Writing Public Sector Tenders

As I have previously written the public sector in the UK spends in excess of £220 billion annually on goods and services. The availability of this amount of money is a major benefit on offer to suppliers who work for organisations in the public sector.
There are however advantages and disadvantages of bidding for public sector work.

Advantages

• Public sector contracts are usually predictable and stable; public bodies don't normally go out of business

• Public bodies are usually good payers, with robust, reliable payment arrangements. However, make sure your documentation is accurate. Any i’s not dotted and you may have to wait!!

• The work is openly tendered and contrary to popular opinion everyone has the same chance as the systems are very transparent and equitable.

Disadvantages
The public sector does offer real benefits, but there are some potential disadvantages of working for them, including:

• The process to win the work can be long – and, therefore, costly for an SME

• There are often unfamiliar formats and forms to deal with

• Decision-making processes are longer and more protracted than in commercial organisations

• Politics can have an unexpected impact on a project ( think of the latest election)

• To work for the public sector a supplier is usually required to have a range of policies in place (which may include Equal Opportunities, Disability Discrimination, and Environmental policies), as well as insurance.

On balance then, should an SME bid for public sector contracts. The answer is “it depends”.
To be successful in a bid for the public sector an organisation will need to have a range of policies, technical capability and processes and systems that are robust, transparent and equitable. If you want your company to grow and to be the best there is, surely you want policies and structured and systematic processes? If that is the case then bidding for public sector work can only be a good thing. You will be able to benchmark your organisation against contemporary best practice and through the process of continuous improvement, really improve your business and put in place building blocks to enable growth.
Some may find it difficult. If you think that you can carry on doing what you have always done then you will not win public sector bids.
The public sector offers a fantastic opportunity to grow your business but you must play by their rules. You cannot beat the system and what a system it is!!
More on public sector bids
Last minute bids and tenders
PQQ writing services