As Francis Bacon famously said, “Knowledge is power.” In bid writing, this is definitely true. To craft a winning bid, you need to do more than just answer the buyer’s questions. You need to do proper, in-depth research. Researching the buyer, the market, the competition, and the existing contract (if there is one) are absolutely essential to producing a strong bid. This research will give you much of the knowledge needed to understand what the buyer really wants. It will also allow you to consider how you can make your solution stand out from the competition.

This research cannot wait for the tender process itself to begin. It has to start well before then, and it needs to continue during the process. This research will help you avoid offering a generic bid, and instead offer a tailored, credible, and persuasive submission to the buyer.

When to Research

Why is it so important to start researching as soon as possible? The harsh reality is that once the tender comes to market, there’s not much time left before the deadline to submit your bid. Gathering all the relevant information needed will take time. If you intend on offering a new, innovative solution to the buyer’s problem, you will obviously need time to investigate the market, see what’s already available, and speak with subject matter experts to devise something innovative.

How can you get ahead? Pipeline notices reveal upcoming tender opportunities. The primary way of finding these pipeline notices for UK public sector procurement is Find a Tender. However, market research events and buyer websites are also highly valuable sources of information.

Researching the Buyer

One of the main things that you need to research when bidding is the buyer. You want to understand the buyer’s priorities, the pressures that they are experiencing, and the language they use. This will enable you to create a persuasive bid designed specifically for them. To get a good grasp of all these points, you need to research them thoroughly. How can you actually do this in practice? Consider the following sources through which the buyer might reveal the information you need:

• Their website
• Annual reports
• Corporate plans
• Budget reports
• Social media posts
• News updates
• Committee or board papers
• Procurement strategies
• Net Zero plans
• Social value policies

What kinds of information should you look for as you examine these sources? Put simply, you should try to understand the buyer’s world. What budgetary or legislative pressures are they under? What challenges are they currently facing in providing their services? What are the priorities of the local community? What sustainability targets are they trying to meet? What are the needs of the recipients of their services, such as customers, residents, or patients?

Researching the Current Contract

Many tender opportunities that come to market are actually retender situations, which means that there is already an existing contract. This provides an excellent opportunity for research. Before there is even a pipeline notice, researching public sector contract registers and previous award notices will reveal which contracts are due to end in the near future. This would allow you to get ahead of the competition in retender situations even more than just relying on pipeline notices.

What information should you research about the existing contract? Consider the following:

• Who is the incumbent supplier?
• What is the contract length?
• What is the contract value?
• What is the service scope?
• Is there any published performance information?

You may need to make a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to gain access to certain pieces of information. Some information is commercially sensitive and does not need to be disclosed in response to an FOI request. We do not suggest making a FOI request from your own organisation; better that a private individual in the geography of the buyer makes the request; and well in advance of the tender coming to market.

Researching the Sector and Competitors

Another key area to research is the sector itself and the competitors working within it. To provide the winning solution to the buyer’s problem, you need to thoroughly understand what’s going on in the sector. What regulations restrict how the service can be carried out? Ignorance of these regulations will not instil confidence with the buyer. What are the cost pressures and workforce issues in this sector? How is technology normally used, and how sustainable are most approaches? Becoming informed on these issues will help you to see how you could offer a better solution than what is already on the market.

But how can you research your competitors in the sector? Look at their websites, social media accounts, research case studies about them performing their services, discover whether they are already included in any relevant frameworks, and see what accreditations and partnerships they have.

What Can Be Researched for Different Public-sector Buyers?

To research effectively, you need to know where to look. What sources of information might you find regarding different public-sector buyers? Here are some of the key public-sector buyers, along with some of the most valuable sources of information that you can find from each of them:

Local authorities – Council plans and strategies, cabinet papers, budget reports, climate plans, contract registers and local priorities.

Housing associations – Annual reports, tenant strategies (including newsletters), value for money statements, asset management plans, building safety priorities and sustainability plans.

NHS – Board papers, annual reports, quality accounts, patient experience reports, workforce plans, estates strategies and digital strategies.

Universities and colleges – Strategic plans, annual reports, estates plans, student experience priorities, sustainability plans, as well as access and participation plans.

Central government – Commercial pipelines, policy papers, annual reports, Find a Tender notices, Contracts Finder, NAO reports and parliamentary committee reports.

You can also check the News sections of internet search engines.

As we can see, there are many potential sources of information. Not all of it will necessarily be relevant for a given tender opportunity, but much of it will be. This is why it’s crucial that you start the research process as early as possible.

Research During the Tender Process

Research is not something that should only occur before the tender is live. It also needs to happen during the tender process. In what way? Analysing the tender documents thoroughly is one form of research. You need to examine the specification that the buyer sets out, as well as the evaluation criteria that will be used, in addition to the contract terms and key performance indicators. This, of course, should go without saying.

What may be less obvious is what comes next. There are ways that you can go above and beyond this basic form of research during the tender process. For example, attending bidder briefings is a form of research, in that you hear the buyer provide more information about the opportunity. Either at this event or in a written submission, you can submit clarification questions to discover yet more information. The buyer’s responses to the clarification questions submitted by other interested suppliers are also highly valuable.

Research Makes Bids More Relevant

To produce a winning bid, you need to truly understand the buyer, the sector, the competition, and the existing contract if there is one. In other words, thorough research is vital in bidding. Well-researched bids feel specific and credible. These are absolutely essential characteristics of winning bids – their importance cannot be overstated. Bids that have been well-researched clearly demonstrate that you understand the buyer’s world and can offer them a credible solution. They also stand out from the competition by offering unique selling points and innovative solutions. In contrast, if you don’t do proper research, your bid will feel generic and easy to dismiss.

Bidders who research properly are therefore better equipped to submit strong, relevant, and high-scoring tenders.