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Looking For Evaluation Tenders? Here Are The 4 Main Types of Evaluation Services That Buyers Seek

Are you looking for new evaluation tenders to bid on? Here’s why buyers outsource these services…

If you’re looking for evaluation tenders, it’s good to start by understanding the types of projects buyers procure.

Evaluation methods need to be in place to determine the effectiveness of projects, performance outcomes or to summarise data. The four main types of evaluation are process, impact, outcome, and summative evaluations.

Buyers will establish which evaluation method they require before breaking it down into different services. In this blog, we go through the four types of evaluation methods, and why buyers will seek to outsource these.

The four main types of evaluation tenders that buyers seek:

Process Evaluation

Process evaluation tenders are used by buyers to effectively measure the activities of a project/programme. It will look at the overall quality of the project, and if it is reaching the right people. In this process, you will answer the following:

  • Is this project reaching the necessary audiences?
  • Is the audience interacting with all the aspects of the project?
  • Have you had to make any changes to the project? If so, then why?

Impact Evaluation

Impact evaluation tenders are procured by buyers in order to assess the immediate effect of a project. This will analyse if the project has fulfilled the required objectives. With the main questions being:

  • How effective has the project been?
  • Has it achieved the intended objectives?
  • If not, then why was this the case?

Outcome Evaluation

Outcome evaluation tenders deal with long-term effects that have been brought about from the project. For example, measuring whether the final objectives have been achieved and if the project was a success. Usually, buyers will seek this type of evaluation three to six months after the project has finished. This allows them to fully understand the outcome. Questions answered during this process are:

  • Has the project achieved what it intended to do?
  • Were there any outside factors that affected or contributed to the project, and did it change the objectives?
  • Have there been any unintended outcomes of the project? If so, were they good/bad outcomes and what was the result of them?

Summative Evaluation

With summative evaluation tenders, this will be done at the end of project. This will be to assess whether the project has achieved its goals. This can determine whether it needs to continue, if it needs to be changed, or if the project is completed. To establish these points, it will look at the following:

  • Has the project achieved its goals in the given timeframe? Does it need to be extended?
  • If it needs to be extended, in which capacity will it be?
  • If the project is not working entirely, can it be adapted to work? Or does the whole project need to be stopped?
  • Is the project sustainable?
  • Are there any elements that are affecting the project that can be worked on?
  • Has the end goal changed in any way? 

Before posting an evaluation tender, the buyer will establish which method they are seeking. From this, they will determine the type of service they require, based on the evaluation they are seeking.

The most common types of evaluation services include:

  • Testing
  • Participation review
  • Data collection
  • Financial reports
  • Performance review
  • Qualitative

Why do buyers procure evaluation services?

There are a number of reasons why buyers require evaluation services. Ultimately, they want to know that what they are implementing is working. Buyers are more likely to outsource evaluation services because they don’t have the manpower or time to do so in-house. They may not have even considered the need for evaluation services when starting the project. By outsourcing these, it helps improve their next project. Here are three reasons why evaluation services are helpful for buyers to have in place:

  1. Peace of mind

It shows that the project is working and that the time and effort put into it was indeed for something. Seeing the project analysed in full will ensure that there is continued development.

  1. Improves knowledge

By evaluating projects, buyers can continue to learn and improve their knowledge. They can better understand their target audience and gather information that can improve their services/products. This will all feed into continued development. It will also show to the outside world that they know what they are doing. This will ultimately improve their trust with clients.

  1. Retains quality

Establishing what is working and what isn’t ensures that the buyer is, in fact, doing what they need to do. Sometimes unpredictable changes can occur that can affect their business. Keeping ahead of these will ensure they don’t fall short with their stakeholders, service users or clients.

In summary

Evaluation tenders can be broken down into these four evaluation methods:

  • Process evaluation
  • Impact evaluation
  • Outcome evaluation
  • Summative evaluation.

Buyers will seek these services to ensure that the projects they implement within their organisations are working. Allowing them to continue their development and achieve set goals.

Once they establish what evaluation method they require, they will then break this down into services they require for this. Evaluation tenders will usually procure the following services:

  • Testing
  • Participation review
  • Data collection
  • Financial reports
  • Performance review
  • Qualitative

How can Research Tenders help?

