The thought of bidding for a nuclear industry contract can seem daunting.
Successful bids, for contracts often worth several million pounds, depend on three key factors: process, team and time.
Process
Emma-Jayne Gooch, CEO of Plain Purpose and former chief of staff to the CEO of Sellafield, explains: “The first step in the process is to ensure a business is ready to bid.
“As such, businesses will need to register on the bidding portals well in advance of the first bid. Opportunities listed there are for all types of public sector contracts, not just for the nuclear sector. All tenders must adhere to public procurement regulations and follow a specific process.
“Businesses will be asked to provide proof of insurance, show that they are of good financial standing and, in some cases, will also need to provide certain ISO qualifications.”
Once qualified, businesses will be invited to what is called an ITT, an Invitation to Tender.
This will include the work expected and a rubric of how tenders will be marked.
“Typically, you will find a set of technical, quality, commercial and social impact questions. The latter, for example, generally accounts for about 10 per cent of the weighting. So, it is important to clearly present evidence for each of the categories,” Emma-Jayne added.
Adhering to process also means answering the questions against the whole marking criteria and not just the highest criteria. Too many tenders end up not making it to the final stage because they didn’t fulfil the criteria for scoring a 3 and 4 so therefore couldn’t score the 5.
For example, Criteria 3 requests you share your customer communication process and criteria 5 asks you to give examples of how you have exceeded customers’ expectations.
You could have the greatest examples in the world but if you haven’t provided the process you will only score a 2 as you haven’t fulfilled the criteria for a 3 even though you gave what was asked for against a 5.
Another common mistake is not to follow the format requirements. While adhering to a specified font or font size might not seem important in the scheme of things, it is important to provide the format the tender asks for.
Avoid technical jargon. In the first instance, tender bids are read by generalists, not technical specialists. The document has to flow and has to make sense. In terms of language, be affirmative and avoid using negative language or leave sections on a negative note.
Emma Jayne explains: “Many bidding teams assume that the text they provided in the last bid will suffice. It is surprising how many businesses lose their chance to get to the final stages of the process, simply because they did not take bid specific information out of content they used from previous tender documents.
“Also, when providing case studies, it’s important to tailor these to the bid and not to use general case studies. The more closely linked these are to the contract in question, the better.”
Team
When bidding for a nuclear industry tender it is essential to pull your best team together. Invite third-party experts into the process and be clear on the additional skills your team needs.
Plain Purpose for example, brings a breadth of nuclear industry intelligence to the table. The business also offers unique facilitation helping bid teams develop the answer. The two strands of the business have created a unique offering which drives clarity across the bid preparation and offers bidding teams invaluable industry knowledge.
“Having another voice in the room, in person, or virtually, can make all the difference as external team members will ask questions your direct team might not have considered.
“Having someone who can come in and edit text with fresh eyes will sharpen your writing and get rid of any unnecessary jargon. As an external consultant, teams will ask me in at various levels.
“At times, it is a question of editing the bidding documents. At other times, I am a full member of the bidding team from the word go.
“I am brought in also to write the social impact sections of a bid. As I am passionate about social impact, I make sure that only those commitments are included that I am sure bidding organisation can deliver on,” explains Emma Jayne.
Time
In terms of time needed, some tenders for smaller contracts might not take more than two days preparation, yet most will take several weeks if not months to pull together. It can seem a lot to dedicate an entire team for a dedicated period, full-time, but when millions are at stake, the investment is more than justified.
No matter how well-placed a business is to deliver on the tender requirements, failing to complete the corresponding tender documents clearly and convincingly will mean that other, potentially, less able competitors, will win the contract you should have won.
Helpful resources for your public sector bid
Got to: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder to access information on public sector tenders.
Or for individual tenders go to https://www.becbusinesscluster.co.uk/tender-opportunities
About Plain Purpose
Plain Purpose is experienced in authoring and reviewing bids with strong experience in the Government Social Value Model.
As part of their offer, they can:
- Facilitate kick off workshop including setting a purpose, agreeing behaviours and taking learning from previous bid team experience
- Facilitate workshops throughout the bid process to ensure continued focus and to realign behaviours.
- Input knowledge into the bid from Sellafield experience.
- Educate, write and review on the Government Social Value Model against PPN 06/20.
- Review the bid and offer areas of improvement.
- Offer ad hoc specialist consultancy as required.
To find out more about Plain Purpose and how Emma-Jayne can support your bid, go to https://plainpurpose.co.uk
