Government tender writing can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re juggling the task with other responsibilities like program delivery or fundraising. Here are some practical tips to help you go from overwhelmed to organised.
Decode before you draft
Navigating tender guidelines can be a daunting task. However, these comprehensive documents are essential, as they contain critical information and your roadmap to a successful bid.
For your best possible chance at success:
- Pay attention to the submission format, noting any supporting documents or specific templates that need to be included with your response.
- Ensure your team is happy with the required deliverables, expected timeframes and reporting requirements before you commit to writing.
- Highlight the key words within each criterion so you can use headings and formatting (e.g. bold/underlining) that mirrors the tender. This will help assessors easily locate your responses.
- After writing, crosscheck your response against the highlighted words to ensure you have left nothing unanswered!
Tenders take time, plan accordingly
This might be obvious, but if you’re new to tender writing give yourself more time than you think you’ll need. A good rule of thumb is to allow at least one hour of focused writing time for every 250 words allowed in a criterion response.
Of course, if you already have key messages, a solid project plan, or previous applications to draw from, you may be able to move faster. Just don’t forget to tailor your copy to the language and focus of each tender.
Be sure to schedule time with program staff early in the process. Their insights are essential for answering questions around program design, delivery, outcomes and risks. The same goes for any executive leaders who need to review and sign off your submission.
Late letters can sink a great submission
Letters of Support add weight and credibility to your tender application, but time and time again we see charities leaving them to the last-minute resulting in panic and often, subpar letters.
Before you begin writing your tender submission, take the time to brainstorm who you could approach – think partners, community leaders, peak bodies or even beneficiaries.
Ideally, your letter of support will come from someone who has both knowledge of the issue/target group and can also endorse your expertise and ability to deliver the program.
Make it easy for them to support you – reach out early, provide context and offer some draft copy that can be easily edited and elaborated upon. Give a clear deadline in your email (NOT the date the tender is due) and set a reminder to follow up with anyone who hasn’t responded.
Demonstrating value for money
How your proposal provides value for money is a common tender question. But value for money doesn’t just mean offering the lowest price – assessors will be trying to strike the best balance of cost, quality, outcomes, and risk.
When it comes to your response, there are a few ways you can tackle this:
- What is the cost to the government per beneficiary or per outcome achieved?
- Can you highlight any efficiencies that your organisation is able to offer? Consider volunteers, in-kind contributions, co-delivery models that avoid duplication, or existing infrastructure due to similar services (e.g. systems or templates).
- Can you demonstrate whole-of-life value, not just upfront cost benefits? For example, if you’re proposing a support service for young people experiencing homelessness, you could highlight the potential downstream savings for government such as reduced hospital admissions, lower interaction with the justice system, and decreased reliance on long-term welfare. Ideally, support your claims with financial data from credible sources such as the ABS or published research.
Repeat with me, repetition is OK!
Repetition might feel counterintuitive (not to mention incredibly frustrating), but it is a necessity when it comes to tender writing.
Many tender submissions are assessed by panels often using an assessment matrix. This means different evaluators could be reviewing different criterion responses based on their expertise or role. If you only mention a key strength once, in a section that isn’t tied to that criterion, it might not get noticed or scored.
Program logics are your blueprint for change
This could be a blog post of its own. Put simply, a program logic maps out how your program will create change by highlighting the link between your inputs, activities, outputs, and intended outcomes/impact.
Many Requests for Tender (RTFs) provide a program logic template for you to complete. But if they don’t, the Youth Coalition of the ACT has developed a great (hypothetical) example to guide you.
Key questions to ask yourself:
- Do all the outcomes link back to the problem statement? And are they measurable?
- Is your logic model truly logical? Could someone outside your organisation or sector understand it?
Build confidence with a risk matrix
Governments generally adopt a cautious approach to risk. A comprehensive risk matrix demonstrates to assessors that you’ve thought ahead, anticipated potential challenges and are equipped to respond.
This could be through good governance (e.g. policies) or relevant procedures. Again, you might be provided with a template to complete. But if not, your risk matrix can be created in a spreadsheet or table with the following column headers: Risk, Likelihood, Impact, Rating, Mitigation Strategy, Responsible Party.
ALWAYS get a second opinion
Tender submissions are often long and mentally exhausting. After spending hours crafting detailed responses, your brain tends to read what it expects to see, not what is actually on the page.
Before hitting ‘submit,’ have someone proofread your submission for grammar, clarity, and alignment with the funding program and evaluation criterion (remember those highlighted passages we mentioned earlier).
If no one puts their hand up to proofread, and bribing colleagues with chocolate is failing, get in touch. Our team offers tender and grant application reviews, ensuring you submit a top-notch submission and build your capacity at the same time!
And remember… The usual rules still apply
Be clear, be concise and place the most relevant information at the top of your criterion response. Remember, this is not a university assignment – you don’t get extra points for fancy words or utilising the full character limit! Back up your claims with data. And above all, never assume the assessor knows who you are and what you do. They can only assess you on what you write.
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