Knowing the types of evaluation tenders that are available is the first step in your search for new tendering opportunities. With Research Tenders, we can help make the search smooth sailing! We know how time-consuming sourcing new tenders can be and the admin work that goes into it. A subscription to Research Tenders includes:

  • Access to a wide range of exclusive, public, and private sector research contracts in the UK
  • A daily email bulletin, sent straight to your inbox when new opportunities are uploaded
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division
  • 20-minutes of free consultancy with one of our Bid Consultants each month.

You’ll have 24-hour access to our Research Tenders portal where you will find opportunities for:

Book a free live demo with Research Tenders to see how we can help your business grow.

Here are just five examples of evaluation tenders we have previously sourced on our platform:

Evaluation Consultant

Horniman Museum and Gardens – London – Budget: £20,000

FGM Pilot Clinics Service Evaluation

NHS England – Yorkshire and Humber– Budget: £33,333

PS22045 An Evaluation of the Socioeconomic Impact Arising From BBSRC’s Investment in Wheat Research and Innovation

UK​ Shared Business Services – South West – Budget: £75,000

North East and Yorkshire (NEY) Local Net Zero Hub Programme Evaluation

South Tees Site Company – North East – Budget: £100,000

Post Occupancy Evaluation for the LLDC

Transport for London – London – Budget: £180,000

Found an evaluation tender and need help with bid writing?

You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning response in-house.

Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offer four levels of bid writing support. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. They have four bid writing packages available:

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found a tender you’d like to go for, we can support with the writing. Our Bid Writers can write the tender response for you. They can even provide a full Tender Writing breakdown and even submit it on your behalf.

Tender Mentor 

Tender Mentor can give your tender response a once over before you submit. Our Bid Writing Team will analyse your response, notifying you of any errors and opportunities for improvement prior to submission.

Tender Ready

During the Tender Ready service, our Bid Writing Team will create professional policies, procedures, and case studies in your company branding. If you already have this content, they can review everything carefully to ensure that nothing is missed. Once the programme is complete, you’ll have access to three days’ worth of bid consultancy. This can be used for bid writing, tender reviews, or general advice and guidance.

Tender Improvement

The Tender Improvement package can help those who have tendered before but aren’t seeing results. Our Bid Writers can assess your previous responses and work with you to develop improved content.

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

Want to save even more time? Enter Discover Elite…

Upgrade to Discover Elite to ensure you never miss a tender, even when you are busy. The Ultimate Time-Saving Tool and the Become a Pre-Bid Master packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. They can help save you even more time when searching for evaluation tenders.

With Discover Elite, you get:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals
  • Either five or seven tender breakdowns per month, depending on the package you choose
  • Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable tendering opportunities
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf
  • Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid strategy.

Get in touch with us today to get started in your search for evaluation tenders.

The 5 Most Common Types of Social Research Tenders

Are you looking to source new social research tenders? Here is where to start…

Before you begin to bid on social research tenders, you need to understand why organisations require social research services. But you also need to know what types of social research tenders there is.

In this blog, we identify the five most common types of social research services that buyers will seek and why.

What is social research?

Social research is carried out so that we can learn about people and society. By understanding the nature of human society, we can use this knowledge to develop products/services to better suit the public. Improving our understanding of health and wellbeing, as well as many other factors like leadership, psychology, and sociology etc.

When conducting social research, researchers will look at human behaviour, socio-economic groups, location, and trigger topics.

Why do buyers procure social research services?

You may be wondering why organisations procure social research services. This is because it allows for continuous development in society and contributes to continued evolution.

What type of social research tenders are there?

When looking to source social research tenders, you need to understand which type of social research the buyer is requiring. What information are they trying to gather? And how can you help?

Here are the five most common types of social research tenders:

Community welfare tenders – These contracts will aim to enhance the welfare of communities. Often, you will find public sector contracts linked to these services.

Behavioural understanding tenders – This breaks down society further, looking at social groups and their behaviours. Social research tenders of this type will usually be related to companies who offer services/products to the public. This will allow them to predict trends for future growth and support offerings.

