Follow the correct procurement process
The Standing Financial Instructions for your organisation will indicate whether you need to conduct a full procurement exercise or can proceed with at least one quote. Best practice is usually to seek at least three quotes.
It is essential that you follow the correct procurement process. Contact your procurement lead and speak with them about what you plan to do.
They will advise you about the appropriate process to follow. Your budget will influence how involved they need to be.
Regardless of the procurement process you’re advised to follow, you should expect to do the following things.
Specification
You will need to develop a specification. Your specification describes what you hope to achieve with your engagement activity. It should explain clearly what services you need an organisation to provide.
Be as clear as possible about what you you want to achieve and why that’s important.
Information:
People who don’t work in the NHS – especially those working in smaller grass roots organisations – may find it difficult to understand what you need for your project if it isn’t explained in terms that they are familiar with.
The specification should include:
- background of the project
- scope of the work
- key milestones and deadlines
- budget
- what you expect organisations to be responsible for
- outcomes/deliverables/key performance indicators that need to be met
- any assumptions you are making
- anything that is not included in the funding
- how you will work together with organisations if they are successful and the support you will provide
- what criteria you will use to decide who you will work with
- how interested organisations should apply
Expressions of interest template
Bidders will use your expressions of interest template to explain their proposals to you. It will ensure that all of the bids follow a similar structure, which will make them easier to compare during your evaluation.
The template should include things like:
- details about the organisation
- what relevant skills and expertise they have
- their approach to delivery, including engagement methods and how they will reach your target groups
- how they plan to work and communicate with you during the project
- estimated costs
Example expressions of interest template (61kB)
Assessment criteria
You will need to agree scoring criteria to help you assess all the bids fairly.
You should include criteria that will help you to be sure that your bidders have experience working with the communities you are looking to reach.
Scoring criteria can be weighted to place more importance on certain aspects of their proposal.
Example scoring criteria (15kB)
Inviting bids
Depending on the scale of the work you are funding, the procurement team may send out the specification and expression of interest template or this may be something you have to do yourself.
Be clear about which documents need to be sent back to you and what the deadline for submission is. Explain who can be contacted if someone has a question.
You will need to ensure that the opportunity is open to all relevant organisations. Consider publishing information about the opportunity on your website so that your process is transparent, and to encourage a wide range of organisations to apply.
Pre-bid information sessions
Sometimes it can help to arrange an information session before potential suppliers submit their bids. This can help clarify expectations so that you get better responses.
Evaluation panel
You will need a panel to evaluate the bids. A panel usually includes at least 3 people.
If possible, try to involve someone with lived experience who is part of your project. Because of their experience, they may bring a valuable perspective to your panel.
How scoring works
Panel members usually score each bid on their own, using the scoring criteria. Panel members then meet to moderate and agree a final score for each bid.
Successful bidders
The bidder(s) with the highest total score will be successful. Confirm that their bid has been successful in writing and outline what you are agreeing to fund them for. Be very specific!
Provide constructive, timely feedback to unsuccessful bidders to help them in future.
Onboarding
A kick-off meeting with the successful organisation(s) will get your project started.
Check with your finance team what information you will need to set up any new suppliers on your payment system. Often this includes:
- bank details
- address
- confirmation they are a registered charity/ voluntary organisation
- a reference on the organisation’s headed paper
This information can also be used to quality assure your new supplier.