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Public Sector Round-Up 16.04.21

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Weekly UK tender publishing update

952

619

333

Total UK
Tenders		Low Value
Tenders		High Value
Tenders

123

54

571
Frameworks
or DPS 		Prior Information
Notices		High Value
Award Notices
Tender notices published in the UK between 09.04.21 & 15.04.21

In the news this week

Nine in ten prescriptions now fulfilled electronically
89% of NHS prescriptions are now fulfilled via the Electronic Prescription Service. This is a 29% increase in the number of electronic prescriptions since 2019.
The government is committed to transforming and upgrading the NHS through digital solutions – with significant funding allocated to AI, record digitisation, e-scheduling and many other solutions. To keep up to date with all NHS tech tenders, set-up alerts with Tenders Direct.

Proposed cycling and walking routes to be delivered alongside the Putney Road link road scheme
£2.9m cycling and pedestrian facilities are planned to be delivered at the same time as a new £5m link road to connect Putney Road West to Aylestone Road in Leicester City. The active travel facilities will be introduced as part of the city’s Connecting Leicester programme, and are hoped to be introduced alongside the roadworks to avoid future disruption.
Active travel networks are incredibly popular right now, and you can discover similar opportunities in your area by using our location filters.

Potholed road to Penistone tip will get overdue repair as part of £15m spend
More than £2m of the cash will be used to fix potholes and resurface roads, £1m will be used to tackle pollution, road safety and congestion, and £1.7m will be spent on replacing 1,000 street lights.

Dover District Council secures £3.2 million funding to connect high street and waterfront
A creative space will be created in the thoroughfare between the waterfront and town centre, forming part of a mixed-use development that will also include seven residential units.

We have a new training course

This course is perfect for individuals who are comfortable with the tendering process but are looking to understand how to maximise their scores on social value answers in tendering.

Social value answers in tenders are increasingly being allocated higher weightings, and this course will help you improve your answers by helping you achieve the following:

◆ Understand what buying authorities mean by ‘social value’
◆ Learn why social value is included in tenders
◆ Understand how to measure and deliver social value
◆ Understand the different ways in which social value can be assessed in tenders
◆ Understand how to best answer social value questions

Thursday 24 June | 13:00 – 16:30 | Full course details

Top high value contract award notices

Title: United Kingdom-Walthamstow: Repair and maintenance services
Short description: Conservation, ecology and education activities for the Walthamstow Wetlands (WW) project – as well as overall management of visitor engagement and management of leased premises on site.
Published By: London Borough of Waltham Forest
Date Published: 15 April 2021
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £2,853,489.00
Number of tenders received: 2 (of which were SMEs: 1)
Contractors: London Wildlife Trust
View full notice on Tenders Direct

Title: United Kingdom-London: Construction work
Short description: The Project comprises the demolition of the existing YMCA building and site clearance and remediation followed by the design and construction of a new mixed use 8-storey YMCA development.
Published By: Martin Arnold Ltd. (Acting on behalf of YMCA St Paul’s Group)
Date Published: 15 April 2021
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £16,728,066.69
Number of tenders received: 5
Contractors: Neilcott Construction Limited
View full notice on Tenders Direct

Title: United Kingdom-Lincoln: Construction work
Short description: Provision of Superfast broadband to areas of Lincolnshire not currently served with Superfast Broadband
Published by: Lincolnshire County Council
Date Published: 12 April 2021
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £3,085,000.00
Number of tenders received: 1 (Of which are SMEs: 1)
Contractors: Quickline Communications Ltd
View full notice on Tenders Direct

Tenders range from the simple (not often!) to the very complex. Public sector tenders of course do have particular procedures that they follow. For inexperienced bidders, understanding the process and making sure the bid is compliant is often the focus. As your knowledge and experience grows the focus will shift from the mechanics of the tender to maximising the quality of your submissions and your win rate. You can ask us whatever burning tendering questions you have and we’ll answer them during our Q&A session in the webinar.

Our webinar will cover:
◆ The most common types of public sector tender processes
◆ How tenders are published and how to access
◆ Reviewing and understanding tenders and their scoring
◆ Evaluating your suitability to bid and making your bid decision

Wednesday 26 May | 13:00 – 13:45 | Register for free

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Tenders Direct is the UK’s most accurate tender alert service. We are the only service to guarantee that with us – you’ll never miss a tender.

