Central Procurement Directorate (CPD)

CPD is part of the Department of Finance Provides procurement services to central government in Northern Ireland Clients include Departments, Agencies and Arms-Length Bodies How does central government buy?

CPD Construction CPD Health Projects CPD Supplies and Services PaLS (health supplies and services) Translink Transport NI Housing Executive Education Authority NI Water All the Centres of Procurement Expertise

More than 5,000 contracts awarded by central government Total value of central government procurement £1.8bn On average £4.9m awarded per day Tell me about a typical year...

1.Construction / Maintenance Services 2.Medical / Surgical Equipment and Supplies 3.Energy 4.Facilities Management 5.Repair / Maintenance Services 6.Office Machines and Supplies Procurement Expenditure categories – top spenders

Examples of Collaborative Contracts: Courier service Photography Graphic design Employee counselling Office cleaning Catering services Supply of natural gas Electricity supply Vehicle breakdown recovery service Office stationery Laptops Furniture and flooring HR services Travel management Interpretation service Civil engineering works Recycling collection Taxi services Collaborative contracts typically last 3-5 years and involve several government departments / agencies coming together for the procurement

Do your research and get more time to prepare for tenders by reading procurement pipelines How do I know what is in the pipeline to be advertised?

Investment Strategy NI website hosts the construction pipeline information

Central government tender opportunities in NI over £30k in value are advertised online on the eTendersNI portal How do I find out about opportunities?

The new way for NI central government, agencies and arm’s length bodies to advertise tender opportunities over £30k in value eTendersNI service is provided by CPD and is available for all public sector organisations to advertise their tenders Registration and use is free of charge to all suppliers No supplier details were transferred over from eSourcing NI

Are suppliers using eTendersNI? More than 9,000 tenders submitted More than 7,900 suppliers registered

Which buyers are using eTendersNI?

Don’t wait until a tender is published, to get familiar with the tender tool – allow time to build your skills Select your tender team now and take up the tendering training available from InterTradeIreland – learn the right approach to answering tender questions Key tips for using eTendersNI

Submit your tender at least two hours before the 3pm deadline New users may require assistance from the helpdesk at the point of tender submission – allow enough time Tenders are encrypted until the deadline expires Key tips for using eTendersNI

Supplies and services under £30k - central government Not usually advertised as a full tender Buyer finds the relevant category on eTendersNI and uses the list of suppliers registered Buyer contacts 5 or 6 suppliers about the opportunity Suppliers complete a simplified tender Goods and services awarded on lowest acceptable price

Construction under £30k - central government Constructionline is a database of construction suppliers (or construction related) Used by the public sector to select contractors / consultants to tender for projects under £30k which are not normally advertised A minimum of six suppliers will be selected for each project

Instructions to Tenderers The evaluation criteria Conditions of Contract Specification / Requirement Pricing Schedule Fair Employment Declaration What should I expect to see in the tender documents?

Examples of similar projects you have delivered Proof of your ability to deliver the contract Proof of your financial standing / professional conduct Health and safety experience and systems in place What kind of information will I have to provide?

List of Submitted Tenders Tenders unencrypted and issued to Selection Panel members after the deadline expires Selection stage then Evaluation stage All tenderers informed of outcome Scores provided as feedback What happens after I’ve submitted the tender?

The criteria against which tenders are evaluated is always published in the tender documents for all tenderers to read Most contracts above EU threshold are awarded on the basis of MEAT (Most Economically Advantageous Tender), which is a combination of quality and price Evaluating tenders – not just about price

Evaluation Criteria Implementation Service Delivery Business Continuity Performance Management Price Weighting 5% 45% 5% 40% Evaluating Criteria and Weightings (example)

Bidding for a contract that they are not fully capable of delivering Not fully answering the questions asked in the tender Not providing prices for all aspects of the tender Submitting general information about the company rather than a specific bid Where do tenderers go wrong?

Review your bid and scores Learn from each bid submitted Find a mentor What to do if you are unsuccessful?

Buy Social construction model From April 2016 onwards the Buy Social requirements are to be applied in procurements above £2m for works contracts and £4m for civil engineering contracts The model sets targets for recruiting and training new entrants during the delivery of the construction contract

(England) (Scotland) (Wales) How do I find out about central government opportunities elsewhere in the UK?

Online guidance The departmental website has a number of resources for suppliers: Quick Reference Guides FAQs Case Studies Procurement Pipeline Procurement Guidance Notes What guidance is online?

QUESTIONS