How to submit a winning bid

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How to submit a winning bid

• Training for those new to bidding
• Peter Horbury
• Bowe Watts Clargo Limited

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Why is this training important
Approximate numbers
Data based on empirical study by BWC may not be
true for Fairness in Primary Care
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What is covered in this training?

• Technical information on tendering
• The law as it stands
• The timeline and how to stay on track
• The dos and don'ts of procurement
• Evaluation and how it affects what you write
• Stage 1 - PQQs and how to complete them
• Stage 2 the ITT and what is required

Disclaimer This is based upon the National
guidance and may change for your PCT please
read all documentation carefully.
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An overview of the process
Transparency and non-discrimination

• The entire process must promote open awareness of
  the contract and must ensure that no-one is
  discriminated against

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The law as it stands

• The Public Contracts Regulations 2006
• 27 member states in EU have signed up to this
  process procurement law is absolute
• Any public contract in excess of 90, 319 MUST be
  openly advertised on the Official Journal
• For Equity in Primary Care non of the allowable
  waivers apply CEO intervention, framework
  contracts nor existing suppliers arrangements
• Procuring organisations must allow clarification
  questions, but do NOT need to vary their terms.

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• There are a number of optional tendering
  processes the procurement method used here is
  the Restricted Procedure ie not everyone is
  able to submit an ITT, a cohort will be selected
  through a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ)
• Bidders must make declarations responding in
  good faith
• A Standard form, issued as an Invitation to
  Tender (ITT) will ensure consistent responses
  which can be evaluated

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Be understanding - PCTs who do not follow the
lawful process will be dealt with harshly!
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Some dos and donts for bidders

• Canvassing be very careful who you talk to!
• Choose references that can talk about you as a
  provider watch out for conflicts of interest
• Do NOT vary the sections or leave any section
  blank if it is not applicable state this
  clearly
• DO show the detail of how the service will be
  provided - where the staff will come from, how it
  will be financed
• Do NOT promise jam tomorrow either show you are
  doing it now or give details of how it will be.

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At its simplest, the process has 3 phases
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Preparatory phase
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Tendering and evaluation phase
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Contract award and progress to Financial Close
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The PQQ what is it for

• The PQQ is designed to secure the necessary
  reassurances about the capacity, capability and
  eligibility of potential Bidders to satisfy the
  minimum requirements of the Scheme
• At PQQ stage DO NOT provide anything that is not
  asked for do not include sales literature,
  executive summaries, copies of other contracts
• You may use appendices where you feel it provides
  necessary evidence to support your statements

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Completing the PQQ

• Section A Project key section, spend 25 of
  your time on this.
• Section A13 Provide evidence that you have (or
  will have) the capacity to meet all the
  obligations.
• Staffing historical recruitment, special
  actions, current capacity, letters of commitment
• Support from specialist expertise to turn
  statements into activities and detailed plans

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Completing the PQQ

• Section B Legal and Regulatory straight
  forward
• Section C Financial information straight
  forward. If you cannot provide 3 years accounts
  it is not the end of the world
• Section D Clinical requirements see next
  slide
• Section E Health and Safety
• Section F Workforce appendices with copies of
  policies etc are NOT needed at PQQ stage they
  will be for ITT
• Section G IMT requirement to use EMIS PCS
  Enterprise if this requires training, begin the
  process now of how this would be achieved think
  about efficiency and effectiveness from a patient
  perspective

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Completing the PQQ Clinical requirements

• Section D Clinical requirements
• If you are not directly employing the staff then
  you MUST list them as a clinical service provider
  eg therapists, specialist nurses, mental health
  workers
• Use national recognised clinical best practice as
  the reference point start the dialogue now with
  your potential contractors

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Some real life examples

• Within the pack 3 real life examples have been
  provided for sections on
• General background
• Clinical Governance
• IMT
• These applicants were selected to progress to ITT
  submission
• This is intended to help people put the PQQ
  submissions into context in this instance size
  does not matter

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Learning Points

• Do NOT assume that the PCT know you they can
  only score what they are told in the PQQ
• DO repeat information in sections if you believe
  it is relevant to answering the question
• Do NOT be coy about your financial stability
  no-one in the PCT is interested in your earnings,
  but they must know that your organisation is able
  to meet its financial obligations

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Bidding as part of consortia

• Please remember to make sure you have the
  consents of the all the organisations that make
  up the consortia.
• Do not leave it to the last minute
• Have nominated one lead organisation?
• If you already have formed an LLP, Social
  Enterprise or Limited company then do you have
  evidence of its legal existence
• Nominate a representative as the key point of
  contact

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PQQ Evaluation 3 stage process

• Compliance Review looking for losers not
  winners - is it all completed correctly, is the
  bidder identifiable, was it submitted correctly
• Initial evaluation thinning out the bids
  eligibility, solvency, financial stability,
  capability and capacity is evidenced
• Detailed evaluation remainder are scored
  against pre-set criteria evidence of previous
  successful delivery of contracts or services.