For more information about we can help you find and win more work in the public sector, please visit www.tendersdirect.co.uk or call us on 0800 222 9009.

Public Sector Round-Up 26.02.21

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Weekly UK tender publishing update

916

729

187

Total UK
Tenders		Low Value
Tenders		High Value
Tenders

90

26

385

Frameworks
or DPS 		Prior Information
Notices		High Value
Award Notices
Tender notices published in the UK between 19.02.21 & 25.02.21

In the news this week

£15 million for education technology in Welsh schools next year
The Welsh Government has announced that it will invest a further £15m towards providing educational technology for schools in the next financial year. The funding is a continuation of the Hwb EdTech programme, which has seen over £92m of investment over the last two years.
So far, the Hwb EdTech programme has seen:  
◆ The provision of 128,000 devices since the start of the pandemic, with 54,000 to be delivered in the coming weeks
◆ 10,000 re-purposed devices issued to ‘digitally excluded’ learners
◆ 10,848 MiFi devices for learners without internet access at home
◆ 300,000 digital infrastructure products, including cabling, switches and WiFi devices

Council approves spending £1.7million on new cycling route through Ancoats
Manchester Council plans for a new £1.7m city centre cycling route have been approved. The plans for a cycle route were not included in the original £9.1m upgrade of Great Ancoats Street, which is in the final stages of completion. A £2.3m pedestrianisation plan was also signed off for the Northern Quarter of Manchester, which will see temporary street closures made permanent with new footpaths built in.
In total the projects will have created over £13m worth of opportunities, and is part of the culture change across the UK to provide spaces with greater social distancing and to encourage more active transport.

Take your bid writing skills to the next level with our Advanced Bid Writing Skills online training course.

In this CPD accredited course, you will learn how to:
◆ Construct a robust bank of evidence
◆ Formulate a detailed storyboard of your bid
◆ Examine ways to effectively improve tender responses
◆ Effectively review and edit tender responses

We have availability on the following dates:
◆ 23 – 24 March, 13:00 – 16:30
◆ 20 – 21 April, 13:00 – 16:30

View full course details and book your place: https://www.tendersdirect.co.uk/b/advanced-bid-writing

Top high value contract award notices

Title: United Kingdom-Birmingham: Repair and maintenance services
Short description: Servicing and repairs of automated doors, gates and barriers across all Housing 21 courts in England – consisting of 581 assets across 179 locations.
Published By: Housing 21
Date Published: 23 February 2021
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £3,000,000.00
Number of tenders received: 9 (of which were SMEs: 1)
Contractors: Houlder Ltd | ABCA Systems Ltd | Multi Glazing Systems
View full notice on Tenders Direct

Title: United Kingdom-Newcastle Upon Tyne: Cleaning and sanitation services
Short description: Requirement for suitably qualified contractors to provide the water management services to sheltered housing schemes where communal water systems exist across.
Published By: Home Group
Date Published: 23 February 2021
Framework/DPS: Yes
Value excluding VAT: £1,000,000.00
Number of tenders received: 8 (of which were SMEs: 5)
Contractors: H2O Nationwide Ltd | Total Environmental Compliance Limited | Integrated Water Services Ltd |
View full notice on Tenders Direct

Title: United Kingdom-Southampton: Digital mapping services
Short description: Provision of geospatial data services including maintenance and manipulation mapping data.
Published by: Ordnance Survey
Date Published: 23 February 2021
Framework/DPS: Yes
Value excluding VAT: £30,000,000.00
Number of tenders received: 10 (of which were SMEs: 2)
Contractors: Cyient Europe Limited | Landmark Information Group Limited | IIC Technologies Limited
View full notice on Tenders Direct

Bringing an experienced Bid Writer in to help form your response can provide you with the winning edge. However, when considering using a consultant, we advise you fully assess the resources available to you to first identify what skills you’re missing. We’ve seen businesses enquire about support which they had internal resource for, and others who started bids blindly only to encounter issues down the line.

In our upcoming free webinar we’ll help you make informed decisions when deciding whether or not you require the support of an external Bid Writer.

Our webinar will be held on Wednesday, 23 March 2021, 1.00-1.45pm, and will cover the following topics:
◆ How to assess your resources, identifying strengths and weaknesses
◆ When to consider using a bid writer
◆ The pros and cons of both options
◆ Getting the most from a consultant

To attend, please register here.

