Not for Profit Business Association. The Tendering Process. Presented by Carmel Cullen.

Introduction: Practical Approach to tendering. Strategic View for an organisation. Q&A

Types of Tendering within Public Sector: EU Public Procurement Directives E-Tenders – National Media Quotations

EU Procurement Directives: Driven by the threshold spend of the tender: Supplies Contracts: –154,014 Euro for Central Government Bodies (CGB) (Government Departments). –236,945 Euro for other Public Sector Contracting Authorities (PSCA). Services Contracts: –CGB 154,014 Euro –PSCA 236,945 Euro (except for Annex B services, R&D and some subsidised services threshold 200,000 euro.

EU Procurement Directives: Works Contracts: –5,923,624 euro for all bodies. (thresholds as at 1 st January, 2004 – valid for two years).

EU Procurement Directives: OJEC, e-tenders and/or national media advertisement. Tender documentation circulated (included weighted criteria) Time limits Objective evaluation. MEAT/lowest priced tender selected. Contract Award. Debriefing.

E-Tenders: Supplies & Services contracts that are not within the EU threshold but greater than 5,000 euro.

E-Tenders: Contracting Authority may advertise on e-tenders and/or national media. At least three written quotes sought. Objective evaluation. Most suitable tender selected. Debriefing.

Quotations: Generally for purchases for less than 5,000 euro. –Verbal quotations from vendors. –Three quotations from vendors chosen randomly. –Lowest priced/most suitable bid selected.

Ways of Tendering: Open Tender: –Specification identified. –Time frame for response to call for tender. –Award Criteria. –Contract.

Ways of Tendering: Restricted Tender: –2 Stage process: - First Stage: Call for tender Expressions of interest received by specific time. Second Stage: Those restricted from the first stage invited to make a proposal for detailed RFT.

Responding to tenders: The key to a successful tender is in the preparation. Do’s and Don’ts –Complete the documentation. –Time extensions. –Seeking information from unauthorised persons.

Responding to tenders: Does our service offering match what is required in the request for tender (RFT)? –Is the match complete? –Are there gaps? –If there are gaps how are we going to bridge the gaps?

Responding to tenders: Ways to bridge the gap: –Consortia Note: there must be a leader who will manage the consortia for the purpose of the tender.

Responding to tenders: Format for responding should be a logical one. Information requested should be included. Demonstrate the organisations ability to provide the service being tendered for. Offer strong references to support the organisations ability.

Responding to tenders: Ensure you have enough time to physically put the proposal together. Make it easy for the evaluation team to evaluate your proposal. Present the proposal in a business fashion (first impressions do matter!!)

Responding to tenders: Follow the instructions carefully. If you require clarification in relation to the aspects of the tender request – don’t be afraid to seek clarification from the persons calling for the tender (better to be safe, than sorry!).

Clarifications: As part of the evaluation process you may be asked questions of clarification from the contracting authority. Presentations may be sought from the tenderers– in order to obtain a greater understanding of the proposal being offered.

Award: The successful tenderer will be offered an award and the legal documentation will be agreed between the parties for the product/services required.

What can organisation do if not offered an award? Debriefing: –This is a process by which the awarding authority offers an explanation as to why the organisation was not successful. –This can be done over the phone or face to face with members of the evaluation team.

What can organisation do if not offered an award? If you are not happy with information you received in the debrief, you can request the information under the Freedom of Information Act. –Request should be in writing requesting the information you wish to receive and quoting the FOI act in the correspondence.

Strategic Considerations: How can your organisation be strategic in its thinking and competitive in its service offerings. –Where are we now? –Where do we want to be? –How do we get there?

Strategic Considerations: The following framework may be useful: –People (Resources, Skills, Training and Development, Learning Organisation) –Customers (references, categories of customers, quality assured services) –Product (service offering, value added aspects of proposal) –Finance (information and financial means)

Conclusions: Practical Approach to tendering. Strategic View for an organisation. Q&A Thank You for your time.