Successful Submission Writing – for Business and Nonprofits, 3rd Edition (Jean Roberts, 2009), published by Wilkinson Publishing of Melbourne, Australia

The focus of this book is the person or group writing the submission or grant application – and offers a 10-step model for successful submission

This 3rd Edition provides greater depth to each of the 10 Steps and 9 worksheets – consequently expanding your potential to:

• improve your strike/success rate with submissions, grant applications, proposals, estimates, quotes and tenders,
• reduce the costs associated with preparing these documents,
• contribute to the skills associated with preparing these documents being readily acknowledged as core business competencies,
• assist government departments, and philanthropic trusts and foundations, in inviting and assessing submissions, proposals and tenders, and
• assist commercial and nonprofit organisations in preparing to outsource.

The 10-Step Model of Successful Submission Writing clearly places development of the project plan ahead of completing the application form.

Your submission needs to be a positive, powerful and persuasive marketing tool:

• as well as being the vehicle for your project proposal, the submission document should present a positive, powerful and persuasive case for your company or organisation.
• it therefore has the potential to be both a marketing and educational document, informing the assessors of the uniqueness and strength of your company or organisation, the benefits for them in accepting your project, and expressing readiness to enter into negotiations prior to signing the contract and commencing the project.

A successful submission is one that not only wins the money or contract, but also ensures that you will be able to satisfactorily fulfil the contract – and complete the submission project.

Contents

Chapter 1 – What is a Submission?
Chapter 2 – Introduction to the 10-Step Model of Successful Submission Writing
Chapter 3 – Step 1 – Organisational Analysis
Chapter 4 – Step 2 – Assessment of Needs and Identification of Resources
Chapter 5 – Step 3 – Drawing Out Areas for Potential Action
Chapter 6 – Step 4 – Locating and Assessing Support, Funding, Sponsorship and Examining their Criteria
Chapter 7 – Step 5 – Conceptual Development of Your Potential Action Application of Criteria, and Management of Change
Chapter 8 – Step 6 – Development Aim, Key and Specific Objectives, and Detailed Costing, Budgeting and Scheduling
Chapter 9 – Step 7 – Development of Evaluation and Review Procedures
Chapter 10 – Step 8 – Writing and Presenting the Submission
Chapter 11 – Step 9 – Obtaining the Sponsor’s Approval
Chapter 12 – Step 10 – Implementing the Action, and Evaluation and Review
Chapter 13 – Back to your Organisational Analysis
Chapter 14 – Where to From Here?
Chapter 15 – Nine Submission Writing Worksheets

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Mini-Checklist No. 1:      For managers involved in outsourcing, ie inviting tenders, the process requires a tender brief that is written for the tenderer.  This means that the tender brief:

1. is easy for tenderers to follow,
2. uses language that is appropriate to the work, service, product or product component required,
3. features clear specifications and requirements, together with the nature and extent of risk expected to be borne by the successful tenderer,
4. details the tender assessment criteria, ranking and weighting,
5. clearly specifies the contract period - with an outline of the contract negotiation process, 
6. allows sufficient time for tenderers to prepare an adequate and appropriately professional tender,
7. gives tenderers confidence that their tender will be assessed fairly, objectively and professionally, and
8. gives tenderers confidence that yours is a professional organisation in its outsourcing procedures, knows what it needs and why – and has a genuine commitment to the work, service, product or product component required.

Mini-Checklist No. 2:   For managers involved in tendering, ie responding to a tender brief, the aim must be to continually improve your in-house tendering procedure:

•  if you are winning 40% of your tenders, you are losing 60%;
• if you are winning 40% of your tenders, it is costing you 100% of your total effort – which includes the effort involved in the 60% you aren’t winning;
•  if your current strike rate is considered adequate, you need to reduce the amount of time and resources spent on unsuccessful tenders in order to increase your strike or success rate: and the best way to do this is to overhaul and improve your current in-house tendering procedure.

Mini-Checklist No. 3:   Points for managers to consider before deciding to prepare and submit a tender:

1. your ‘need to tender’ vs ‘option to tender’,
2. your ability to undertake this contract whilst satisfactorily fulfilling existing contracts and commitments,
3. your ability and willingness to meet the specifications and requirements (as outlined in the tender brief) to the tender caller’s satisfaction and in compliance with relevant  standards, regulations or  requirements,
4. compare the cost of tendering for a project that may not proceed, with the benefit of having your tender in the tender caller’s hands,
5. the value of the opportunity to tender as a marketing or promotional opportunity for your business or organisation,
6. the costs of preparing and submitting the tender in relation to the likely benefit and profit in winning the contract, and
7. the risks you’ll be expected to bear should you win the contract.

