i Bids, Tenders & Proposals ii THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iii FifTH EDITION Bids, Tenders & Proposals Winning business through best practice Harold Lewis iv Publisher’s note Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is accurate at the time of going to press, and the publishers and author cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions, however caused No responsibility for loss or damage occasioned to any person acting, or refraining from action, as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by the editor, the publisher or the author First published in Great Britain and the United States in 2002 by Kogan Page Limited Second edition 2005 Revised second edition 2007 Third edition 2009 Fourth edition 2012 Fifth edition 2015 Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licences issued by the CLA Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned addresses: 2nd Floor, 45 Gee Street 1518 Walnut Street, Suite 1100 London EC1V 3RS Philadelphia PA 19102 United Kingdom USA www.koganpage.com 4737/23 Ansari Road Daryaganj New Delhi 110002 India © Harold Lewis, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2015 The right of Harold Lewis to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 ISBN 978 7494 7484 E-ISBN 978 7494 7485 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lewis, Harold, 1933  Bids, tenders and proposals : winning business through best practice / Harold Lewis – Fifth edition   pages cm   Revised edition of the author’s Bids, tenders and proposals, 2012   ISBN 978-0-7494-7484-3 (paperback) – ISBN 978-0-7494-7485-0 (eISBN)  1.  Proposal writing in business.  2.  Proposal writing in public contracting.  3.  Letting of contracts.  I.  Title   HF5718.5.L49 2015  658.15’224–dc23 2015032589 Typeset by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong Print production managed by Jellyfish Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon CR0 4YY v CO N T E N T S List of figures ix Preface to the fifth edition x 01 Bidding to succeed 1 About this book 1 Guidelines to set you on course 2 Developing skills in bid writing 6 Market research and intelligence 7 02 Bidding for public sector contracts 11 The EU procurement framework 11 Key aspects of the procurement regulations 12 Outline of the procurement process 20 Priorities for the public sector 22 Bidding for project funding 23 03 Tendering for the private sector 26 Equal concern for value for money 26 04 Bidding for research funding 31 Tendering for EU-funded research 31 Essential dos and don’ts 32 Research council and government funding 34 Bidding for Lottery research funding 36 05 Tendering for international development contracts 37 World Bank 39 United Nations 41 vi Contents 06 Pre-qualifying for tender opportunities 43 Pre-qualification information 49 Guidance to get you ahead 53 07 Deciding whether or not to bid 58 Issues to consider 58 Risk assessment 67 08 Analysing the tender documents 69 Points for checklists 71 09 Managing the bid 84 Planning and coordination 84 Document management and version control 88 Programming production and delivery 90 Checking bid quality 91 Bringing together resources and inputs 93 Using a bid development worksheet 95 Maintaining bid records 95 10 Talking to the client 98 11 Bidding in partnership 102 Guidelines for association 103 Overseas bids: teaming up with local associates 105 12 Thinking the work through 109 Get the measure of the work 109 Match technical content and price 110 Recognize and manage risk 111 Reduce the risk of contract failure 115 13 Developing and writing the bid 116 Structuring the bid 116 Thinking different 120 Contents  Commenting on the tender documents 120 Bid letters 121 Summarizing the bid 122 Response matrix 124 Bid development timeline 124 Creating the text 124 Editing the bid 130 14 Explaining approach and method 135 Writing method statements 137 Structuring the work plan 139 15 Focusing on contract management 145 Team management and resources 146 Management interface 149 Quality management 153 16 Defining outcomes and deliverables 156 Contract deliverables 156 17 Communicating added value 161 18 Presenting CVs 166 Management of CVs 166 Standardizing CV format and structure 168 Basic structure for CVs 169 Résumés 176 19 Describing professional experience 177 Client references 177 Project summaries and case studies 177 Bringing experience to life 181 20 Making good use of graphics 183 Types of bid graphics 183 Guidelines for effective graphics 184 vii viii Contents Design software 186 The bid cover 187 Bid design and page layout 187 21 Stating your price 189 Components of price information 189 Cost assumptions 194 Payment 196 Separate financial proposals 197 Best practice in dealing with price 198 Financial information in research bids 201 22 Electronic and hard-copy submission 203 Electronic submission 203 The submission process 204 Hard-copy production 208 Packaging and delivery 209 23 Understanding how clients evaluate tenders 211 Evaluation criteria in public sector procurement 211 Methods of evaluating bids 214 Questions clients ask 218 Learning from success and failure 223 Evaluation of research proposals 224 24 Presentations to clients 227 Planning and making the presentation 227 Visual aids 229 Pitfalls to avoid 230 25 True stories 232 And the moral of these stories? 