Competing for university contracts

All our business is done with the aim of getting value for money and we want to give you the best chance at being able to work with us. We try and design all our tenders to make them straightforward and easy to complete. Here's a brief outline of the tender process, how to prepare for it and how to feedback on how we're doing.

Preparing to tender

Follow these tips on how to prepare to your proposals to tender:

• Read requirement documents carefully to make sure you've understood our requirements fully and are able to deliver them
• Identify key dates such as the procurement closing date and dates for service/supply delivery
• Ask us to clarify if you find parts of our requirements are unclear, or you do not fully understand
• Give yourself enough time to prepare your response. We can only evaluate you on the information you provide
• Give us your best offer in your tender, as we can only make decisions on the information you submit

How to use online e-Tendering

The majority of our tender opportunities are run online at www.lsbu.bravosolution.co.uk.

Here's what to expect when using our system:

• once you have registered, you can express an interest in any advertised opportunity
• the system has a section called 'My PQQs' and 'My ITTs' to access PQQs or ITTs you have previously created
• responses can be returned in a variety of ways, including online questionnaires and document uploads
• each opportunity has a closing date and you need to publish your response in good time of this date
• use the message function in the portal to send us questions, queries and information. We can also send you information and clarifications
• we inform you of every decision we make on-line during the process
• there are online help guides as well as a helpdesk you can call at any time

Download further e-tendering instructions (DOC File 375 KB) on how to use our online e-tendering system.

The tender process

There are various ways we might go out to tender, and different stages we incorporate into the process, depending on the size, value and sensitivity of the contract being awarded.

Below is a list of some stages and processes we use:

• supplier open days and workshops
• briefing workshops
• online PQQ questionnaires (financial standing, experience, capacity, references etc.)
• invitation to Tender packs (specification, pricing schedule, terms etc.)
• panel evaluation against published criteria
• demos and clarification interviews
• supplier debriefings

Further information on how to win business in the public sector can be found at Learn Direct or Business Link.

Feedback

We work with our suppliers to make our processes easier and more accessible. We want to give you the best opportunity to make your case to work with us.

Currently we are in the process of developing a feedback questionnaire to explore your experiences of working with LSBU. In the meantime, if you would like to provide feedback whilst this is in development, email cpu@lsbu.ac.uk or call 020 7815 6368.