 More detailed checklists are available by contacting Jean.

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As you move into the task of preparing a tender, you will soon realise the nature and range of skills you will need to call upon – either from yourself or from your colleagues or team members. 

 This is a brief introduction:

Organisational analysis and review

• knowing and understanding your organisation’s ability, maturity, capability and willingness to fulfil or achieve the project

Planning and policy development

• positioning the project within the strategic and policy framework of your organisation

Needs assessment

• expressing and validating the nature and scope of the need, problem or opportunity to be addressed by the project

Decision-making

• following a consistent decision-making style, particularly in relation to criteria for the assessment of options and implications during the project development stage: the issues of risk avoidance, risk management and quality control are dependent on consultative yet incisive decision-making

Negotiation

• presenting and protecting the interests, integrity and credibility of your organisation and yourself

Administration

• administering the processes, procedures and systems involved in the development of the project and preparation of the tender document

Networking

• keeping in touch with what’s going on in your industry or sector, including locating opportunities to tender, monitoring the initiatives among competitors, establishing formal linkages, networks and strategic alliances with reliable collaborators

Selling your ideas

• explaining your ideas convincingly and gaining commitment to them from people who will be involved with or affected by the project in the event of winning the tender

Personnel management

• getting the best out of the people involved, both internal and external people: very often this requires motivating your team members to ‘go the extra mile’ for you and for the tender by working harder and faster as the deadline approaches

Financial management

• appreciating and protecting all components of the project budget in the interests of your organisation and in fairness to the tender caller

Evaluation and review

• fully understanding and appreciating the importance of  evaluation and review, scheduling appropriate procedures in the project implementation and including allowances in the project budget

Technical Writing

• the skill of moving from a first-draft through to a crafted, clear, concise document capable of setting before the assessors a positive, powerful and persuasive case – with at the very least every question specifically addressed, every statement or claim explained and verified, every budget line-item validated, every attachment appropriate introduced in the body of the document, addressing every assessment criteria, and meeting every compliance or conformance requirement… technical writing for sure!

If you and your team are in the business of preparing tenders on a regular basis, these basic skills should be included in the your performance appraisal – and included in the training plans for relevant members of management or staff.

Where a regular time allotment is given to writing tenders, this responsibility should appear in the position descriptions of relevant staff as a distinct area of responsibility.

It’s not uncommon to see preparation of tenders treated as an ‘extra’ - over and above a regular workload, and receiving little or no formal recognition as to competency or performance.

Preparation of tenders needs to be seen as a core competency - and this is more likely to happen if tendering itself is treated as a core business function.

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A successful bid or application is one that not only wins the contract, but also ensures that you will satisfactorily fulfil the contract or complete the project.

Tenders, submissions, grant applications, proposals, estimates or quotes have much in common – they all require packaging and presentation of an offer or bid to supply, create or provide ‘goods or services’ that will add value to another party.

Bidding, requesting and outsourcing are core business functions and growth strategies – therefore treat them as core competencies:

These points apply to both for-profit and nonprofit entities:

• Core business functions require the availability of relevant and up-to-date knowledge and skill: therefore either ensure internal availability, or prepare a detailed brief and contract-in/outsource the function.
• Growth strategies generally fall into two categories – organic or inorganic. The first is a result of internal planning and effort; the second by responding or reacting to market trends or external funding opportunities.
• Be aware that planning a new or improved product or service initiative requires much more effort and time than responding to a tendering or submission opportunity with a deadline of 3-4 weeks.

2. Separate the project from your application. Begin by carefully reading the brief or guidelines, and continue with sound and appropriate project planning, costing, budgeting, scheduling and evaluation/review. Only then, do you begin to draft your application form.

• In my Competitive Tendering book – there is a schedule of 20 tasks in preparing, lodging and negotiating a tender or bid, and task no. 11 is the first mention of the application form. Until then, the focus is on ‘the project’.
• In my Successful Submission Writing book – there is a 10-step model – with writing the submission at step no. 8.

3. The process is, and has always been, competitive. Therefore you need to know and understand the difference and relationship between cost, price, value, added value and return on investment.