236 Postscript: Tough talk from clients 238 Index 241 ix LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1.1 FIGURE 2.1 FIGURE 2.2 FIGURE 2.3 FIGURE 3.1 FIGURE 6.1 FIGURE 6.2 FIGURE 6.3 FIGURE 8.1 FIGURE 9.1 FIGURE 9.2 FIGURE 13.1 FIGURE 13.2 FIGURE 13.3 FIGURE 13.4 FIGURE 14.1 FIGURE 14.2 FIGURE 14.3 FIGURE 18.1 FIGURE 18.2 FIGURE 19.1 FIGURE 20.1 FIGURE 22.1 FIGURE 23.1 FIGURE 23.2 FIGURE 23.3 Approaches to the bidding process 3 Example of tender opportunities on a local authority website: screen shot 15 UK regional and national e-tendering portals 16 Steps in a typical local authority process for services or consultancy 21 Typical decision-making structure in corporate procurement 29 Example of guidance note on electronic pre-qualification 51 Example of PQQ evaluation methodology, UK public sector procurement 54 Example of client note on scoring of references 55 Example of a tender submission checklist 77 Bid management responsibilities 87 Detail of a bid development worksheet 96 Detail of a matrix of team experience 119 Detail of a bid response matrix 125 Recommended timeline for bid development and production 126 Checklist for peer reviewers 133 Example of client guidance 136 Recommended treatment of technical approach and methodology in proposals for World Bank-funded projects 140 Team member: example of outline of technical responsibilities and résumé 143 World Bank standard template for CV information 170 First page of a CV showing recommended style 171 World Bank standard template for project experience information 178 Use of thumbnail sketches 184 Example of guidance note on electronic submission 206 Typical ‘evaluation tree’ for a public sector procurement 212 Example of a technical evaluation matrix 215 Examples of technical evaluation scoring 216 232 True stories 25 C ompanies seeking to pre-qualify for an EU-funded assignment were asked to include details of selected projects in their expressions of interest One research unit sent in a form that surprisingly omitted its most relevant work Dismayed by its failure to pre-qualify, the unit phoned the contracting authority to ask what the problem had been The contracting authority explained that the procurement rules meant they could take into account only the information submitted in the expression of interest: it was unfortunate that the unit’s selection of references had not included its key projects ‘But they are so well known we assumed you didn’t need to be told about them’ was the reply Bidding for a World Bank-funded contract from a government department in one of the Central American republics, British consultants arrived at the offices of their local associates with tender documents that they had printed in London The documents had an economical style that spoke of recession, austerity and the need to cut costs The local associates’ CEO sighed at the consultants’ well-intentioned but misguided gesture, went to a bookshelf and brought back three heavy volumes bound in morocco leather with their titles stamped in gold leaf One volume held an analysis of the contract requirements; the second dealt with methodology; the third was packed with staff CVs ‘This was the last tender we produced for that ministry’, he explained, ‘and, by the way, we won.’ Because of the importance of the project, the preferred bid would be placed on the desk of the president of the republic for his approval and it would need to impress him The documents printed in London found a home in the waste basket A consortium of UK and local contractors had been shortlisted for the preliminary design of a mass transit system in an overseas capital Represent­ atives of the UK firms were helping to put the bid together in the offices of local associates Its preparation was a complex task involving the coor­ dination of a mass of specialist inputs, copious amounts of translation and intricate negotiations between the consortium members to meet a two-week deadline True Stories Printing of the bid and its production on CD required an all-night session on the eve of the submission date Waiting for the copies to emerge, the senior UK representative read through the text of the bid No one had found time to that properly before At am he discovered that the consortium was volunteering to produce full tender documentation for the next stage of designing the mass transit system, all within the same fixed price After a brief explosion of anger and a hastily convened meeting, the text was revised and reprinted The bid was delivered to the client with just half an hour to spare One bid that was not so lucky reached the offices of the client, a public sector authority in the UK, five minutes after the submission deadline It was sent back unopened The courier who brought it had been delayed in traffic and then found difficulty in locating the client’s address The contractors sent a flood of e-mails to the authority’s procurement team, pleading for the circumstances of the delay to be regarded as exceptional; but the tendering process had passed to its legal