An Introduction to Tendering and Collaboration

1. An Introduction to Tendering and Collaboration  Claire McLaughlin - P4P Support Coordinator 

2. Agenda 13:00 – 13:15 Welcome and overview  13:15 – 13:30 An Introduction to P4P 13:30 – 14:15 Identify and respond to contract opportunities 14:15 – 14:30 Comfort break 14:30 – 15:15 Collaboration and Partnership Working  15:15 – 15:45 Collaboration group exercise 15:45 – 16:00 Summary and Q and A 

3. About P4P • P4P is an initiative, managed by Senscot, which supports social enterprises and the third sector to: • better access public contracts and other contracting opportunities • build partnerships and consortia.

4. Background Established as a direct result of the Scottish Government’s new 10 year Social Enterprise Strategy  which highlighted the government’s aim of increasing the number of social enterprises delivering public services.  The Scottish Government believes that social enterprises and third sector organisations can achieve much more through collaboration rather than working alone.

5. What support does P4P offer? • Support with developing partnerships or consortia at all stages • One-to-one support to help organisations become 'tender ready' or advice with writing tenders • Research in relation to procurement

6. P4P websitewww.p4p.org.uk • Upcoming events • Current/future tenders and partnership opportunities • Resources database • P4P Toolkits • Ready for Business Third Sector Register

7. Ready for Business Register The Ready for Business Third Sector Register (RfB Register) is a searchable database for finding information on third sector suppliers.

8. 10 Stage Guide to Procurement Aimed at organisations who are either considering tendering for the first time or would like to improve their skills. The guide will assist you to build you capacity and capability in relation to tendering and procurement. Broken down into 10 stages so you can drop in and out at a pace which suits you.

9. Stage 1 – Understanding your market  • Things to consider  • Who will buy my products/services? • What is the Public Sector in Scotland? • With whom do you want to do business?  • Who are my competitors/and or potential collaborators? 

10. Stage 2 Knowing your Organisation • Things to consider • your current contracts, including customer feedback and current performance; • your strengths and weaknesses; SWOT ANALYSIS  • current geographical coverage; • pricing structures • unique selling point(s) of your organisation; • current sub-contracting undertaken, either by you or to you; • current collaboration e.g. consortium, joint ventures, etc.; • areas of development/expansion for your organisation in the future.

11.  SWOT Analysis • Strengths • What do we do better than anyone else? • What makes you unique? • What do others see as your strengths? Weaknesses Where could you improve? What should you avoid? Opportunities Government policy Do people have a need? Changes in technology Threats What challenges do you face? What are your competitors doing? Technology issues? Financial issues?

12. Stage 3 Finding Opportunities Public Contracts Scotland Live tender opportunities (worth over 50k) are published on Public Contracts Scotland Default tender portal for contracts advertised by Scottish public bodies. Opportunities under 50k are mostly procured as a ‘quick quote’

13. Stage 3 Finding Opportunities • Key Actions  • Register via http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk • Set Up Alert Profile • Set up organisations Supplier Finder Profile • Events, Networking and Relationship-building • You can identify potential opportunities which are not yet live either through public bodies’ contract registers or forward purchasing plans

14. Stage 6 Tender procedures • There are a number of different types of procurement procedure including: • - Open Procedure (single stage process) • - Restricted Procedure (two stage process) • Quick Quotes

15. Preparation is everything • Timescales! • How to prepare in advance • Develop a bid library  • Template ESPD • PCS Tender extended profile

16. Bid Library • Example content • Accreditations and Awards • Memorandum and Articles of Association • All relevant identification numbers • Template ESPD • Executive summary • Insurance documentation • Financial documents • Model Answers • Policies and procedures • Staff CVs

17. Supplier Bid Process Download Tender Documents Use Q&A Facility on PCS Bid Team? Structure & format of Response Bid or No Bid? Key Milestones Value Proposition Pricing Strategy Draft Response Review & Revise Review & Revise Submit

18. Stage 8Writing Your Bid • Make sure you understand:​ • ​ • The needs and objectives of the buying organisation​ • The buyer’s selection criteria and decision-making process​ • ​ • Top Tips!​ • Read and re-read the tender documents to ensure you’ve got a clear understanding of what’s required. ​ • ​ • If there is more than one person working on the bid make sure to communicate effectively regarding targets, milestones, roles and responsibilities.​

19. Stage 9 Pricing • For consideration • What is the current pricing/value of the contract? • What might competitors charge? • What level of margin do you require and what might you achieve?