These points apply to both for-profit and nonprofit entities:

• Cost = the cash value of whatever you have parted with or are liable to part with when committing to an expenditure for a tangible or intangible item, product or service,
• Opportunity cost = the value of a course of action which you could take but don’t – due to the unavailability of resources, your own unavailability, wrong choice, or inability to appreciate the potential value of an opportunity,
• Price = the amount of money which a customer or service-user is willing to exchange for an item, product or service,
• Value = the benefit to the buyer or user of an item, product or service they have accessed or purchased.
• Added value = a value that proves to be greater than expected, and involves no additional cost to the buyer or user – or to yourself.
• Return on investment = the value that directly results from the investment of any kind of resource, which may be tangible (able to be quantified, for example 20%), and intangible (leading to an opportunity that would not have been possible if you had not made the particular investment).

4. Your application needs to be a positive, powerful and persuasive marketing tool.

• As well as being the vehicle for your proposal, the application should present a positive, powerful and persuasive case for your company or organisation.
• It therefore needs to be both a marketing and an educational document, informing the assessors of the uniqueness and strength of your company or organisation, and the benefits for them in accepting your offer and entering into negotiations toward signing the contract and commencing the project.

5. For the party inviting a submission or tender: your brief, guidelines or ‘invitation to tender’ needs to provide sufficient and accurate detail on eligibility, specifications, quality, timelines, assessment/evaluation criteria, selection procedure, probity, confidentiality, negotiation procedures and contractual obligations.

• A party considering whether to prepare a tender or submission in response to the brief needs to look for these items when reading the brief.
• If uncertain about any of these, phone the contact person whose name and position will feature in the brief, and ask for clarification.

6. For the intending applicant: your bid, offer or request needs to include validated details on cost, quality, delivery and timeliness to convince the assessor of your credibility, capability and commitment to a consistent and superior quality of product or service – throughout the contract or agreement period.

From experience in the precision engineering business, I followed the 5Ms from the Metal Trades Industry Association (in the 1960s) as a basis for planning, costing, budgeting and scheduling – Machinery, Materials, Methods, Money and Men.

‘Methods’ today would include systems, and ‘Men’ today would include women! I learned the critical importance of the prototype – which taught me to always develop the project plan before drafting the application. If you fully understand what you are offering to do or provide, you are well equipped to complete a positive, powerful and persuasive application.

From experience as a local community worker, I’ve continued to follow the CIPPOO model (Context, Inputs, Process, Products, Outputs and Outcomes). In the 1970s, the emphasis was Inputs: 1980s, it was Outputs: 1990s, it was Outcomes: Noughties, it has been measurable Outcomes: and now we are moving into improved practices.

As a Sole Operator, I’ve learned to wear the label of ‘Entrepreneur’ with pride. The following is an extract from my 2008 book, One Man Show – the Smallest of Small Business.

In their book The Innovation Formula – how organisations turn change into opportunity (published in 1988 by Ballinger Publishing Company), Michael Robert and Alan Weiss state that entrepreneurs are often viewed as ‘business swashbucklers who catapult new ideas into public prominence while they storm the walls of the establishment’. However with the benefit and wisdom of 20 years of research, these authors present a very different picture with their descriptive yet prescriptive statement that they found ‘true entrepreneurs aren’t pirates, but disciplined sailors who anticipate the winds and tides of change‘.

In their book The Entrepreneur, (second edition published in 2003 by John Wiley and Son (Asia) Pte Ltd) William E Heinecke with Jonathan March present 25 Golden Rules. Here are some of them, with my own comments in italics:

• Find a vacuum and fill it – find a gap in the market, and create or adapt a product or service to fill it: if possible, be first in the market.
• Do your homework – know and understand your product or service, your market, your competition and your customers.
• Set goals (but go easy on the ‘vision’ thing) – set short-term achievable goals – which means being achievable within six months.
• Trust your intuition – but don’t overlook the facts or evidence.
• Learn to sell – identify, promote and sell both the features and benefits.
• Embrace change as a way of life – but not change for change sake – or change that is not accompanied or followed by consolidation.
• Develop your contacts – you’ll probably join anything and everything at the start of your One Man Show and then become selective as you become clearer about your product or service and busier in your business.  You’ll then be able to set clear priorities for the use of your time.
• Use your time wisely – the traditional criteria for allocating time are (1) urgency, (2) importance, and (3) relevance: each criterion has a triple ranking of high, medium and low. For example, if a call – or opportunity – for your time earns a high ranking in all three criteria, it becomes a high priority. Don’t forget to allocate appropriate time for your private and personal use.
• Don’t put up with mediocrity – the best test for mediocrity is when the minimum becomes the maximum: when performance only meets the minimum requirement. For example, look for suppliers who treat you as a valued customer or client, and are able and willing to add value to your One Man Show. If mediocrity appears in your relationship with that supplier, you can invite that supplier to address the drop in performance: if this doesn’t bring the desired improvement, call for three quotes for this service and invite him/her to be one of the three. Competition is a great motivator!
• Chase quality, not dollars – but be aware that you cannot produce and ensure quality with insufficient dollars.
• You won’t be committed if you’re not having fun – enjoy and be passionate about your One Man Show – and about yourself and your whole life.