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Tenders Direct is the UK’s most accurate tender alert service. We are the only service to guarantee that with us – you’ll never miss a tender.

For more information about we can help you find and win more work in the public sector, please visit www.tendersdirect.co.uk or call us on 0800 222 9009.

The Tender Writing Process

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Across the UK and ROI, the public sector publishes 1,229 contract opportunities each week – that’s 63,909 a year!
With so much work available, bidding for these contracts should be an action in every business development plan. 
 
The public sector needs suppliers from a wide range of industries, and once you have found an opportunity that is relevant to your business – you’ll want to do everything you can to win the work. 
 
To help you get started, we have created this 9 step tender writing process for you to follow. It details the most efficient way of planning your proposals, helping you to focus on what is needed and avoid dreaded rewrites.

1. Evaluate the Tender – Go/No Go 

The evaluation stage is the first and most important stage of the tender writing process, as it highlights vital information and creates the foundation of your bid strategy.  
 
Before starting any proposals, you will need to consider the criteria which you will use to confidently determine if tenders are worthwhile or not. Without some form of initial evaluation you are likely to encounter problems later on. 
 
Some examples of questions to ask yourself are: 
 
◆ How closely is the tender aligned to our business strategy? 
◆ How well do we match the needs listed? 
◆ Can we meet the requirement? 
◆ What is our win probability? 
◆ Can we complete the proposal on time? 
◆ How familiar are we with the buyer? 
◆ Do we have the experience needed? 
◆ Are there any requirements which we can’t meet? 

2. Review and Deconstruct Available Information 

Ensure you have, and understand, all of the information available to you. Make this easy to access, and refer back to this information when writing your Bid Plan (see step 3) to ensure nothing is missed.  
 
◆ Review the tender, and identify exactly what each question is looking for.  
◆ Can the questions be broken down into individual requirements or themes?  
◆ Do you require any clarifications from the buyer? 
◆ What do you know about the buyer? 
◆ Can any research on previous or similar awards be conducted? 
◆ Are there any formatting requirements you need to consider – layout, document attachments, word count?  
◆ Is there anything missing from the specifications or additional recommendations you would include? 

3. Create your Bid Plan  

With your requirements clearly outlined, and all of the necessary information covered, you will be to plan for how and when you will prepare your responses.  
 
Your plan will consist of dates, names and actions against everything you need up to the submission deadline.  
 
◆ What resources will you need? 
◆ Who will be needed to support you? 
◆ What actions need to be completed? 
◆ What work will be delegated? 
◆ What is the timeline of activity? 
◆ What are your key milestones? 
◆ When will you engage with your team?   

4. Strategy Development    

By going through the initial evaluation, you have already formed the basis of your strategy – the reasons that you would be able to successfully secure this work.

With this information, you should be able to identify overarching themes that you will consistently reference throughout your response. Think here about your positioning, what you know about the competitors, and what is important to the buyer. Identifying these win themes early will ensure your they a factored into your answers.     

5. Answer Planning   

In this stage we combine the work conducted in stages 1 and 2 to prepare a plan for how each question will be answered. 

Your initial evaluation will have highlighted key win themes, and your review will have provided clarification on what the buyer is asking for. Use this information to prepare high level response themes for each question – at this stage you’re only looking to capture key points. 

Look to create a range of headings or bullet points for each question, do not start producing a detailed narrative.   

Is there a word count? This would be the point to start thinking about the answer structure, and how you are you going to divide that word count up among the different topics you want to cover. 

6. Answer Development   

Allow a lot of time for this activity. 

This is where you add more information to your themes, by focusing on what topics will be covered and creating lists of all the information you’ll be required to include – you are building on the bullet points captured in the previous section.  
 
Dedicating time for both Answer Planning and Development will save you significant effort in the long run, by helping you to avoid missing key information and having to conduct rewrites.  

7. Answering    

Do not start this without first planning all of the actions needed to complete your proposal on time, or having first created a plan for your responses. Answering questions and developing a plan as you go will only make the entire process more complicated and will not help you turn it around any quicker. 

Follow the plans you have created in earlier stages, refer back to them, and ensure nothing is overlooked. While you are following a plan to ensure key topics are covered, do not make the mistake of just listing responses. Your proposal needs to be compelling rather than just descriptive. 

Your responses should tell the buyer about the benefits they will receive, rather than just describing what you offer. You need help them understand why choosing you, over the competition, is the best option.  

