Bidding for tenders is stressful at the best of times. And this goes double if it’s your job to manage the process. You'll have many time-sensitive elements to draw together, subject matter experts to consult, other colleagues to coordinate – and all the while, the...

The Public Services (Social Value) Act (2012) came into force in 2013. Its goal: to ensure the vast sums handed down by the Government to the public sector produce benefits – or ‘social value’ – beyond simply providing services. The act created an expectation: those...

You'd probably have to travel pretty far to find someone who loves to fill in forms. But they are an essential part of life. And if you respond to tenders – especially for public sector contracts – the form-like PQQ (or SQ) will be an essential part of your working...

As you're here, you may be considering creating a bid library – or whipping an existing one into shape. And probably with good reason. A well-kept bid library can save you time (and stress) on every bid you create. It should also help you to make the most of every bid...

Writing a bid is a challenge – you don't need me to tell you that. But it also means a huge undertaking for the buyer. Those specifications, tender guides, pre-qualifying questionnaires and pricing schedules that you have to wade through? The buyer has to produce them...

As a bid writer, you can sometimes feel like a jack-of-all-trades. You have to turn your skills to many things. There's identifying clients' key challenges and matching these to your solution, writing persuasively, collaborating, knowing your sector or industry – and...