Jean’s practical experience is extensive:

• as a partner in a precision engineering business for 15 years,
• then, as a local community worker for 9 years,
• and then, as a sole operator (One Man Show) for the past 25 years – in each instance, being completely dependent on winning tenders, submissions, grant applications, proposals, estimates or quotes.

Jean’s books mentioned through the presentation

• Competitive Tendering – how to write a competitive tender
• Successful Submission Writing – for business and nonprofit organisations (2nd Edition)
• One Man Show – the smallest of small business
• The Left and Right Brain Business – to increase and finance business effectiveness

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Competitive Tendering

How to write a competitive tender

Tendering begins with a healthy appreciation of the concept and practice of outsourcing.

A successful tender is one that not only wins the job, but also ensures that the project offered in the tender is followed through to a successful conclusion.

Some ideas to use competitive tendering cleverly:

Three questions to ask your organisation:

• Are you using your existing and available resources (including people) as well and as effectively as possible?
• What are you doing with what you’ve got, what you know and who you are?
• What can you offer or do that is different, better and of greater value than any other service-provider?

If you know the answers to these questions, you are well positioned to use competitive tendering cleverly

Tendering is a core business activity and growth strategy. It should be a natural follow-on from your strategic and business plans.

Don’t flinch at the prospect of competitive tendering. The business of winning opportunities and contracts has always been competitive in that there has never been possible for every offer to be accepted: if your organisation has won a tender, others have to go without or with less.

Separate the tender project from the tender document. Tendering begins by carefully reading the tender brief and continues with sound and appropriate project planning, costing, budgeting and scheduling. Only then do you start to think about completing the tender document.

Contents

Common concerns about Competitive Tendering
Task List for Preparing a Competitive Tender

Section 1 What’s it all about?
Chapter 1 What is a tender?
Chapter 2 Key perspectives
Chapter 3 Skills involved in tendering
Chapter 4 Locating tendering opportunities

Section 2 The Tender Brief
Chapter 5 Reading and writing a Tender brief
Chapter 6 To proceed or not to proceed

Section 3 The Tender Project
Chapter 7 Organisational analysis
Chapter 8 Tender project development
Chapter 9 Costing, budgeting and scheduling
Chapter 10 Monitoring, reviewing, evaluating
Chapter 11 Multi-project management and monitoring system
Chapter 12 Tender project management

Section 4 The Tender Document
Chapter 13 Writing the tender document
Chapter 14 Lodging the tender document
Chapter 15 Selection/assessment process
Chapter 16 Negotiation with the tender caller

Section 5 Implementing the Tender Project
Chapter 17 Project management
Chapter 18 Post-project review of your organisation

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I recall one time-limited project that resulted from a successful submission, with funding for six-months and no possibility of further funding. The six months commenced from advice that our submission had been funded – but the cheque didn’t arrive for another 3 weeks. In our submission, we had allowed 4 weeks from receipt of funds to:

1. contract a project team of 8 people for a six-month period, one of whom would be appointed as project leader:
   • the whole project team were to be currently unemployed mature-aged people
   • the project was to involve the project team in school-based activities through a 5-month period,
2. rent and equip a shop-front,
3. arrange vehicle availability,
4. liaise with local media, advertise and promote the project,
5. introduce the project team to the local network of 10 schools:
   • the schools had all been involved in designing the project, including the individual school activities, and preparing the submission, and
6. commence the project evaluation.

The project plan was designed to allow:

1. first month for preparation and establishment,
2. second, third and fourth months for 10 school-based activities to be undertaken,
3. fifth month for a major activity involving all schools, which was a multi-cultural art and craft festival, and
4. sixth month to wind-down, complete the evaluation and write the project and evaluation reports.

The project achieved everything we had planned – and a great deal more.

The secret of success was:

• extensive discussion and agreement with key people prior to preparing the submission,
• keeping the project to a manageable size, and
• scheduling and monitoring preparation, implementation and evaluation within the limited time and resources.