Also do not feel that you should be limited by the specifications provided. If you feel that they have not fully captured the requirement or their project could benefit from new considerations – include them. Who would you award work to – the company who overlooks issues, or the one who proposes solutions to problems you hadn’t even realised were there?  

8. Proofing and Review     

Involve others who have not been directly involved with the proposal to proof read. They can ensure that your proposal both reads well and makes sense.  

We also tend to miss our own typographical errors, most commonly duplicated or omitted words, so a fresh pair of eyes can ensure your response reads as intended.  

9. Tender Submission     

Always leave time to get your proposal submitted, do not leave until the last minute. Systems can go down, connections can fail, and other unexpected issues can all delay on time submission. 

Try and leave a day to get your document submitted. 

As systems vary significantly, there is no standard submission process. You could find yourself having to get familiar with a new system each time you submit a proposal. Scope out the end-to-end navigation of the portal at the beginning of the project, not the end. 

Tender Writing Support    

We have a range of other articles which may be useful for helping you with your tender writing needs. You can find details of these below.
 
If you require more hands-on support with a specific tender or tenders in general, we offer a wide range of consultancy services and can support you with anything from reviewing proposals to overall bid management. If you would like more information, please feel free to contact me directly or visit our Consultancy Services page. 
 
Andrew Watson 
Bid Consultancy and Training Manager 
Tel: 07384 818 704  
E-mail: andrew.watson@proactis.com  

Should you offer  
more than the specification? 
An article looking at what to do if you realise the buyer needs something else… 

Top 5 
Bid Writing Mistakes 
In this series, we look at the most common mistakes made.  

View our full range of  
Consultancy Services 
Bid writing | Bid review and editing | Bid management | Bid strategy | Bespoke support 

Access our free 
On-demand webinars 
Covering a wide range of topics for bid writers of all levels. 

Public Sector Round-Up 30.10.20

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UK tender publishing update

1,045

714

331

Total UK NoticesLow-Value NoticesOJEU Notices
Tender notices published in the UK between 23.10.20 & 29.10.20

If you would like more information about the types of opportunities available for your business, we would be happy to provide you with a free Market Overview.

In the news this week

COP26: Former world leaders urge UK for ambitious 2030 climate goal
While the UK has taken a leading role by committing to reducing emissions to net zero by 2050, there is increasing pressure for more ambitious plans and policies to be introduced. MPs, Lords and wold leaders have joined in the conversation, through which businesses, investors and other organisations have been expressing their concerns.

New blueprint for better hospital food
From an independent review of NHS meals, a panel is reviewing the suggestions to improve the food served in hospitals. The review includes actions, some of which can be implemented immediately, to provide both patients and staff with more nutritious and satisfying food. Could this create opportunities for your business?
To search for existing food related opportunities, please see results from our category search.


Bids should not just be a list of your capabilities, they need to be a compelling documents that tell a story of why your business is the best to partner with.
With the help of expert bid writer, Jamie Edwards, our ‘Writing Compelling Bids’ online training course will teach you how to write more engaging proposals.
We have availability on the following course dates:
◆ 10-11th November 2020, 1.00pm – 4.30pm
◆ 8-9th December 2020, 1.00pm – 4.30pm

Top OJEU contract award notices

Title: United Kingdom-Stratford: Building installation work
Short description: The mechanical, electrical and public health works for the Victoria and Albert Museum East building at the Stratford Waterfront Culture and Education Development at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Published By: London Legacy Development Corporation
Date Published: 23 October 2020
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £800,00,00.00
Number of tenders received: 4
Contractors: Imtech Engineering London and South Ltd
View full award notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE

Title: United Kingdom-Telford: Fire extinguishers
Short description: The supply of hand fire extinguisher and bracket.
Published by: Ministry of Defence, DSG, Defence Support Group (DSG)
Date Published: 23 October 2020
Framework/DPS: Yes
Value excluding VAT: £900,000.00
Number of tenders received: 1 (of which were SMEs: 1)
Contractors: Firemark Ltd
View full award notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE

Title: United Kingdom-Bristol: Telemetry equipment
Short description: The supply of multi-parameter water quality instruments in order to equip the Environment Agency with the best evidence gathering instruments available. 
Published By: Environment Agency
Date Published: 23 October 2020
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £4,500,000.00
Number of tenders received: 3
Contractors: Xylem Analytics
View full award notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE

Tenders Direct is the UK’s most accurate tender alert service. We are the only service to guarantee that with us – you’ll never miss a tender.
Visit www.tendersdirect.co.uk to find out more.

