How to find public sector contracts

My recent news articles aimed at simplifying the minefield of PQQ evidence have been causing quite a stir. I have been contacted by numerous SME’s requesting further information ande-mailing questions about the tender writing process. Instead of replying individually I thought the information would be useful to everyone.

From the numerous emails received, I have been able to construct distinct subject areas and will look to address each question during the article;

1. Where can I find contracts?
2. How often are contracts released?
3. Are public sector contracts available in my market segment?
4. Can I tender if I have no experience with the public sector

1. Where can I find contracts

Tenders Electronic Dailey (Ted): ted.europa.eu/TED/main/HomePage.do
TED offers free access to business opportunities unlike some providers which charge for the use of similar services. The TED database is updated five times a week with approximately 1500 public procurement notices from the European Union, the European Economic Area and beyond.

How can TED benefit my business?

Once registered you have access to hundreds of public sector contracts in very diverse industries. TED is way of accessing contracts listed today, giving you the best opportunity to prepare your submission.(And its free!) TED stores contracts in an archive of all contracts notices for the last five editions allowing you to search for relevant contracts suited to your business. Example contracts listed today;

• UK-Walshall – Wheelchair
• UK-Kingston Upon Hull – reception services

Contracts finder: http://www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/
Contract finder offers a similar service to TED; however it does offer a number of advantages with the main plus point being an Email alert for relevant contracts. As suppliers you are able to set up personalised tender feeds with email notifications to match your business service areas. Once a tender meeting the criteria has been identified it is emailed automatically to your inbox. However contract finder will often release contracts a few days later than TED.

Local portals
The local portals are ideal places to identify local opportunities; these smaller portals will often display a vast range of contract values in a diverse range of industries.
• NEPO
• CompeteFor
• Supplier and Contract Management System (SCMS)
• in-tend
• Bluelight

2. How often are contracts released?
Contracts are released on a daily basis through TED and other contract websites. It is important to check for contracts on a daily basis as it is impossible to guess the type and industry of contracts being released.

3. Are public sector contracts available in my market segment?
You will be surprised with just how broad the ranges of market segments are that invite Tender submissions. My experience within procurement has seen me deal with too many types of industries to mention, it is therefore vitally important to monitor contracts websites, to ensure that you don’t identify possible contracts too late.

4. Can I tender if I have no experience with the public sector
The simple answer to this is YES. Lack of public sector experience will not exclude you from the tender process. If you do not possess experience in dealing with the public sector then as discussed during other articles, you need to impress the evaluator with other work you have undertaken. This can be achieved by using contracts with similar criteria, whether this is by size, time scale, or the types of work undertaken.


This article has aimed to address the emails that I have received over the course of this week regarding the tender process. If you require any further assistance on this topic or any other issues regarding procurement please do not hesitate to get in touch.

luke@executivecompass.co.uk