Organisations are preparing submissions, grant applications or proposals to access funds to support the provision of services, programs or activities. Such services, programs or activities should result in an enhancement or improvement in the life or lifestyle of service-users.

Preparation of these documents is divided into two separate stages:

1. The project – designing the ‘project’ to be undertaken or achieved as a result of the submission
   
2. The submission document – writing the document to include detail explaining: purpose and detail of the project
   • how the project is going to be managed and staffed
   • why your organisation is the best one to undertake or fulfil the project
   • total project costs, often broken down into units, activities or budget categories the period of time it will run for
   • benefits and outcomes for the sponsor (to whom the submission is being presented),
   • your own organisation and people who will be involved with or benefit from the project itself
   • how these benefits and outcomes are going to be either measured or recognised what happens at the end of the project

The work of preparing, writing and presenting a submission often falls to staff members, yet the committee or board and senior management have a responsible role in:

• attracting funds
• ensuring provision of services, programs and activities or products are of a consistent
• quality and provided in an effective, efficient and humane manner, and
• ensuring operational responsibility and financial viability

Submissions are prepared either by responding to a known, advertised or regular advertisement or direct approach.

Being financially responsible for the organisation, the committee or board and senior management need to be, and be seen to be, the ‘owner’ of all submissions forwarded in the name of the organisation .. which means that they:

1. know and understand each submission submitted in the name of the organisation
2. are committed to each submission, with a formal motion to this effect recorded in appropriate minutes or reports
3. are satisfied that each submission (both the project and the document) is in line with the organisation’s philosophy, purpose, strategic and policy framework and financial priorities
4. have formally accepted each submission in detail, including consideration of the full ramifications of implementation
5. are willing to approve additional resources if necessary to ensure a successful implementation of each project, ie willing to consider any necessary changes if the successful outcome of a project comes under challenge: an example would be where funds are suddenly withdrawn or additional resources are needed to maintain and complete the project
6. are assured that all staff affected by a potential project have been advised of the preparation of any submission: such preparation should avoid any later misunderstanding or misinterpretation
7. are aware of any possible negative effects of a proposed project on existing commitment or obligations.

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Introduction and overview of the outsourcing process

Organisations have traditionally sought certain types of expertise from ‘outside’, particularly for one-off, specialised projects (eg installing a computer network, interior design of offices, investment advice) or for administrative functions (eg payroll, accounts, printing, event management). Outsourcing is often referred to as ‘contracting in’ while the opposite function, that of tendering, is often referred to as ‘contracting out’.

Specialised projects and administrative functions usually support the provision of services to service-users and members of nonprofit organizations (or customers and clients of commercial enterprises) in that they contribute to the preparation of a service or product rather than delivery of a service or product. ‘Preparation’ means the process of getting the service or product ready for delivery: ‘delivery’ means the process of putting the service or product into the possession or experience of the user or buyer.

Examples of services include counselling sessions, transitional accommodation, employment support, investment advice: examples of products include publications, packaged goods, clothing, spare parts.

Outsourcing involves two parties:

• the tenderer – ie the party that will provide the expertise, knowledge, equipment, etc, and/or perform a function in return for payment, and
• the outsourcer – ie the party that will pay to receive the expertise and/or function and integrate it into their organisation’s performance

The usual procedure is for the outsourcer to determine their need or opportunity, prepare a tender brief setting out the nature, scope and specification of their requirement and then arrange to receive an offer from people interested, capable and willing to meet the specifications and satisfy the requirement. Such an offer may be referred to as a bid, quote, estimate, tender response or proposal.

When the offers from a number of tenderers has been assessed by the outsourcer against a pre-determined set of criteria (which would have been included in the tender brief), a short-list may be agreed upon for interview and subsequent negotiation with the preferred supplier – followed by the signing of a contract. The successful tenderer becomes the supplier to the outsourcer: the outsourcer becomes the client of the supplier.

Documentation

There are by now a number of documents that are critical to the success of the outsourcing project:

For the outsourcer:

1. the working papers they have developed, and from which they prepared the tender brief
2. record of the assessment procedure and process to ensure compliance with transparency, confidentiality, quality standards and industry codes
3. the tender document, complete with project plan to satisfactorily meet the specifications and comply with the assessment criteria, and
4. the contract with the successful tenderer.

For the successful tenderer:

1. the working papers they have developed, and from which they prepared their tender response
2. the tender brief, complete with specifications and assessment criteria
3. the tender document, complete with project plan to satisfactorily meet the specifications and comply with the assessment criteria, and
4. the contract with the outsourcer.