department, which considered it had no option other than to apply the rules of the competition strictly The client had made it clear that only fully compliant bids would be con­ sidered The contractor’s management summary, the first item in the bid, included a formal statement to the effect that the bid was compliant in all respects The credibility of this claim was undermined in the very next part of the bid, which introduced a series of conditions, variations and prevarications, partly as improvements to the scope of work and partly as reflections of the superior experience of the contractors It was clear to any perceptive reader that the bid was not at all compliant Despite the effort that the contractor had put into the bid, it did not progress far in the evaluation The structure of bids was left for contractors to decide One firm started with eight pages of historical background about itself and its services: the first words were ‘In 1864 when the firm’s founding fathers first came together ’ This was for a contract due to start in 2002 The client was mentioned first on page 11 of the bid and then only in passing The client required bids to include the names of three previous clients who could be approached for references about the work done by the contractor One bidder chose to name only the managers in its own organ­ization who had been responsible for the contracts When the suicidal nature of this approach was pointed out, its argument was that clients could not be expected to know the technical details of the work, and anyway its performance record was commercially confidential Do you need to be told the result? 233 234 Bids, Tenders & Proposals The client was an independent record company that intended to set up an interactive website where visitors could search its catalogue, listen to tracks from new releases, download audio files and read interviews with artists An in-house team had been set up to plan and implement the project, but after a year they had made scant progress and had little to show The managing director called in management consultants to review the team’s work and determine what needed to be done to develop the site and bring it into operation The work specification they were given was brief – just one paragraph! – and to the point: ‘What are the technical options? Should we manage the site ourselves or use an external service? Which option will serve the company best? What are the cost implications? How soon can we have a professionally designed site up and running? What steps we need to take to implement it?’ He asked the consultants to give him answers within a month Following intensive research, analysis and evaluation, the consultants identified a preferred option, costed it, outlined an implementation plan and sent in their report exactly four weeks after starting work The MD’s initial reaction was silence Then an e-mail came in from his office: ‘Why haven’t you given me what I asked for? I wanted all the options costed, and I need that information in a comparative table showing bottom line figures for all cost elements of each option.’ The consultants looked again at the wording of the work specification That innocent-sounding phrase – ‘What are the cost implications?’ – signified more than they had thought They had assumed that the preferred option would be identified on technical grounds, and that what they then had to was to cost only the development and implementation of that one option Because even that task was quite a challenge in the limited time available, they had not conceived that the client would require cost information for the other options too If the specification had been thought through in detail and phrased more carefully (and at somewhat greater length!), and if the consultants had asked for confirmation of their assumptions, there might have been less room for misinterpretation Over the ensuing weeks, further correspondence brought the results of the work closer in line with the MD’s expectations The consultants’ report was accepted and their invoice approved for payment It later transpired that the requirement to cost every option was a point insisted on by the company’s board, which had not been given an opportunity to see the tender documents The pitfalls of repeating word for word what the client writes in the tender documents were brought home to one contractor who was unaware that the data given in the specification contained a factual error that had since proved particularly embarrassing to the client The contractor might have been able to plead that it was misled by the client had it not presented the inaccurate information under the guise of its own research into the situation! True Stories The tender documents had invited comments on the terms of reference One of the competitors, a firm of consulting engineers, thought the invitation meant that they were expected to respond to every single clause in the client’s document The problem was that they had little to say about its content As a result that section of their bid consisted mainly of lists of clauses with the comment, ‘No comment’ To make things worse, they called the section ‘Qualification of the terms of