It isn't always easy to know what is expected of you when bidding for tenders [http://www.europeantenders.com] in the public sector, which makes writing the bid that little more difficult. The following will hopefully give you a some guidance on how to go about writing for the public sector and what issues there are as a consequence of bidding for tenders in the public sector.
Tenders in the public sector are going to be coming from Government organisations and local councils, both of which have a certain amount of pressure on them to be fair in their hiring practices but also to get the best people for the job at the most cost effective price as their budgets are limited and come from public money. For this reason, the contracting organisation is going to be looking for certain details in the tender bid to justify their choices and decisions throughout the process.
You should aim to state the purpose for your bid - what made you choose to bid for this contract in the first place? This will give away a lot in terms of how you are approaching the tender. For instance, is the tender worth a lot of money and is this what attracted you to it, or have you seen an opportunity to really build something new and fill a gap in the market? Both are viable reasons for bidding, but only one is going to be looked upon as a good reason to be tendering in the public sector.
A summary of your past work as a contractor should be included, but don't use this as an excuse to write about every job that the business has ever done. Use it as an opportunity to display your credentials specific to the job at hand. Use it as a chance to give examples of how similar situations have be tackled before and how clients aims were achieved through your ingenuity. This can then be filtered into later parts of the tender bid when you come to explain exactly how you plan to approach the project at hand and what you expect the outcomes to be. Having past success stories to back up your current plans will work very much in your favour for public sector tender bids.
Being time and money conscious, public sector organisations are going to be very interested in what you are looking to charge, and what they will get for the money. Provide a fair bid that covers your costs, but make sure that the benefits of choosing you for the job are clearly highlighted and justified in terms of your pricing. It is also good to include a timetable to show when, and how, the work or goods will be delivered.
Include a detailed aftercare plan if the job calls for it. Guarantee the work and stipulate how you will deal with repairs or upkeep once the job is finished. It pays to be practical so don't make promises that you cannot keep and be open about identifying potential problems that you can see with the project. Honesty and a critical eye can give you a step up on any competitors that are looking to sugar coat the task at hand.
A final aspect to consider when dealing with tenders is that information from the tender may be revealed publicly, at a later date under the Freedom of Information Act. All public authorities have the obligation to release any information that they hold to the public when asked. This includes releasing your information to your competitors. For this reason you need to be very clear from the beginning which information included in the tender commercially confidential and perhaps consider a Non-Disclosure Agreement if the material is particularly sensitive and could potentially prejudice your commercial interests if released into the public domain.
Tenders in the public sector are going to be coming from Government organisations and local councils, both of which have a certain amount of pressure on them to be fair in their hiring practices but also to get the best people for the job at the most cost effective price as their budgets are limited and come from public money. For this reason, the contracting organisation is going to be looking for certain details in the tender bid to justify their choices and decisions throughout the process.
You should aim to state the purpose for your bid - what made you choose to bid for this contract in the first place? This will give away a lot in terms of how you are approaching the tender. For instance, is the tender worth a lot of money and is this what attracted you to it, or have you seen an opportunity to really build something new and fill a gap in the market? Both are viable reasons for bidding, but only one is going to be looked upon as a good reason to be tendering in the public sector.
A summary of your past work as a contractor should be included, but don't use this as an excuse to write about every job that the business has ever done. Use it as an opportunity to display your credentials specific to the job at hand. Use it as a chance to give examples of how similar situations have be tackled before and how clients aims were achieved through your ingenuity. This can then be filtered into later parts of the tender bid when you come to explain exactly how you plan to approach the project at hand and what you expect the outcomes to be. Having past success stories to back up your current plans will work very much in your favour for public sector tender bids.
Being time and money conscious, public sector organisations are going to be very interested in what you are looking to charge, and what they will get for the money. Provide a fair bid that covers your costs, but make sure that the benefits of choosing you for the job are clearly highlighted and justified in terms of your pricing. It is also good to include a timetable to show when, and how, the work or goods will be delivered.
Include a detailed aftercare plan if the job calls for it. Guarantee the work and stipulate how you will deal with repairs or upkeep once the job is finished. It pays to be practical so don't make promises that you cannot keep and be open about identifying potential problems that you can see with the project. Honesty and a critical eye can give you a step up on any competitors that are looking to sugar coat the task at hand.
A final aspect to consider when dealing with tenders is that information from the tender may be revealed publicly, at a later date under the Freedom of Information Act. All public authorities have the obligation to release any information that they hold to the public when asked. This includes releasing your information to your competitors. For this reason you need to be very clear from the beginning which information included in the tender commercially confidential and perhaps consider a Non-Disclosure Agreement if the material is particularly sensitive and could potentially prejudice your commercial interests if released into the public domain.