When the contract period commences, the critical function is that of project management, ie a designated person in the successful tenderer’s organisation, and a designated person in the outsourcing organisation. Together, they ensure that the contract is undertaken and completed to the agreed specifications and schedule.

Remember – a ‘successful tender’ is one that not only wins the contract, but also fulfils the specifications, terms and conditions of the contract to the satisfaction of the client.

The starting point for the outsourcer is to identify their organisation’s core competencies (those in which they have some sort of competitive advantage) which must remain in-house – and decide whether to outsource any or all non-core competencies. The decision to outsource begins with the recognition of a need or an opportunity. In the flowchart in this Unit, the ‘need or opportunity’ is referred to as ‘the catalyst’.

Organisations need to focus their internal resources on sustaining and advancing their uniqueness (eg a particular competency, their knowledge base, a specific procedure, a product or component), then outsource those functions that are peripheral to the maintenance or development of their uniqueness.

Internal staff then oversee and manage outsourcing relationships and contracts. One organisation can outsource their non-core competencies, while at the same time tendering to supply their own core competencies to other organisations: one organisation can be both tenderer and outsourcer at the same time – but on separate contracts.

‘Uniqueness’ is often described as an organisation’s competitive advantage, winning edge or point of difference. The intellectual property or intellectual capital related to uniqueness must be protected at all costs, and should never be the subject of outsourcing.

Benefits of outsourcing

Outsourcing can bring real benefits to an organisation. Some examples are:

• the opportunity to access state-of-the-art equipment, processes or knowledge without the cost of buying, developing or leasing same, eg machinery, software, research capacity, printing machines
• traditional working hours are expanded when work is performed off-site by specialists
• specialists can reduce costs related to time, due to their expertise, expertness and creativity related to their capability or capacity being purchased by the outsourcer, or
• services are purchased only as needed.

Checklist to guide decisions about outsourcing

1. Ensure a thorough analysis and comparison of competencies and direct service or product activities
2. Carry out a thorough assessment of likely associated risk, including both the potential for risk and the problems and costs associated with managing or avoiding such risk
3. Establish a set of criteria to assess each competency or special project for outsourcing
4. Strategically select which competencies or special projects could be considered for outsourcing
5. Prepare a detailed specification of your requirements, and draft and detail the terms and conditions of contract
6. Prepare your assessment criteria, quality standards of performance, and procedure to select your preferred tenderer (ie potential supplier)
7. Carry out your selection and appointment process, which may include a detailed negotiation process prior to finalizing the contract
8. Be sure each party fully understands and accepts the parameters and components of the contract
9. Ensure mutual and documented agreement on anticipated outcomes, time schedule and terms of payment
   • retain in-house any stage, function or responsibility where insufficient resources exist to outsource, or where the nature and extent of associated risk must or can only be controlled in-house
   • if you cannot outsource the risk, you would need to be convinced that you should outsource the competency or activity
10. Consider short and long-term costs and benefits, both internal and external.

Risk analysis

It is critical to undertake a thorough risk analysis prior to commencing any outsourcing activity, and this checklist is offered as a guide:

1. Identify potential risk – real and imagined
2. Choose potential suppliers carefully, and be sure to ask for references and client lists
3. Check the supplier’s reputation and professional or trade credentials
4. Make sure the culture of the supplier fits the culture of your organisation
5. Be willing to accept that you may not know exactly who does the job or when or how, so be prepared to monitor process and progress through your own project manager
6. Establish reporting criteria and design methods and proformas to receive information throughout the contract period that will effectively and efficiently monitor progress in line with the agreed specifications, schedule and budget, including dissemination of key data regarding the project’s status
7. Calculate the real and total cost of retaining a competency or project in-house as a basis for comparison to evaluate the cost of outsourcing
8. Consider the level of expertise, experience and speed of the likely supplier in comparison with retaining the competency in-house
9. Consider factors that could influence pricing
10. Ask if the supplier will share the financial risk by negotiating payment terms and conditions
11. The lower the fixed return for the supplier, the greater the perceived risk by the supplier
12. Allow sufficient time to assess progress and outcomes, and be wary of added costs over and above the terms and conditions of contract
13. Anticipate variations and agree on a procedure to deal with them when negotiating the contract
14. Where the contract is ongoing or of a considerable duration, be sure that your people gain as much benefit as possible from having the supplier ‘in-house’ or ‘on-site’.

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