What makes a good bid
How public sector bids are scored, and where they most often lose marks.
Start with the scoring
Before reading anything else, find out how the bid will be marked: the weighting of each question, what each score band requires, how price is scored and which conditions are pass or fail. Look closely for any rule that turns a low score into exclusion. Some tenders exclude a bid outright if any quality question scores 1 or less, which changes how much effort each answer deserves.
A typical 0 to 5 scoring scale for a quality question.
Check the fit against the scope of works
The notice is a summary. The scope of works says what the buyer will actually pay for, and it can ask for quite different skills. A quick test is to take the technical terms from the scope and look for them in your own project list. If they are missing, find out whether that experience exists before anyone starts writing.
Decide before you write
A short, honest go or no-go at the start saves days. List the tasks in the scope and mark which ones you can prove with a named project, which you could claim on skills alone, and which you can't cover. Deciding not to bid is often the right call, because winning work you are not set up to deliver can damage a reputation and use up the margin.
Know why you should win
Pick a few reasons why your practice is the right choice for this buyer, each backed by a fact you can prove. Take them from the buyer's own words: what the scope repeats, what it calls a priority, what seems to worry them. Then check each reason appears somewhere in your answers.
Answer the question that was asked
Evaluators score against their own criteria, and many say they will ignore content that doesn't address the question. Use their headings and their language, answer each part in order, and give a real project where you did what you are describing. Evaluators say that generic text, the kind any bidder could have written, is what they notice most.
Read the contract and every appendix
Amendments to the standard contract, often called Z clauses, are where the unusual terms sit: professional indemnity periods, collateral warranties, delay damages. Appendices that look like background can carry real obligations. You accept these by submitting, so read them before you commit.
Common pitfalls
Reading the notice, not the pack
The notice leaves a lot out. Scoring rules, exclusion thresholds and contract terms sit in the full documents.
Reusing last year's answer
Text written for another buyer rarely fits the question in front of you, and evaluators spot it quickly.
Claims with no project behind them
A statement with no named project, date or result to support it is hard to score highly.
Missing the format rules
Some tenders fix the file type, font, line spacing and margins. A requirement for 1.5 line spacing can roughly halve how much fits on a page, so find it before drafting.
Ticking "commit to obtain"
Promising to gain an accreditation after award costs nothing to tick, and can be expensive or impossible to deliver in time.
Editing the pricing schedule
Buyers often forbid changes to their price template and may reject a bid that alters it. Send it back as the original spreadsheet.
Missing the clarification deadline
Questions to the buyer usually close days before the bid does. Check the date on the first day.
Signatures left to the end
Some buyers won't accept electronic signatures on declarations. Check early who needs to sign what, and scan the signed forms.
Uploading on the last morning
Portals are slow, files are large and first log-ins go wrong. Aim to upload the day before.
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