reference’ The client regarded that as an unhelpful choice of wording Some of its managers initially wanted to reject the bid, arguing that it was not open to bidders to qualify either the terms of reference or their response, since variant solutions were not allowed Eventually they accepted that the firm’s ‘qualifications’ were inconsequential matters of detail and the bid went through for evaluation But the error cost the bid valuable marks Contractors often fail to project adequately the competitiveness of their response For example, an expert named as a team member in one bid had worked a few years back on the client’s staff, where he had done a successful job and still had many friends; but the only mention of this experience was buried deep within his CV While preparing the bid, the contractor had made a visit to the contract site; but few perceptions came through about what had been learnt from talking to people there, and the fact that there had actually been a visit was far from obvious An important part of the work was a set of actions to improve the client’s laboratory facilities These were introduced one by one in a long sequence of paragraphs, whereas it would have been more effective to start the account with an overall statement of the improvement programme so that the client saw the broad picture before reading about the details The evaluation panel examining another bid found it not too far off the mark in terms of technical quality and price But they were irritated by strange and unexplained inconsistencies For example, the tender documents referred to a ‘project manager’ whereas the terms ‘project director’ and ‘team leader’ were used interchangeably by the contractor to denote the same role The client had talked about ‘tasks and activities’: in the bid these became ‘components and sub-components’ The tender documents required the successful contractor to set up a series of ‘launch workshops’; in the text of the bid they were called ‘inception workshops for senior management’, while a related figure showed them as ‘vision workshops’ Fertile ground for confusion A proposal specialist had been called in to advise a consultancy on ways to improve the quality and competitiveness of its bids From the batch of proposals he was asked to review there was one that seemed quite outstanding It was for a project in an African country In his report he wrote that it 235 236 Bids, Tenders & Proposals ‘conveyed a sense that its content had not simply been derived from the terms of reference: it showed evidence of insight into the client’s priorities and empathy with cultural values in the client environment it had the merit of showing enthusiasm for the project, with an approach that was unusual but arresting and rich in local, hands-on content’ When he told the client manager how impressed he had been by the bid, the manager said, ‘Yes, the person who wrote it loved that country.’ What gave the bid its power was not only the identity of purpose and commitment that had gone into it, but also the fact that the bid had been written by a single person and spoke to the client with a single, consistent voice The client was a small business Its accounts staff were efficient and made a point of paying invoices within ten days of receiving them But this was not fast enough for some of its freelance consultants One particular consultant, whose cash flow was chronically intermittent and who survived on a perilously narrow margin, had cultivated the habit of calling in at the accounts office a few days after submitting his invoice to try to persuade them to pay him just that bit sooner – ‘I just happened to be passing and thought I’d look in.’ Ideally he would have liked to walk out of the office with a cheque in his hand As a device to excuse his persistence and win sympathy he used to conjure up on these occasions the picture of a hungry and desperate family ‘I see those eight little faces looking up at me and asking “Daddy, are we going to eat today?” “You will,” I say, “if the nice lady in accounts pays me.”’ There came a day when he made a subtle change in the story and talked about nine children, hoping to underline the pathos of his situation ‘We’ll mail a cheque to you,’ said the accounts lady The remittance arrived the next day, together with a leaflet on birth control And the moral of these stories? ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ Follow the client’s instructions If you choose to something different, you have to justify it convincingly Keep bids direct and to the point The right choice of style will strengthen your image as the right source of professional advice Apply a structured approach to managing the development of the bid Remember, in asking you to prepare a bid the client is setting you a test: the quality of your response will be seen as a proxy for your performance of the work Don’t feed clients data they have already It’s your ideas and your insights that are important True Stories ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ Recognize that the client sees your work as part of a process to be translated into action, not as an end-product in itself Don’t commit yourself to an unrealistic