Seven-year framework agreement for the provision of highways services for a borough of inner and outer London

Overview

To comply with the requirements of the purchasing authority, our client required 28,000 words of detailed and persuasive narrative responses across 29 quality questions. Prospective tenderers were required to complete bids for both the geographic lots, declaring their preference to service one or both following the contract award.

Based on the size and complexity of the tender, his social value expertise and extensive experience completing construction tenders, Director of Social Value Stephen Kennett was assigned as the lead writer. Due to the large size of the project, an initial information-gathering call was scheduled with several key subject matter experts to design a project plan. Following the initial call, Stephen drafted a schedule mapping out all subsequent calls, with contact details from relevant client representatives.

Responses included topics our writers address on a daily basis, such as:

• Contract examples with a size and scope of works which were closely aligned to the tendered opportunity.
• Health and safety procedures to ensure the safety of on-site staff and subcontractors, and identifying key personnel, their qualifications and relevant experience.
• Resourcing, including securing sufficient personnel, TUPE implementation and succession planning for management.
• Waste management planning, such as minimising waste across workstreams, disposing of hazardous waste and outlining a methodology for continuous improvement.
• Procuring plant and materials, including details of what would be used on the contract, internal processes for dealing with shortages and requests for non-standard materials.
• Mobilisation planning and project management methodology, with a contract-specific mobilisation team and systems integration ensuring a smooth transition into the contract.

Lastly, the opportunity also required tenderers to outline their social value commitments across six categories, which comprised 10% of the overall scoring criteria in addition to a KPI over the contract term. To structure the responses, Stephen utilised his experience in delivering social value training to over 500 client participants, in addition to adopting a consultative and collaborative approach with our client’s representatives to determine offerings which were substantial, achievable and proportionate to the overall value of the contract.

As part of our quality assurance process, all responses were reviewed by Quality Manager John Winder, who conducted a line-by-line review of each response to ensure the following:

• The response was compliant with the requirements of the purchasing authority
• All elements of the questions had been comprehensively and persuasively answered
• Content was clearly and logically structured, with bulleted points and tables deployed where appropriate
• The line-by-line content was smooth, flowed well and was easily understandable.

Following any amendments or improvements made by Stephen, the responses were sent to our CIEP-accredited proofreading team to check for spelling or grammatical errors.

To facilitate the client review process, responses were sent in batches to the relevant subject matter experts, who would return them to Stephen after addressing any comments or placeholders. Due to efficient planning, resourcing and aided by a highly responsive client, all responses were finalised two weeks prior to the final submission deadline.

Outcome

In February 2023, the client advised us that they had been successful in their bid to provide the services. Due to the size and length of the contract, it was a strategically crucial tender for their organisation, giving them a significant amount of business stability and guaranteed turnover. The client thanked us for our services – with particular praise for Stephen’s consultative approach to delivering social value responses – and indicated their intention to employ our services for future opportunities in the London area.