Knowledge improvement tenders – Gaining insight into society’s beliefs, where they stemmed from and their level of knowledge. Social research tenders within this category will allow companies to understand certain issues. From this, they can begin to work on how they can be resolved. Social research tenders within these services are usually linked to non-profit organisations and government contracts.

Social progress tenders – Very similar to the above point, but it takes into consideration, prejudices and misconceptions. By obtaining this information, it allows for developments towards more inclusive societies.

Tenders for formulating new theories – This applies to overall societal development. Researching new fields of study, ideologies and theories can aid in new behavioural changes. This can lead to new development in technologies, government policies and teaching methods. A good example of this is to look at mental health services. Researching what is impacting mental health in society can lead to new therapy methods to combat the issue.

Summary

When sourcing social research tenders, you need to establish your remit of what type of research services you can provide. Buyers will require research on different topics to aid in their development and continued growth.

Common social research tenders can be broken down into the following categories:

  • Community welfare
  • Behavioural understanding
  • Knowledge improvement
  • Social progress
  • Formulating new theories.

The first step in understanding the buyer’s needs is to understand what your services can provide them. This will be identified in their specifications. You may also find that your services can you crossover into others. Providing more opportunities for you to bid on. Once you know this, you can begin to search for social research tenders.

Do you need help with searching for social research tenders?

If you’re struggling to find suitable tenders and don’t know where to look, Research Tenders is the perfect solution!

A subscription to Research Tenders can offer your business:

  • Access to a wide range of exclusive, public, and private sector research contracts in the UK
  • A daily email bulletin, sent straight to your inbox when new opportunities are uploaded
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division
  • 20-minutes of free consultancy with one of our Bid Consultants each month.

You’ll have 24-hour access to our Research Tenders portal where you will find opportunities for:

Book a free live demo with Research Tenders to see how we can help your business grow.

Here are just five examples of social research tenders we have sourced on Research Tenders:

Social Covenants & Charters Research

Equality and Human Rights Commission – North West – Budget: £10k

Euro 2028 Bid – Socioeconomic Impact Research

The United Kingdom Sports Council – London – Budget: £65k

Developing Communications & Engagement Resources to Support an Increase in Diversity of Participants in Research

NHS E I Office – Yorkshire and Humber – Budget: £80k

Healthcare Access, Experience & Outcomes Research – Socially Deprived Communities

NHS England – Yorkshire and Humber – Budget: £100k

Research Development & Evidence Framework

Defra Network eTendering Portal – South West – Budget: £80million

Found a social research tender and need help with bid writing?

You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning response in-house.

Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offer four levels of bid writing support. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. They have four bid writing packages available:

Tender Writing

Once you’ve found a tender you’d like to go for, we can support with the writing. Our Bid Writers can write the tender response for you. They can even provide a full Tender Writing breakdown and even submit it on your behalf.

Tender Mentor 

Tender Mentor can give your tender response a once over before you submit. Our Bid Writing Team will analyse your response, notifying you of any errors and opportunities for improvement prior to submission.

Tender Ready

During the Tender Ready service, our Bid Writing Team will create professional policies, procedures, and case studies in your company branding. If you already have this content, they can review everything carefully to ensure that nothing is missed. Once the programme is complete, you’ll have access to three days’ worth of bid consultancy. This can be used for bid writing, tender reviews, or general advice and guidance.

Tender Improvement

The Tender Improvement package can help those who have tendered before but aren’t seeing results. Our Bid Writers can assess your previous responses and work with you to develop improved content.

Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow.

Want to save even more time? Enter Discover Elite…

Upgrade to Discover Elite to ensure you never miss a tender, even when you are busy. The Ultimate Time-Saving Tool and the Become a Pre-Bid Master packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. They can help save you even more time when searching for social research tenders.

With Discover Elite, you get:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals
  • Either five or seven tender breakdowns per month, depending on the package you choose
  • Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable tendering opportunities
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices monitored on your behalf
  • Buyer portal management including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid strategy.

Get in touch with us today, to get started in your search for new social research tenders.

Government Research Tenders: Find the Right Opportunity with Hudson Discover

How to find government research tenders your business can win

Finding government research tenders that are suitable for your business can be tricky. However, there is a way to simplify the tendering process. In this blog, we’ll go through the things you should consider when looking for suitable research contracts for your business.  