Public Sector Round Up 07.08.20

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In the news this week planning reforms were introduced to support SME’s, the government announced a £20m fund to help businesses recover from the pandemic, and a £90m dynamic purchasing system designed to drive the government’s uptake of artificial-intelligence technologies was opened.

Our top OJEU notices for this week include programming software for the British Film Institute, media buying services for care provider Anchor Hanover, and a grounds maintenance contract for the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Below you will also find a breakdown of the number of tenders published this week.

In the news this week

Housing Secretary launches a ‘once in a generation’ planning reforms

On 6 August, the Housing Secretary launched a set of ‘landmark reforms’ aiming to speed up and modernise the planning system and boost economic recovery, with a specific focus in supporting SME builders.

Government announces £20m funding to support small businesses across England

The government announced that it is launching a £20m funding package to help small businesses recover from the pandemic. The funding will mean that small and medium businesses will have access to grants of between £1k to £5k to help them technology, equipment and advice to help them bounce back from the effects of lockdown.

CCS opens £90m framework to drive government uptake of AI

The Crown Commercial Service opened bidding on a £90m two-year dynamic purchasing system (DPS) designed to drive government’s uptake of artificial-intelligence technologies.

The dynamic purchasing system – which, unlike a traditional static framework, can add new suppliers and services over the course of its lifespan – opened on 3 August. The deal is scheduled to run for 18 months, and conclude on 2 February 2022 – but this could be extended, CCS said.

Tenders published in the last 7 days

1,048

645

307

Total Public
Sector Tenders		Low-Value noticesOJEU notices
Tenders published between 31.07.20 & 06.08.20

Top OJEU contract award notices

Title: United Kingdom-London: Programming services of packaged software products
Short description: The BFI launched BFI Player, a UK video on demand service, in 2013. The service is strategically important in helping the BFI fulfil its remit in building audiences for classic, independent, archive and world cinema. BFI would like to optimise its team structure in order to be as efficient as possible and are therefore considering outsourcing the development of BFI Player to a team/organisation who can work as an integrated extension of the core in-house product team.
Published By: British Film Institute
Date Published: 4 August 2020
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £200,000
Number of tenders received: 15
Contractors: Graph Digital Limited
View full award notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE

Title: United Kingdom-Bradford: Advertising and marketing services
Short description: Media buying and advertising
Published By: Anchor Hanover
Date Published: 5 August 2020
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £2,400,000
Number of tenders received: 5
Contractors: Space and Time Media
View full award notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE

Title: United Kingdom-Kensington: Grounds maintenance services
Short description: To provide grounds maintenance services to the communal grounds and parks areas in the North of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Published By: The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Date Published: 30 July 2020
Framework/DPS: No
Value excluding VAT: £3,408,025.40
Number of tenders received: 4
Contractors: Tree Wise Men
View full award notice with your Tenders Direct login HERE

Our New Business Team are here to help you identify the solutions that will have the biggest positive impact for you and your business.


You may be unsure of what you need from a tender alerts service, or you may know exactly what you need and want to make sure you can get it. No matter what your questions are, our New Business Team will use their expert knowledge to make recommendations and discuss how will meet your needs.

If you would like to chat to a member of our team to find out how we can help you, please call us on 0800 222 9009.


In the meantime, have a look at our range of solutions on our website and discover how we can ensure you never miss a tender again.

Tenders Direct is the UK’s most accurate tender alert service. We are the only service to guarantee that with us – you’ll never miss a tender.
Visit www.tendersdirect.co.uk to find out more.

Rapid sanitising technology for ambulances needed to combat Coronavirus

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The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is looking for innovative and novel ways of cleaning ambulances quickly to help combat Coronavirus.

After transporting a patient suspected of having COVID-19, it can take up to 45 minutes to clean the ambulance used. When you also consider that many ambulance cleaning facilities are located some distance from their hospital or base, current methods are adding delays onto a significantly busy service.

With their new Open Call for Innovation, DASA are seeking help to identify rapid sanitising technology for ambulances. The deadline was originally listed as 1 April 2020 – since first publishing this post, the deadline has been removed and the call is still live.

DASA are looking for solutions which can be deployed rapidly, and will be suitable for use beyond ambulances – trains, buses and even in rooms. There is a particular interest in mobile, easy to use and robust solutions.