work plan or lead the client to expect results you cannot deliver Show you have thought through the work and its challenges in detail Put your heart into the bid and write with energy and enthusiasm The contract is important to the client and it has to be seen as important to you Keep a close eye on quality and compliance all the way through the development and writing of the bid Ensure that all the information the client has asked for is included in the bid and presented in the way the client requires Understand what the client values Make this a strong feature of your bid Add value by offering more In competitions for service contracts and consultancy there is seldom a second prize The winner usually takes all To write a winning tender it is not enough just to be the best value for money: you have to demonstrate your distinctive value throughout the bid and communicate it to the client emphatically and irresistibly 237 238 Postscript: Tough talk from clients Are you listening to what they are saying? ‘I ’m not sure what’s wrong.’ The consultant talking to me shook his head ‘We don’t seem to be getting anywhere with our tenders We set out our stall quite clearly, our prices are reasonable, and we stress the added value we give clients But we are never their number one choice.’ I asked what feedback they had from clients ‘Usually they are not very forthcoming,’ he replied ‘Some briefings are helpful, when they tell us what they thought was good about our tender and the things we need to consider in future Others just give us the scores, showing how poorly we performed against other bidders We always get the impression there was some vital ingredient we missed.’ It’s a familiar story Getting good feedback from clients, and translating their feedback into improved performance, are critically important, and you will obtain more constructive results from a face-to-face meeting than from a formal letter But to write a winning tender you really need to be wise before the event, and to understand – before you start writing – what the client expects to see in a convincing response Talking to clients in the public sector and in various areas of business, I’ve found a large measure of agreement about the factors that make a difference when they are evaluating PQQs and tenders Not surprising, since they are all concerned with performance and value for money They want the bids they receive to be accurately focused, efficiently presented and genuinely competitive This is what clients want contractors to know: Going beyond the minimum ■■ ‘We need to see that you’ve done your homework on the contract – which means putting into your tender information we hadn’t given Postscript: Tough Talk from Clients you and insights you’ve gained through your own research Never simply repeat what we have told you The information in the ITT is the minimum you’re expected to know Equally, the services and deliverables itemized in the ITT are the minimum you’re expected to provide.’ Responding fully and precisely ■■ ■■ ■■ ‘Instructions to tenderers mean just that If we ask for a piece of information or a copy of a document, we are instructing you to supply it Omitting it will cost you marks.’ ‘We are looking for responses that are tailored precisely to our situation and our specific requirements Generalized tenders are a waste of time If the client is, say, Middletown City Council, we will expect to see the word “Middletown” on every page of your response By all means use examples of what you have done for other clients – for instance, through case studies – but show exactly how your methods will work in our context.’ ‘Read each question carefully and focus your answers on what the question asks Each question is worded deliberately to give us the information we want You will be scored down if you write an answer that relates only vaguely to the question.’ Evidence ■■ ‘Evidence is the key factor We need to be convinced that you really understand our requirements, and that your proposed work methods and capabilities are supported by evidence of success If the evidence isn’t there in the bid, you will be marked down.’ Price ■■ ■■ ■■ ‘We need to know how your price was arrived at, and how it relates to the cost of the inputs and services you intend to provide Global figures on their own are useless, even for fixed-price contracts If public money is at stake, we have to be convinced we are getting good value for money.’ ‘Don’t qualify your price We not want to see conditions in a bid Once a fixed-price bid is submitted there is no opportunity for negotiations on price, so you must work out the sum confidently and then stick to it.’ ‘If you put in tables of costs, make sure they are consistent with each other and free from arithmetical errors An inability to calculate accurately is not a good credential for a consultant.’ 239 240 Bids, Tenders & Proposals Adding value ■■ ■■ ■■ ‘If you choose to boast about adding value to your bid, make sure that what you are offering as added value are items we actually want What we consider added value is not necessarily what you imagine, or what some other client might want The message is: before writing the tender, your research on our business priorities and the way our organization works!’ ‘We don’t take seriously any method statement or work plan that hasn’t been thought through in detail That means thinking about the risks involved and how best to manage them, about aspects of the work that could go wrong and how you propose to prevent that.’ ‘We are looking for creativity as well as dependability If you like clichés you can call it the “wow” factor! Your bid needs to have distinctive ideas, qualities and strengths that make it stand out from the rest.’ Management credibility ■■ ‘If you make a mess of the project, it’s our jobs that are on the line We need to be convinced about your ability to manage the work constructively and efficiently, which means giving factual evidence to show you have a record of doing comparable work successfully.’ Honesty ■■ ‘We can instantly detect answers that are evasive or uncertain, and we are unlikely to be fooled by waffle Direct, truthful answers are what we want And it is essential to submit tenders that are organized in the way we require, so that we can easily find the information we want.’ Don’t ignore what these clients are saying If you follow their guidance, you’ll avoid the faults that weaken so many PQQs and tenders And there’s a better-than-even chance you will give your bid the vital ingredient that puts it at the top of the list 241 I nde x abnormally low price treatment in tender evaluation  217 added value  4, 28, 92, 122–23, 134, 161–65, 240 advance payment  196–97 appendices use in bids  95, 119 associates  62, 64, 66, 82, 100–01, 103–108, 144, 165, 175, 232 choosing 102–03 size of association  102 usefulness in overseas projects  100–01 banker’s reference  in pre-qualification  52 best value regime in public sector  23 bid bond  62, 64, 67, 73 budget  93, 128, cover 187 design 187 development worksheet  71, 87, 95–96, 127 editing  87, 120, 127, 130–32, 175 letters 121–22 management 84–97 manager  6, 29, 54, 85–86, 89–90, 102, 126 planning meeting  86–87, 124, 126 preparation  costs  67, 84, 103 resources  62, 102, 166 production  71, 89, 92, 108, 193, 208 overseas 108 records  85, 97, 167 response matrix  71, 222, 117–18, 124 summary  122–23, 170, 64 Big Lottery Fund (BIG) research programme  36 BIP Solutions Ltd  14 brevity importance of  116, 122, 175 briefing meetings by clients  73, 223 brochures inclusion in bids  117–18, 222 budget information inclusion in tender documents  79, 198 business continuity  27, 49, 50, 76, 136, 146–47, 154 business software  8, 90, 174, 184, 186 business strategy relationship of bid opportunity  56, 58 business unit manager role in procurement  28–29 central government project funding  23–25, 33–34, 162, 201–02 challenge funds  23 change management  140, 142 charge rates  190–01, 199, 201, 229 clarification meeting  73, 81, 88 clarification procedures  22, 42, 51, 71–73, 81–82, 206 client inputs  75, 79, 86, 88, 92–93, 105, 109–11, 119, 134, 143–45, 148, 195 client references  134, 177, 218 client review of deliverables  143, 152, 157 client support categories of  152, 204–05 collusive tendering certificate  198, 204 commenting on the tender documents  80, 120–21 communication skills in bid preparation  94 competitive dialogue as procurement procedure  18, 44, 60 competitive procedure with negotiation 18 completion report  157–58 compliance check in tender evaluation  87, 124, 213 consortia  31, 71, 103, 168 consultation summary as contract deliverable  159 contingency margin in pricing  90, 190, 210, 220 contract head office involvement  146, 148 histories 177 management  5–7, 10, 19, 23, 25, 29, 33, 35, 44, 46–52, 71, 73, 76–81, 83–92, 115–120, 144–155, 218, 220 quality management  143–57, 172, 191, 218–220 notice  3, 7, 12–13, 17–22, 42–44, 72–73, 118, 187, 213 242 Index contract  cont’d responsibilities  63, 80, 85–86, 88, 100, 103, 112, 114, 118, 136–37, 146, 149, 219–20 review  115, 157 Contracts Finder  14 contractor use of term defined  Cordis 225 cost assumptions  84, 88, 110, 128, 194–95 cover information and design  177 CRM software  cross-referencing 126  CVs 166–76 editing 167 education and professional status  173 experience matrix  175 experience record  173–74 format and structure  168–69 key qualifications  172–73 length 175 personal data  172 publications 175 decisions on bidding bid preparation costs  62, 69, 72, 77 client characteristics  64–65 competitive situation  59–61 professional value of contract  65 project costs and revenues  63–64 relationship to business strategy  61 risk assessment  67–68 skills and experience factors  66–67 workload, management and personnel implications 65–66 declining a bidding invitation  68 deliverables  27, 35, 79, 109, 119–125, 133, 138, 141–43, 146–50 definition of final deliverable  139, 147–49 schedule  121, 125, 156–57 delivery of bid courier services  210 design software  186–87 discretionary grounds for exclusion from prequalification  45 dissemination of research findings  21 document management in bid preparation  77–81 double envelope procedure  197 draft contract  63–64, 196 e-Certis 14 EC portal  22 electronic submission  35, 52, 69, 77, 87–88, 203–07 eligibility of tenderers  10, 33, 48, 73, 213 