20. Stage 9 Pricing • There are two main steps to follow when setting a price: • Determine the costs of producing and delivering a product or service. • Set a price that is high enough to cover the costs, but low enough to be competitive.

21. Support available  • P4P Resources - www.p4p.org.uk • One to one support • Supplier Development Programme - https://www.sdpscotland.co.uk/ • Just Enterprise - https://www.justenterprise.org/

22. Why Collaborate? • Better able to compete for contracts/bigger contracts • Financial savings through shared overheads and development costs • Diversify your sources of income • A wider geographic reach for your services and/or products • Sharing risks • An ability to network and learn from each other • It could mean you have a stronger, united voice

23. P4P Collaboration Toolkit Developed to support organisations who are considering working together. You can use the toolkit as a quick ‘go to’ guide to collaboration and to track your progress. It has been prepared with three phases that follow the typical lifecycle of a collaborative project.

24. What is a ‘consortium’? Definition – two or more organisations working together to deliver services

25. Informal network

26. Managing Agent

27. Case Study – 3SC • 3SC bids for and manages contracts on behalf of third sector organisations • It manages the bidding process and builds supply chains of local organisations allowing smaller third sector providers to compete for and deliver large contracts • Operates in the employability, criminal justice and disabilities sectors • England and Wales only

28. Case study – CRNS Reuse Consortium The CRNS Reuse Consortium comprises 17 accredited furniture reuse members. The consortium supports local authority areas in providing 34 key household items through the Reuse Lot of the Scotland Excel Domestic Furniture and Furnishings Framework. Currently supplying 3 local authorities: Fife, Aberdeen and Renfrewshire.

29. Managing Provider

30. Super Provider

31. Case study – SCHW SCHW is a partnership organisation which aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people in Scotland. It has 74 community-led partner organisations. The SCHW consortium approach is made up of 5 stages: Identification, Cooperation, Coordination, Collaboration, and Sustainability.

32. Summary • Consortia models each have pros and cons • If you value having an equal say a super provider, informal network or co-operative may be best • If you wish to access contracts without setting up a legal body then you could use the managing provider model – you may be forced to use this if responding to a live opportunity • An alternative may be an informal network – and you could use a rotating lead organisation

33. Group exercise and discussion

34. Workshop Scenario An employability contract opportunity will be coming out in 6 months, EmployABLE CIC is interested in bidding for this but can only deliver part of the specification.   EmployABLE CIC know of 2 organisations who they could potentially partner with and together they would be able to meet the full specifications of the contract.  Whilst EmployABLE has a strong track record of delivering services and a good reputation locally this is the first time they have looked to work in collaboration with other organisations. 

35. First impressions on ANY challenges they will face? 

36. What should they do first?

37. How to get started… Toolkit Phase 1 Assess your readiness for collaborating with others Appoint someone to lead the project within organisation Identify potential partners and assess compatibility Pre start Scoping and Planning  Establish a working group

38. Preparing… Toolkit Phase 2 Agree project scope, objectives, roles and responsibilities. Create Collaborative Project Team Environment  Outline resource requirements to establish, develop and sustain the project  Agree Consortium Model and Legal Structure  Develop Processes and Procedures

39. What if they only have six weeks?

40. Collaborating on a live tender • Many of the Collaboration Toolkit steps will not be possible when collaborating with others on a live opportunity with a short deadline • When responding to a live tender you will probably be forced into adopting the managing provider or informal network models • Your focus should be on: assessing readiness, identifying and assessing partners, completing a Non Disclosure Agreement, agreeing roles and responsibilities of partners/finances • Most importantly – you should pull together a Partnership Agreement or Memorandum of Understanding

41. Any questions?

42. Summary and closing remarks

43. Additional support

44. Thank you for attending www.p4p.org.uk info@p4p.org.uk