Here’s an oldie but goodie from my previous blog, posted about this time last year. Enjoy! Tenders. Does the very word make your brain feel ‘tender’? They can seem daunting and sometimes incomprehensible. Never fear: These top tips – gathered from my own experience on both sides of the tender minefield – will help you...
When I’m asked what exactly it is I do for a living, one of the best ways I've found to describe bids and tenders is ‘a bit like writing a job application but for a whole company’. It’s not entirely accurate; there are obviously many differences, but it’s similar enough to get my point across.
I’d...
You can be pretty sure that most PQQs will require you to provide copies of your policies and overviews of your working practices. Having your policies and procedures up to date and ready to go can save you a lot of time when you're busy working to a tender deadline.
If you'd like a review...
It’s hard out there at the moment for everyone, especially SMEs, and I always look for ways to reduce the cost of bid writing for my clients, offering flexibility in how the bid is pulled together to make sure it fits my clients’ budgets and helping out with advice here and there if hiring a...
Building.co.uk highlights a new report by the National Federation of Builders about how current public sector procurement practices affect SMEs. I haven’t read through it all yet (I’m saving it for my Friday night entertainment), but the headline stats are pretty grim: ‘SMEs slam poor government procurement practices’ - article on building.co.uk The full report...
“Charity giant Oxfam is looking to build-up a local supply chain of subcontractors to help maintain its 128 shops spread across Warwickshire. Constructionline is hosting a supplier engagement day on Wednesday August 29 to help find electricians, plumbers and multi-traders to help with ongoing maintenance work. The event will take place at the Best Western...
More useful stuff related to public sector tendering, in the form of a handy PDF, which contains all the relevant guidance and advice Business Link provide relating to tendering in one document. Download it here.
Many of my clients despair of the tendering process, particularly the seemingly endless hoops to be jumped through when tendering for public sector contracts.
While researching what other resources are available ‘out there’ for my upcoming book (available in autumn 2012), I stumbled across a free e-course ‘Winning the Contract’ from LearnDirect.
Before I recommend anything,...
A brief overview of those links from my previous post.
The Government Procurement Service are seeking views from SMEs on procurement processes for Framework contracts/agreements, to "improve our understanding of your market sector, so that we can engage with you more effectively". Click through to complete the survey.
Do you need a bid writer? Or do you need something/someone else?
I'm often asked if I provide services other than writing bids and tenders (such as transcription, events, marketing, database management etc.) and the answer is generally no.
I do the odd bit of illustration, mainly to keep my hand in, and I will put together...
Find It In Wolverhampton are hosting a free event for construction companies on 30th April to learn more about their upcoming contract opportunities within the council's housing portfolio.
You'll need to log in to their site to get the full details and book, so I have linked to a PDF giving the full Event Details.
In any writing - but especially bid writing - it's important that what you mean isn't lost through what you say. I'm thoroughly enjoying Liz Broomfield's 'Troublesome Pairs' over at Libroediting - an explanation of commonly confused or abused words.