More information about this Open Call for Innovation can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/covid-19-call-for-rapid-sanitising-technology-for-ambulances

Opportunities in the public healthcare sector

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At the time of writing, there are over 7,500 healthcare notices published on Tenders Direct in over 300 categories from aprons to vascular dilators and power tools to vaccines. The total healthcare spending in England in 2018/19 was around £129 billion and is continuing to rise. Despite the financial pressures in the NHS, it’s clear that there are is an abundance of opportunities in the UK healthcare sector.

Blurred lines for innovation in public and private healthcare

We’ve been keeping an eye on recent news and trends in the UK. The Financial Times looks at how the lines are blurring for public and private healthcare with digital tools and advice websites changing how patients engage with medicine. In 2018 the NHS launched a tech funding scheme to help bring the public health system up to date with latest innovations emerging from the healthcare start-up community. Health tech start-ups are looking to sell their services directly to consumers in private markets, as well as rolling them out in the public sector. Read the full article here.

A call for designers and providers of digital and mobile health interventions and programmes

On the topic of technology, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have release a draft guideline in which it suggests health professionals can consider digital and mobile interventions as a supplement to regular services to support behaviour changes in people at risk of developing chronic conditions. A consultation on the draft recommendations is open until 6 March 2020, the NICE are inviting comments from designers and providers of digital and mobile health interventions and programmes. Read the full article here.

Looking at new ways of care

Backed by £14 million of investment, seven ‘accelerator’ sites will be the first to deliver new standards for care. As part of the NHS’ longer term plan to support England’s aging population and those with complex needs, local health service and council teams will begin the roll out of Urgent Community Response teams. Further areas across England are to receive extra funding to begin work to the new standards from 2021, with every part of the country covered by 2023. Read the full story here.

Staffing, recruitment and training

As often reported, there is a shortage of nurses in the NHS. There are currently 40,000 nursing roles currently unfilled will the NHS are looking for overseas nurses to fill some of these gaps. Staff from the Philippines and India now make up most of overseas nurses, providing opportunities for recruitment agencies. Read the full article here.

Tenders Direct provides hundreds of keyword categories covering every health-related product and service tendered for, including all those procured which are related to the above articles. From health and social staff recruitment to the provision of new digital technology and everything in between. Thousands of notices are sorted using our unique category system so that we can deliver relevant notices on a daily basis, and you can quickly and easily find relevant opportunities.

Search our categories on Tenders Direct, or contact our team on 0800 222 9009 to see how we can help you find new business for your company.

The challenges of scaling up and winning bigger business – and how Proactis can help

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Winning new business is difficult. Often it’s most difficult for new and emerging companies to challenge the established order, especially if they’re doing things in a different way. As businesses expand and develop, they begin to examine different avenues, moving away from ad-hoc smaller pieces of work to looking at more formal access routes to substantial contracts. 

Here we arrive at the wonderful world of bidding, proposals and tendering (you’ll see these terms being used interchangeably, but don’t worry they all mean the same). As potential contract sizes get larger, the demands placed on prospective bidders become ever more arduous and detailed, formal submissions are required for public and private sector buyers alike. 

As you might expect, larger companies have more resources to dedicate to business development and specifically to bidding for work. A recent survey of bid professionals showed just 20% worked in organisations of less than 100 employees and only 12% were the sole responsible resource in the organisation*. 

Unfortunately for smaller organisations, research has repeatedly shown a direct correlation between the level of resource employed in preparing proposals and success rates. The good news for developing organisations is that there are some relatively easy steps to take to improve proposals. A recent industry study shows that nearly half of all procurement professionals believe suppliers are letting themselves down with their proposals and that they are of poor quality. With the general standard being low, smart thinking and some effort can make a big difference.

If you are at the stage where you are or soon will be submitting proposals as part of your business development strategy then we can support you. We offer a range of support from analysis of current bid strategy and support with a live bid to a review of a past proposal.

To discuss, contact Andrew Watson, Bid Consultancy and Training Manager at Proactis Tenders Limited – Andrew.Watson@proactis.com

*APMP UK Compensation Report 2019

A round up of 2019

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Another year has passed and we’ve had a busy year at Tenders Direct! We’ve reviewed approximately 68,000 notices and have categorised and published over 40,000 and trained over 150 delegates on our public sector bid writing courses.

