By Regulated Care Consultancy ·
Public sector tenders can open the door to significant growth, but each response demands time from your senior team. Bidding for everything is rarely the right strategy. Providers who win consistently tend to be selective.
A bid or no bid review is a short, structured assessment carried out as soon as an opportunity is published. Here are the questions we work through with clients.
Does it fit what you do well?
Read the specification carefully. Does the service described match your existing services, experience and evidence? Bids for work you have never delivered are much harder to score well on, because quality questions usually ask for examples.
Can you meet the mandatory requirements?
Check the selection criteria early. Common requirements include minimum turnover, specific insurances, regulatory registration, accreditations, policies and a satisfactory financial standing. Failing a pass or fail question ends the bid regardless of quality.
Do you have the capacity to deliver?
Consider whether you could mobilise the contract on time, including recruitment, management capacity and systems. Winning a contract you cannot deliver safely is worse than not winning it.
Do you have the capacity to bid?
A quality response needs time from people who understand your service. Look at the deadline, the number and weighting of questions and what else your team has on.
Is the price sustainable?
Review the pricing model and any indicative budget. Make sure you understand the cost of delivery and whether the contract would be financially sustainable.
How competitive are you likely to be?
Think about the incumbent, the likely competition and your relationship with the commissioner. Have you engaged in any market engagement events? Do you have local presence and evidence of outcomes?
Make the decision, and record why
Agree a clear decision and note the reasons. Over time, this builds a picture of which opportunities suit you best and improves future decisions.
How we can help
Our NHS frameworks, bids and tenders service includes objective bid or no bid assessments, bid planning, quality response writing and compliance reviews. We do not guarantee contract awards, but we can help you invest your effort where it is most likely to pay off. Request a quote to talk about an opportunity.
This article is general information and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Regulations and guidance change, so always check current official guidance.
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