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GP training requirement, therefore show

• An efficient system for managing and booking
  consultations, including coping with urgent or
  unscheduled access.
• Adequate consulting rooms (a dedicated
  registrars room is ideal but a consistent room
  is viewed as adequate), treatment room facilities
  and staff.
• Access to the clinical evidence base and support
  systems through web based access/CD ROMs/books
  and journals etc.
• Exemplary clinical record keeping including
• summarisation.
• Clear treatment and management plans
• Health promotion and disease prevention records
• Chronic disease management templates
• Adequate clinical exposure (for example over
  1,000 patients per WTE when including the
  registrar).
• Preventative medicine clinics and disease
  management clinics.
• A functioning Primary Care team involving a
  variety of disciplines from and alongside whom
  learning can take place.
• An environment that facilitates and stimulates
  work based learning (defined as learning at
  work, for work and from work).

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Any Questions on the information so far?
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The Invitation to Tender

• Some important technical points when preparing
  the response

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First steps if selected as a bidder

• Confirm receipt of the ITT by signing the ITT
  Receipt form provided by the PCT.
• Cover to cover read the ITT and make sure you
  check the dates
• Prepare your timeline, working back from the
  target dates
• Schedule in your bidder meetings with the PCT
• Confirm that all members of the team are around
  check holiday commitments, do they clash with
  your target dates?

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Clarification Questions

• You may submit as many questions as you need to
  help clarify points which are not clear in the
  ITT
• Make sure you follow the local process set out in
  the ITT anything incorrectly submitted MUST be
  ignored ONLY 1 question per template
• Everyone else who is responding to the ITT will
  get a copy of your question and the PCT reply
• Be sure you need to ask the question you may
  alert the competition to a way of thinking

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Technical points

• The Invitation to Tender is a complete fresh
  start. It will have clear instructions to
  follow.
• Everything that has gone before EOI, PQQ,
  previous contracts they all mean absolutely
  nothing.
• REMEMBER Do NOT assume that the evaluation
  panel know anything about you

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Learning points team roles

• Have one identified lead individual within the
  practice to take responsibility for the modelling
  and content of the bid response
• A bid office manager is needed their role is
  make sure all the resources are available and
  that access to the ITT response master copy,
  appendices and other important documentation are
  controlled
• You will need to present your case who will do
  this, do they need any training?

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Learning points general planning

• Set out a timetable you must have deadlines for
  sections and any contributions from your team
• Talk at an early stage to your bank/financiers
  can you demonstrate that you can finance any
  developments
• Do you have a letter stating that you have the
  necessary working capital i.e. sufficient
  revenue to provide the service until the first
  contractual payment

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Evaluation comparing apples with apples

• Do not alter the structure of the bid document in
  any way do exactly as asked. During evaluation
  the team can only mark in a consistent and agreed
  way anything out of place simply will not get
  evaluated.

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Compliance

• Compliant Bid
• A Bid shall only be a Compliant Bid where it
• Complies with all of the provisions of the ITT
  Volume 1
• Includes responses to all questions set out in
  ITT Volume 2
• Confirms acceptance of all contractual terms in
  the Contract (contained in ITT Volume 3) and
• Is in the required format as stated in the MOI.
• Bidders who do not submit a Compliant Bid will be
  liable to disqualification

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Does cheapest always win?

• The evaluation criteria for the ITT Bid
  evaluation are designed to allow the selection of
  the Bid that represents the best VfM, rather than
  lowest price alone.
• The best VfM Bid will be that which is judged to
  offer the optimum combination of service
  capability, quality (including clinical
  standards, safety, deliverability and other areas
  as detailed in the ITT) and Bid price, within
  affordability parameters.

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What is commerically sensitive and what isnt

• Difficult question be prepared for information
  to enter the public domain
• Where it is considered that disclosing that
  information in response to an FOIA could cause a
  risk to the procurement process or prejudice the
  commercial interest of any Bidder, the PCT may
  wish to withhold such information under the FOIA
  exemption.

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Learning points bid submission

• Identify and pre-prepare a Red Review process
  someone not involved in the bid who can cover to
  cover read the bid does it all hang together?
• Allow at least 2 days to print and assemble
  things can and will go wrong
• If printing it yourself make sure you have
  adequate stocks of paper printer cartridges
  envelopes folders (big enough to hold the
  anticipated number of pages)

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Learning Points - Be prepared

• Burning to CD do you have pack of blank CDs?
• Always test burn to make sure it all works
• Converting files to PDF
• Provide files in the formats notified
  generally

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Some final learning points

• Do NOT put anything other than what is requested
  on the envelope
• Anything which identifies your organisation on
  the outside of the envelope will result in
  immediate disqualification
• I have seen the smallest things cause enormous
  pain, people think they are being helpful, but
  they should just follow the instructions
• Jonathan Watts, Director, Bowe Watts Clargo

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Any final questions please?