If you are doing a bid, tender or proposal for the first time, many of the words and acronyms can be quite confusing. Here are a few that might be of use:
Procurement:
The process of finding and agreeing terms, and acquiring goods, services or works from an external source, often via a tendering or competitive bidding process.
Selection Questionnaire (SQ):
Most procurements will require bidders to complete a Selection Questionnaire which typically entails basic company information, financial information, parent company information if applicable, relevant experience and references, and key policies and procedures.
Invitation to Tender (ITT):
The Invitation to Tender will ask a series of questions asking how bidders intend to run the service in question. and asks them to fill in a financial model. These questions will be scored individually, providing the majority of the final score used to determine who will be awarded the contract.
Small to Medium Enterprise (SME):
A business with fewer than 250 employees, and a turnover of less than £50 million.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
The performance measures that you will be held to in the contract if you are successful in winning the bid.