Alongside these, we value the feedback we get from our customers, and use this to make continuous improvements to the services that we provide. Key highlights this year have been: 

Opportunity Manager – We’ve upgraded our bid management tool to make planning, preparing and coordinating your day-to-day bidding activity simple from a single pipeline view. You can allocate tasks, set reminders and attach notes for all your bids and create an audit trail of every action.

Competitor Tracking Alerts – A new feature developed to allow you to track the successes of your rivals providing market intelligence on their bid strategy and capabilities, so that you can inform your own public sector strategy. These alerts notify you when any organisation you choose to track are announced as winners of above threshold public contracts.

CPD accreditation – We’re proud to announce that our courses are now CPD accredited. If you’re a member of a professional body, completing one of our one day public sector tendering courses in London, Manchester or Birmingham will count towards your CPD training hours.

Opportunities

Looking back over the last year we’ve seen several articles pointing towards the positivity in the public sector, but one that really stood out to us was a report the Education Technology framework in which it was highlighted that 78% of the 40 suppliers are SMEs. We’ve seen new opportunities in all sectors, from ICT frameworks for education to Green City deals and places on frameworks for niche products that aren’t catered for in traditional commercial agreements. There are opportunities in the public sector for businesses in all industries and sizes and we’ll continue to help you find these quickly and easily.

Brexit

Brexit has, of course, been at the forefront for much of 2019. For the most part the legal framework for public procurement and the different procedures available to contracting authorities will remain the same. Should we result in a no-deal Brexit, one key difference for contracting authorities will be the need to send notices to a new UK e-notification service instead of the current EU Publications Office. Head to Gov.uk for more information, and to keep up to date with information in a no-deal Brexit scenario.

Looking ahead

Looking ahead, whilst there is much uncertainty about what will happen with a confirmed Brexit delay until 31st January 2020, for now, we still remain part of the EU and therefore the new thresholds published by the European Commission will still apply. Read the new thresholds for 2020/2021 here.

As always, if you’ve got any questions related to finding and winning business in the public sector get in touch via our website, or call 0800 222 9009.

Public Contracts Roundup

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roundupblog

Some recent hot topics and interesting opportunities from the world of public procurement…

High Spend 2

The BBC has acquired some illuminating documents relating to the High Speed 2 project that are a tad problematic for some ministers. A letter sent by the Transport Secretary to the Chancellor in 2016 shows that ministers were aware of a major cost overrun even before phase 2 of the project was signed off.

This follows regular – and recent – assurances from the Department for Transport that all was progressing according to plan. The second phase of HS2 is now under review… via BBC News

Transatlantic Trade-off

Chlorinated chicken is in the news again as the government ramps up efforts to secure trade deals outside of Europe in expectation of a no-deal Brexit. Opposition to the concept is strong, as it was with the EU/USA Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) which was ultimately abandoned in 2016.

Concerns centre around hygiene standards in the US food supply chain – the reason behind the infamous chlorine-washing process for meat products – and increased access to UK public contracts for US businesses. Fears that UK public services could be commercialised will be a key point of contention domestically if and when negotiations commence. via The Independent

Tunnel Trouble

Whether it be ferries or railways, those responsible for managing the UK’s transport infrastructure can’t seem to catch a break. Now it’s the roads: Transport for London has been forced to postpone the award of the Silvertown Tunnel contract – valued at £1 billion – following a legal challenge from the German / Spanish joint venture Silver Thames Connect (STC).

The project aims to relieve congestion in the heavily used Blackwall Tunnel, but the current completion date in 2025 will undoubtedly be pushed back substantially: the light at the end of the tunnel just got further away for frustrated commuters! via building.co.uk

Other recent stories…

HMRC is contacting businesses about no-deal Brexit → via Public  Technology

New funding to assist struggling high streets → via The Guardian

More investment in innovative green transport technology →  via gov.co.uk

Tees Valley Combined Authority announces transport plan → via Public Sector Executive

Top Tenders

Prior Information Notice for the Tipner West Industry Day – Portsmouth City Council are engaging with potential suppliers for the £1.3 billion Tipner Peninsula regeneration project.

Framework Agreement for furniture supply – The Department for Education is looking for the supply and installation of furniture with a projected value of £140 million.

Dynamic Purchasing System for construction consultants – Swan Housing Association has a need for a range of professional services up to a value of £175 million.

 

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