Bids, tenders & proposals : winning business through best practice

304 Pages·2009·3.374 MB·English

by  Harold Lewis

Bids_tend_prop_TP:Layout 1 1/12/08 16:55 Page 1
Bids,
Tenders &
Pr oposals
Winning business through best practice
3RD EDITION
HAROLD LEWIS

London and Philadelphia
This book has been endorsed by the Institute of Directors.
The endorsement is given to selected Kogan Page books which the IoD recognizes as being of specific
interest to its members and providing them with up-to-date, informative and practical resources for creating
business success. Kogan Page books endorsed by the IoD represent the most authoritative guidance
available on a wide range of subjects including management, finance, marketing, training and HR.
The views expressed in this book are those of the author and are not necessarily the same as those of the Institute
of Directors.
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
Reprinted in 2006, revised second edition 2007
Reprinted in 2008
Third edition 2009
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:
Kogan Page Limited Kogan Page US
120 Pentonville Road 525 South 4th Street, #241
London N1 9JN Philadelphia PA 19147
United Kingdom USA
www.koganpage.com
© Harold Lewis, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2009
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 0 7494 5420 3
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 & proposals : winning business through best practice /
Harold Lewis. – 3rd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7494-5420-3
1. Proposal writing in business. 2. Proposal writing in public
contracting. 3. Letting of contracts. I. Title. II. Title: Bids,
tenders, and proposals.
HF5718.5.L49 2009
658.15’224–dc22
2008043862
Typeset by JS Typesetting Ltd, Porthcawl, Mid Glamorgan
Printed and bound in India by Replika Press Pvt Ltd
Contents
List of figures vii
Preface to the third edition ix
1 A bid to succeed 1
About this book 1; Guidelines to set you on course 4;
Developing ski lls in bid writing 8; Market research and
intelligence 9
2 Bidding for public sector contracts 14
The EU procurement framework 14; Key aspects of the
procurement regulations 15; Outline of the procurement
process 23; Priorities for the public sector 26; Bidding for
project funding 28; Bids for Lottery grants 30; Bidding for
London 2012 contracts 31
3 Tendering for the private sector 33
Equal concern for value for money 33
iii
Contents
4 Bidding for research funding 39
Tendering for EU-funded research 40; Essential dos and
don’ts 43; Research council and government funding 45;
Bidding for Lottery research funding 48
5 Pre-qualifying for tender opportunities 49
Pre-qualification information 51; Guidance to get you
ahead 53; Capability statements 58
6 Deciding to bid 60
Issues to consider 61; Risk assessment 70
7 Analysing the bid specification 72
Points for checklists 74
8 Managing the bid 90
Planning and coordination 91; Document management
and version control 96; Programming production and
delivery 98; Checking bid quality 98; Bringing together
resources and inputs 101; Using a bid development
worksheet 103; Maintaining bid records 105
9 Talking to the client 106
10 Bidding in partnership 111
Guidelines for association 112; Overseas bids: teaming up
with local associates 115
11 Thinking the work through 120
Get the measure of the work 121; Match technical content

and price 122; Recognize and manage risk 123; Reduce the
risk of contract failure 127
12 Developing and writing the bid 129
Structuring the bid 130; Thinking different 136; Commenting
on the bid specification 137; Bid letters 138; Summarizing
the bid 139; Response matrix 141; Bid development timeline
141; Creating the text 143; Editing the bid 149
13 Explaining approach and methodology 154
Shaping the argument 154; Writing about methods 155;
Structuring the work plan 158
iv
Contents
14 Focusing on contract management 165
Team management and resources 167; Management
interface 170; Quality management 176
15 Defining outcomes and deliverables 178
Contract deliverables 179
16 Communicating added value 185
17 Presenting CVs 192
Management of CVs 193; Standardizing CV format and
structure 195; Basic structure for CVs 198; Résumés 205
18 Describing professional experience 206
Client references 206; Project summaries 208; Bringing
experience to life 210
19 Making good use of graphics 213
Types of bid graphics 214; Guidelines for effective
graphics 214; Design software 217; The bid cover 218;
Bid design and page layout 219
20 Stating your price 221
Components of price information 222; Cost
assumptions 228; Payment 230; Separate financial
proposals 232; Best practice in dealing with price 232;
Financial information in research bids 236
21 Producing and submitting the bid 238

Electronic submission 238; Size and presentation 241;
Packaging and delivery 243
22 Understanding how clients evaluate tenders 245
Evaluation criteria in public sector procurement 245;
Methods of evaluating bids 248; Questions clients ask 254;
Evaluation of research proposals 260
23 Presentations to clients 262
Planning and making the presentation 262; Visual aids 265;
Pitfalls to avoid 265
v
Contents
24 Do your own tender auditing 268
Using feedback from clients 268; The auditing
procedure 269; Audit parameters in detail 273;
Applying the results of the audit 279
25 Twelve true stories 281
And the moral of these stories? 286
Index 288

vi
List of figures
1.1 Approaches to the bidding process 3
2.1 Steps in a typical local authority procurement process for
services or consultancy 24
3.1 Typical decision-making structure in corporate
procurement 36
5.1 Example of guidance note on electronic pre-qualification 54
7.1 Example of a tender submission checklist 82
8.1 Bid management responsibilities 93
8.2 Detail of a bid development worksheet 104
12.1 Example of a bid introduction 134
12.2 Detail of a matrix of team experience 135
12.3 Detail of a bid response matrix 142
12.4 Recommended timeline for bid development and
production 144
12.5 Checklist for peer reviewers 152
13.1 Principle of a work plan analysis 159
13.2 Team member: example of outline of technical
responsibilities and résumé 163
vii
List of figures
17.1 Example of a client template for CV information 196
17.2 First page of a CV showing recommended style 197
17.3 Example of an experience matrix 204
18.1 Example of a client template for project experience
information 207
19.1 Use of thumbnail sketches 215
22.1 Typical ‘evaluation tree’ for a public sector procurement 246
22.2 Example of a technical evaluation matrix 249
22.3 Examples of technical evaluation scoring 251
24.1 Outline of auditing procedure 271
24.2 Example of audit parameter scoring 271
24.3 Example of a summary of audit parameter scores 273

viii
Preface to the third edition
The growth of e-procurement and e-tendering in the public sector is
one of the main reasons why a new edition of this book was necessary:
while referred to throughout the text, electronic submission is
addressed principally in Chapter 21. Changes in the EU procurement
framework since 2007, when the revised second edition appeared, need
to be reflected (Ch apter 2) as well as developments in the structure of
EU research funding (Chapter 4).
In most sections of the book, I have drawn from my experience as a
specialist consultant on proposal-writing to add points of detailed
advice that I hope will make the book even more useful as a practical
guide to successful bidding. In particular, the material on pre-
qualification (Chapter 5), analysing the bid specification (Chapter 7),
structuring the bid (Chapter 8), quality management (Chapter 12),
contract management (Chapter 14) and communicating added value
(Chapter 16) has been expanded. Material has been added on bidding
for lottery funding and Olympics-related contracts (Chapter 2).
ix
Preface
Throughout the book references have been brought up to date,
examples of proposal material and other figures have been refreshed
and the text has again been restructured in places to improve its flow.
I am grateful to Jon Finch, Senior Publisher and Associate Director
at Kogan Page, and to my Commissioning Editor for this edition,
Annika Knight, for their unflagging support. I want to express my
thanks also to DL in Reading and DCM in Tampa, Florida, to whom
this edition is dedicated.

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