Employers’ Liability Insurance  47 e-tendering  7, 14–16, 29, 51–54, 69, 72, 108, 118, 203–07 UK portals  16 EU procurement framework  11–24 EU-funded research Cordis 225 Horizon 2020  31–32 European Court of Justice  20 European Research Area  31 European Research Council  225 evaluation criteria  21, 29, 33, 53–54, 62, 80, 88, 92, 116, 211–218, 224–25 evaluation matrices  214 evaluation panel  92, 100, 225, 235 evaluation procedures  22, 38, 81, 123, 197, 212, 214, 217, 225 experience matrix in CVs  175 experience record in CVs  173–74 expression of interest  3, 18, 21, 31, 44, 77, 203 extension of submission date  73 final reports as contract deliverable  149, 158–59, 180 financial evaluation  212, 215–17 financial information  19, 44, 48, 52, 73, 88, 108, 177, 196–98 in research bids  201–02 financial proposal  197  financial thresholds  6, 22, 53 flow diagram use in explaining work plan  129 framework agreements  23 Freedom of Information Act  71, 83 graphics  87, 90–92, 95, 123, 126, 183–88, 208, 230 guidelines on use in bids  184–86 importance of legibility  185, 205 head office involvement in contract management  146 Horizon 2020  31 immediate action programme as a source of added value  154 inception reports  142, 157–58 information use in bid preparation  93–94 information package  69 Innovate UK  34 Index Innovation partnership  17 Innovation Union  32 interim reports  158 international financing institutions (IFIs)  37–38 introductory section of bid  89, 143 ISO series of quality management standards  50, 73, 154 ISO 14001 50 itemizing activities in work plan  141–42 joint bids by shortlisted firms  103 joint ventures  38, 104 key qualifications in CVs  172–73 KPIs  135, 154 labelling of bids client requirements  72, 209 late payers  197 letter of transmittal  123 light-touch procurement regime  17 local associates in overseas bids  64, 66, 82, 100–01, 105–08, 165, 175 logical framework use in tender documents  75 logo use on bid cover  187 use on text pages  188, 205 lottery grants  36 management communication  146, 150–52 management documentation as contract deliverable  148, 152, 154, 157–58 mandatory grounds for exclusion from prequalification  45 market intelligence  7, 21, 88, 97 marking scheme in tender evaluation  44, 214, 221 matrix of experience in CVs  175 matrix of team experience  119 meetings with client  87–88, 95, 151, 157, 192 methodology as factor in tender evaluation  214, 219, 224 thumbnail sketches to illustrate  184 method statement  44, 51, 70, 74–75, 88, 117, 134–37, 176–77, 206, 211, 214, 219, 225 most economically advantageous tender  18–19, 22, 26, 81, 211, 213–14 multiplier time charge  190, 192–93 multiplier benefits from bid  81, 162, 215, 2208 negotiated procedure in EU procurement  18 network diagrams  183, 185 non-payers 197 Official Journal of the European Communities  7, 13 OHSAS 18001  50 open procedure in EU procurement  17–18 overheads  5, 85, 191–92, 199, 202 treatment in financial information  191–92 overseas bids bidding decisions  57–59, 62–63, 80 CV issues  108, 175 data for bid record  97 delivery 210 language and translation issues  62, 82, 108, 131 local association  64, 66, 82, 100–01, 105–08, 175 pricing and payment issues  64–65, 106, 192, 194–96 production decisions  98 unit cost data  101 visits 100 packaging of bid client requirements  72  page layout  187, 205 paragraph numbering  122 Part A and Part B services  17 partnership funds  23–24 partnerships and associations guidelines on size and form  103–05 identity of lead firm  102 importance in research funding  32, 210 importance of explaining rationale for formation  31, 102 payment terms  80, 192–97 payroll costs  106, 191, 201 peer review, of drafts  87, 124, 126, 128, 132–33 performance bond  64, 67, 73 performance monitoring  115, 117, 125, 133, 145–46, 151, 153, 219 personal data in CVs  172 personnel as factor in tender evaluation  191, 195, 201–02, 214–15, 219 as source of added value  163 243 244 Index policy questions in pre-qualification documents  56 pre-qualification  17–21, 43–57, 85, 118, 177, 179, 203, 206, 216 approved supplier registers  10, 19 expression of interest  3, 18, 21, 31, 44, 57, 203 information requirements  49–50 scoring procedure  53 presentations  22, 42, 73, 87, 116, 184, 192, 218, 227–29 planning and preparation  228 pitfalls 230 visual aids  228–30 pre-tender briefing presentation  73, 223 price 189–202 as factor in tender evaluation  197, 200, 202–03, 206, 210–12  price information advance payment  196–97 charge rates  190–01, 199, 201, 229 chargeable time  142, 191–92 cost assumptions  84, 88, 110, 128, 194–95 cost escalation  195–96, 200 exposure to financial risk  52, 62–64, 111, 200 fixed price calculation  198 late payment  197 overheads  5, 85, 191–92, 199, 202 payment terms  80, 192–97 payroll costs  106, 191, 201 price validity  73, 195 profit  62–64, 67, 191–92, 199, 209–210 reimbursable expenses  41, 190, 193 separate financial proposals  197 subsistence allowances  190, 194–95, 202 time charge multiplier  190, 192–93 total bid price  134, 189–90 prior information notice  12 procurement directives  11, 20 procurement rules in public sector tendering contract award  3, 4, 