too big a proportion of the provider's turnover, then they may be over exposed. Also, if the provider is too large it will be hard for the PSO to apply pressure to get what they need.
One solution is to form a consortia to bid for the contract. Here the combined turnover and capabilities can normally be counted.
The best tender writers
The most important piece of wisdom we can provide: READ the question
READ the question
ANSWER the same question
The biggest mistake is simply failing to answer the questions properly. One last piece of advice - get your proposal evaluated by an independent proposal evaluator who was not involved at the writing stage. In addition, you may wish to consider tender writing training.
Finally get your proposal evaluated by an independent proposal evaluator who has not written the tender If you want to be more successful in tender writing then tender writing training will definitely help.
About the Author:
Tyler E Robinson is a expert in Tender Writing and bid management, and recommends Tenders UK for further advice on Tender Writing.
