Tendering & Bid Evaluation
Overview
A fair, well-run tender protects value and reputation. This course covers the full tendering cycle: planning the procurement, writing specifications, choosing the procedure, setting evaluation criteria, evaluating bids objectively and awarding contracts in a transparent, defensible way.
Who should attend
Tender committee members, procurement and contracts staff, technical evaluators and auditors in public and private organisations.
Training methodology
Interactive presentations, practical exercises, case studies, group discussions, role-plays where relevant, and a personal action plan that participants apply in their own work.
Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Plan a tender and choose the right procurement procedure
- Write clear specifications and terms of reference
- Design weighted evaluation criteria and scoring
- Evaluate technical and financial bids objectively
- Manage clarifications, award and debriefing transparently
Course outline
Day 1Tendering Principles
- Principles: transparency, competition and value
- Procurement methods and thresholds
- Roles of the tender committee
- Conflicts of interest
- Common tendering risks
- Case study: a challenged award
Day 2Preparing the Tender
- Needs analysis and market research
- Writing specifications: functional and technical
- Terms of reference for services
- Tender documents structure
- Prequalification of bidders
- Workshop: draft a specification
Day 3Evaluation Criteria
- Pass/fail versus scored criteria
- Weighting quality and price
- Scoring scales and guidance
- Lowest price and best value methods
- Life-cycle costing
- Exercise: build an evaluation matrix
Day 4Evaluating Bids
- Bid opening and compliance checks
- Technical evaluation in practice
- Financial evaluation and abnormally low bids
- Clarifications without negotiation
- Evaluation report writing
- Simulation: evaluate competing bids
Day 5Award and Beyond
- Award decisions and approvals
- Standstill and notification
- Debriefing unsuccessful bidders
- Handling complaints
- Handover to contract management
- Lessons learned and action plan