Make sure you’re eligible for the opportunity

Before you proceed with a bid, you need to determine if you’re eligible for the contract. For example, many buyers will state eligibility criteria in the tender documents. This could include:

  • Annual turnover

As a general rule, you shouldn’t tender for contracts that are worth more than 50% of your annual turnover. This is because you’ll find it difficult to deliver a contract of that size, or your business might lack resources.

If the buyer is going to consider this during the evaluation process, it should be stated in the tender documents.

  • Accreditations and qualifications

When you’re looking for government research tenders, you should consider your accreditations and qualifications. Do you meet the buyer’s requirements on paper? For research contracts, this could be anything from relevant accreditations to a degree-level education. An example of an accreditation with growing popularity is the MRS Company Partner accreditation. This accreditation demonstrates an organisation’s commitment to excellence through the Code of Conduct. It also allows team members to stay informed, upskilled and competitive in their industry.

  • Experience

You also need to consider your experience and case studies. Most buyers will expect to see two to three contract examples from the past three to five years. It’s also important that these are similar in size, scope and complexity to the contract you’re going for.

So, if you want to win government research tenders, you shouldn’t include your security experience from 20 years ago.

Find government research tenders that you can actually deliver 

You might be able to deliver the contract on paper but, for government research tenders, you need more than that. Now you need to consider the following question. If you’re successful in winning the tender, can you actually deliver the work?

Here, the main things you should consider are:

  • Time

Do you have time to deliver the contract? Look at your schedule and consider any upcoming projects in your calendar. If this contract date clashes with your other work, it’s probably not the right project for you.

  • Location

Can you deliver the work in the specified location? Unless you’re looking to expand or enter new markets, the tender should be based near your business.

  • Resources 

When bidding for government research tenders, it’s important that you consider your resources. If you’ve proposed a certain budget in your tender response and the buyer chooses you, you need to honour this.

Also, look at the size of your team. Do you need to outsource any work? If so, you’ll still be able to deliver the contract. However, more than 50% and the buyer will want to know why you should be chosen over more suitable suppliers.

Finally, put yourself in the buyer’s shoes 

Whether you’re bidding for government research tenders or any other, you should put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. As you go through the tender specifications, ask yourself – would you choose your business to deliver this project? By doing this, you can think about your business objectively. This will help you find suitable research projects for your business to go for.

In summary

Finding government research tenders that are suitable for your business can be tricky. However, the team at Research Tenders are here to help!

Make sure you’re eligible for the opportunity by considering the following: 

  • Annual turnover
  • Accreditations and qualifications
  • Experience and case studies.

Also, make sure you can deliver the work by considering your:

  • Time
  • Location
  • Resources. 

Finally, try to assess your business objectively by putting yourself in the buyer’s shoes. Would you choose yourself to deliver the contract?

Do you need help searching for government research tenders?

If you’re struggling to find suitable tenders and don’t know where to look, Research Tenders is the perfect solution!

A subscription to Research Tenders can offer your business:

  • Access to all exclusive, public, and private sector research contracts in the UK
  • A daily email bulletin is sent straight to your inbox when new, opportunities are uploaded
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division
  • 20-minutes of free consultancy with one of our Bid Consultants each month.

You’ll have 24-hour access to our Research Tenders portal where you will find opportunities for:

Here are just five examples of past tenders we’ve sourced on the Research Tenders portal:

Research Consultancy – Review of Strategic Signposting

West Berkshire Council – South East – Budget: £20,000

Recruitment & Research Qualitative Services

Care Quality Commission (CQC) – North East – Budget: £40,599

An Evaluation of the Socio-Economic Impact Arising from BBSRC’s Investment in Wheat Research and Innovation

UK Shared Business Services – South West – Budget: £75,000

GB-Maldon: Assisted Shell Fish Sampling

Malson District Council – Eastern – Budget: £100,000

Multi Country – Development of National Research Strategy

Department for International Trade – International – Budget: Undisclosed

Found a tender and need help with bid writing?

You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning response in-house. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offer four levels of bid writing support. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. The services on offer include:

Want to save even more time?