17–22, 29, 33–34, 63, 65, 73,77, 79, 81,106, 118, 137, 163, 198, 218, 227 contract notice  3, 7, 12–13, 17–22, 42–44, 72–73, 118, 187, 213 financial thresholds  6, 22, 53 most economically advantageous tender  18–19, 22, 26, 81, 211, 213–14 professional indemnity insurance  48, 67 profit  62–64, 67, 191–92, 199, 209–210 profitability  27, 61 progress measurement  133, 146, 153 progress reports  152, 156–57 project brief  69 project experience  174–75, 177–82 project logistics and support  146, 152 project management software applied to bid preparation  90, 142, 184 project summaries  177, 180–81 Public Contracts Regulations 2015  12 Public Liability Insurance  47 public procurement legislation  11–12 publications in CVs  175 quality management in bid preparation  91–93 standards  73, 77, 147 quality of bid presentation as factor in tender evaluation  208, 221 quality plan  154 quality:price ratio in tender evaluation  211, 214, 216–17 readability importance of  red team use in bid preparation  92–93 registration of approved or preferred contractors  10, 104 reimbursable expenses  41, 190, 193 repeat business bidding for  5, 164–65 report production  152 reports completion 157–58 final  140, 158–59, 180 inception  142, 157–58 interim  158 progress  152, 156–57 summary  159, 180 topic  158 request for proposals  3, 38, 40 reports and accounts  research councils funding information and guidance  34–35 research partnerships  32, 102 research proposals evaluation 224–225 resource deficiencies as risk factors  113–14 response matrix  71, 124–25, 222 résumés  143, 176 retention of project fees  64 review and mark-up conventions in bid text  88–89 risk assessment in decisions on bidding  67–68 Index risk management  23, 25, 48, 50, 64, 67, 76, 78, 111–12, 117, 162, 200, 212, 220 Salesforce 8 self-cleaning in prequalification  45 SIMAP  13, 22 Small Business Research Initiative  34 SMEs  17, 44 role in government-funded research  34 staff inputs  85, 141–43, 158, 166, 222 Gantt chart  142, 183 standstill, mandatory before contract award  20, 22 steering group  146, 151–52 subcontracting  78, 103 associated risks  111–12 subsistence  190, 194–95, 202 substitution of personnel  147 summarizing the bid  122–23 summary reports as contract deliverable  159, 180 team experience  71, 81, 113, 118–19, 134, 149, 168, 176 induction  146, 148 structure  49, 87, 140, 143, 146–47, 163, 176, 215 team leader responsibilities 147–48 technical approach as factor in tender evaluation  210–14 technical documentation as contract deliverable  155, 157 technical merit interpretation of term  214, 221, 225 technical writing guidelines 129 tender and contract documentation as contract deliverable  148, 157–59 tender documents  background of contract  73 budget information  79 clarification procedures  81 client responsibilities  79–80 competence and experience requirements  76–78 evaluation criteria and procedure  80–81 information on contractual matters  71 information requirements  75–76 outcome and deliverables  79 overseas contracts  82–83 price information  80 risk management  78 scope of services  74–75 submission requirements  72–73 time-frame of contract  79 tender evaluation multi-stage procedure  79, 81, 217–18 tender preparation costs  62 Tenders Electronic Daily (TED)  13 tender submission checklist  76–77, 87, 124 terms of reference  21, 69, 75 threshold values in EU procurement  12 time inputs  33, 35, 111, 134, 141 timetable for bidding  58, 73, 81, 89, 98, 122, 125, 201 of project  77, 107, 115, 120–21, 136 total bid price  134, 189–90 transnationality in research bidding  31 translation  62, 82, 108, 140, 193, 195, 209 travel expenses  193, 195, 202 TUPE regulations  53, 66 typography  187–88, 205 UK Cabinet Office, Efficiency and Reform Group  23 UK Crown Commercial Service  23, 26, 44 UK Department for Business, Innovation & Skills 34 United Nations Global Marketplace  37–38, 41 Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006  12 Utilities Vendor Database (UVDB)  19 validity of tender  73, 195 value for money definition 22–23 variant solutions  73, 78, 110, 120–21, 213, 217, 220 VAT 190 version control in bid preparation  87–88, 131 visual aids in presentations  228–30 working relationships between consultant team and client  23, 28, 107, 113–14, 153, 164 within consultant team  114 workload as factor in bidding decision  59, 67–68 work programme as factor in tender evaluation  133, 216, 219, 224 working capital  63, 67, 196 World Bank  37–40, 139 consultant selection bases  41 245 246 THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ... Harold, 1933  Bids, tenders and proposals : winning business through best practice / Harold Lewis – Fifth edition   pages cm   Revised edition of the author’s Bids, tenders and proposals, 2012...i Bids, Tenders & Proposals ii THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iii FifTH EDITION Bids, Tenders & Proposals Winning business through best practice Harold Lewis iv... national legislation and government accounting principles 12 Bids, Tenders & Proposals Public sector contracts for services and consultancy in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are governed principally