Preparing a tender or research contract

Tenders (or Request for Quotes (RFQ), Request for Tender (RFT), Approach to Market (ATM)) are processes government departments and other organisations run to procure specific services they need. Tenders processes are used to find out who can provide a service, get the best value for money proposal, run a transparent procurement process.

Preparing a tender bid involves a lot of intensive work on short timelines. You need to be clear if you are likely to be competitive and able to do the work before proceeding with the bid.

Our Research Funding Team can support you during the bid process.

The following points sketch key points for preparing a tender.

The very first step should be to let Research Services know about the tender – please email research-funding@vu.edu.au. They will help prepare the tender documents, budget, legal review of any draft agreement and secure the necessary signatures demonstrating the University’s support for the bid.

Before the tender is announced

Sometimes potential service providers are contacted by the tendering organisation letting them know a tender will be announced shortly. This is a good time to:

• ask the estimated budget which has been secured.
• ask why the service is being sought - what is driving the need for the service?
• ask what is driving any timelines - why do they need it when they say they do?
• assemble a team to prepare the tender and work on the project should the bid be successful.

When the request for tender is announced

• Assemble a team to prepare the tender and work on the project should the bid be successful. It should be large enough to be able to do the work, but small enough to be manageable, cost competitive and reassure the funding organisation lines of responsibility and accountability are clear.
• Decide if you should proceed with the bid (‘go/no-go’)
• Who will the competition likely be? Do you have a compelling advantage? (Price, expertise, experience, quality?)
• Are the timelines possible?
• Are the necessary people available to do the work?
• Will you get what you need out of this work?
• Agree who will complete what sections of the tender and on what timelines.
• Be very clear on what your value proposition is: what is it that makes your bid the best value bid (expertise, experience, reliability, price)?

Prepare the tender

1. Use the Tender Preparation Checklist to help you plan your steps towards submission.
2. Complete the:
   • coversheet
   • costing tool
   • draft response form.
3. Email research-funding@vu.edu.au for compliance check and authorisation. At least 48 hours is needed for Research Services to conduct compliance check and authorisation process.

For any section about corporate information (eg. ABN, number of academics), please advise Research Services to provide that information. If no response template is provided, you can also contact Research Services to prepare a template for your bid.

After the tender is submitted

• Agree who will attend any interview to discuss the bid, should it be requested. Agree who will lead the interview and what topics each person attending will be responsible for answering.
• Contact the funding organisation to discuss your bid if it is unsuccessful.