With over 30% of the government’s budget spent through the public procurement process, tendering for contracts for central and sub-central authorities is an attractive way for many organisations to grow their business. The public sector are also excellent customers, with fair and transparent processes and 30-day payment terms ensuring good cash flow for their suppliers.

We provide insight into how the public procurement process works, the tender evaluation criteria and best practice approaches when bidding for contracts.

What is the public procurement process?

The public procurement process helps govern the purchase of goods, works and services, via a fair, transparent and cost-effective method.

The Procurement Act 2023 (and previously the Public Contracts Regulations 2015) governs the entire public procurement process, meaning all contracts above a certain value (£12,000 for local authorities and £30,000 for central government) must be advertised publicly and go through a tender process.

The legal framework and process includes the following steps:

• Identify a need for specific goods, services or works
• Contract notices (information) published at each stage of the procurement process, including pre-market engagements, live tender notices, intention to award and formal contract award
• Set award criteria and assessment methodology based on a split between quality and price (in most instances, with some exceptional circumstances)
• Receive bids and evaluate: this includes a requirement to consider SMEs and VCSEs in the award process – for instance, by splitting larger contracts into workstream-specific or geographic Lots
• Award of the contract. Adhering to the criteria and assessment as set out in the tender documents, the contract will be awarded to the ‘most advantageous tender’ (MAT).

From identifying the need and planning, there is transparency for all and any organisations interested in submitting a bid for a contract to have all relevant information, for open competition.

Lastly, authorities will also provide tender feedback with anonymised scoring matrices against other bidders, enabling you to identify what scored well and what didn’t – facilitating continuous improvement as you bid for more work.

How are tenders evaluated in the public procurement process?

As above, public sector tenders normally have a quality and pricing element, with authorities given latitude to set these at their discretion – for instance, a bid evaluated 70% on quality and 30% on price. As such, the quality element of the submission can be more important than pricing or rates – particularly in some industries, such as health and social care.

Common quality questions or method statements forming the narrative element of the submission include:

• Case studies or contract examples which require you to outline your previous experience delivering similar works or services
• Contract management and resourcing, providing assurance that you can sufficiently resource the contract to the required standard
• Mobilisation and implementation, demonstrating how you will ensure a smooth transition into works or service delivery
• Meeting KPIs contained in the contract, normally including your measures for monitoring and reporting these to the authority.

There will likely be a social value or community benefits element of the submission, requiring bidders to outline how they will deliver social, economic and environmental value outside the contract scope.

What are the timescales for evaluation?

Within the public procurement process, the evaluation and timescales for tender results will depend on several factors, including:

• Size and complexity of the submission, with particularly technical responses likely requiring evaluation from a subject matter expert
• Other procurement activity undertaken by the authority, which usually operates on seasonal peaks and troughs
• Number of bids received during the submission window – understandably, a large CCS framework will take longer to evaluate than a local authority bid.

As part of the invitation to tender (ITT) or tender pack, the contracting authority will normally publish an anticipated timetable for the procurement procedure. However, this can be delayed and it is not uncommon to receive your notice of a successful (or unsuccessful) bid several weeks after the estimated date.

How to win contracts through the public procurement process

Competition to win bids with the public sector is high and the difference between a winning and losing bid is often only a handful of marks. As such, we provide some best practice approaches for winning work through the public procurement process.

Read the tender documents and requirements carefully

Once the contract documents are released, each member of your bid team should perform due diligence and verify:

• You can deliver all elements of the contract, including both volume and geographic area
• All minimum mandatory requirements have been satisfied and you will not be disqualified on this basis
• Resourcing will not impact upon other contracts or framework agreements.

This will allow you to arrive at the correct ‘bid/no-bid’ decision and ensure you stand a chance of submitting a competitive tender.

Allocate sufficient time to the quality element

Submitting competitive rates is important, but will not normally win you the contract on its own. The quality questions will be the most time- and resource-intensive element of the submission, and require a certain style, presentation and content to score high marks.

Ensure your quality questions are completed by someone with sufficient subject matter expertise and knowledge of what will score well – alternatively, consider outsourcing to a bid writing consultancy like Executive Compass.

Get a second opinion

It is difficult to look at your work objectively and bid writing is no different. A neutral colleague – for instance, a contract manager – should review all quality responses, certifying:

• All parts of the question have been answered and addressed in full
• The response complies with the specification, KPIs and other requirements
• Persuasive, evidence-based detail, such as statistics from other contracts, has been incorporated in responses.

A final portal check no less than 24 hours before submission should also be done, ensuring all documents have been completed and uploaded, supporting bid compliance.

Support from Executive Compass, UK procurement specialists

Currently, Executive Compass’ expert bid consultants support with over 700 submissions each year – with a fully auditable, 85% success rate. Our bid services include:

• Bid writing support, where one of our bid writers works collaboratively with one of your subject matter experts for the quality element of the submission
• Bid review services for organisations who normally complete submissions in-house, but need an additional pair of eyes or ‘critical friend’ review to facilitate the strongest possible submission
• Bid writing training courses delivered by our Training Services Manager Stephen Murray, with courses tailored based on any previous submissions you have completed and your organisation’s bidding experience.

If you have a live tender opportunity or are interested in learning more about how our services work, book a free, 30-minute consultation to speak with us today at info@executivecompass.co.uk or via telephone 0800 612 5563.