Upgrading to Discover Elite allows you to optimise your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two upgraded packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each can help save you even more time when searching for tenders for design work.

The ultimate time-saver package offers your business:

  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices are monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management, including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid criteria.

Contact the Research Tenders Team to find out more about how we can help.

Survey Tenders: Find the Best Opportunities for Your Business

Looking for survey tenders? Here’s how to find the best opportunities for your business

There are plenty of contract opportunities within the research sector, specifically survey tenders. These opportunities can be great for your business, and many companies turn to tendering for work for this reason. Hudson Discover is here to help you find ways of making it easier to find such contracts. So, you can spend more time on winning the contracts rather than searching high and low for them.

Where to find survey tenders

Most people would use a search engine to look for survey tenders, and this will bring up plenty of results. But most of these results will be spread across various websites. This will require hours of research in itself just to locate contracts. A lot of them may not have crucial information available either, or it may be difficult and time-consuming to find.

Luckily, many businesses have recognised this issue. This is why so many companies now offer tender portal services. These portals are the best way to streamline the process of finding survey tenders.

How to use portals to find survey tenders

Depending on the portal you use, you’ll be able to search for tenders of a specific sector. For example, our Research Tenders portal hosts various opportunities. We source opportunities including:

  • Market research
  • Academic research
  • Feasibility studies
  • Qualitative and quantitative research
  • Survey services and many more.

Most portals will use CPV codes to source tender opportunities. However, this can lead to misinformation and unreliable results. Our portals are updated daily by our admin team, so you can be assured the opportunities are legitimate. They’ll also be categorised correctly. Then you can use keywords and various other filters to find opportunities that are perfect for you.

Ultimately, a tender portal saves you hours of time by streamlining the process and having results in one place. For example, you may be looking for contracts in a certain location. Filters allow you to do that. They’ll also show you the value of the contracts.

Summary

To sum up what we have covered, survey tenders can be found much easier via tender tracking portals. These portals house various opportunities to save you hours of time searching multiple websites.

If you have further questions about survey tenders, please feel free to contact us. We aim to support and advise everyone we can to help their business grow.

DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE WITH RESEARCH & SURVEY TENDERS?

You don’t always have the time or resources to write a winning response in house. Outsourcing to bid writing experts can help. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, offer four levels of bid writing support. They boast an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of bid writing experience. The services on offer include:

NEED HELP SOURCING SURVEY TENDERS? WE CAN HELP!

Running your own business takes up a lot of your time. The last thing you want to be doing is trawling hundreds of websites searching for digital marketing tenders. Most websites post multi-industry opportunities and filtering them with CPV codes can produce unreliable results. Luckily for you, we have a solution.

Enter…Research Tenders.

Research Tenders is an easy-to-navigate, centralised portal hosting live research tender opportunities from across the UK.

Below are 5 past examples of research tenders sourced on our portal:

Research Consultancy – South West – £200k – 27-09-2021

Contract for a research consultancy to establish whether a green belt designation would be appropriate and how to achieve it.

Leadership Research – London – Budget: Undisclosed – 12-09-2021

Buyer seeking to procure services to conduct research into local community leadership.

Financial Research – South East – Budget: Undisclosed – 17-09-2021

Organisation seeking to establish a contract for financial research services into tax credit.

Environmental Research – South East – Budget: Undisclosed – 13-10-2021

Contracting authority looking to procure services for environmental research for climate change databases.

Research & Analysis Services – Yorkshire – Budget: Undisclosed – 17-09-2021

Tender submissions required for services to conduct research and analysis of resource and waste within Yorkshire.

A SUBSCRIPTION TO RESEARCH TENDERS CAN OFFER YOUR BUSINESS:

  • Access to all exclusive, public and private sector research contracts in the UK.
  • An on-hand Account Manager is available to answer any questions you may have about tenders for design work. They can help you understand the procurement process and answer any questions you have about the tendering process in general.
  • A daily email bulletin is sent straight to your inbox when new, sector-specific opportunities are uploaded.
  • Discounted support from Hudson Succeed, our bid writing division.
  • 20-minutes of free consultancy with one of our Bid Consultants each month.

Book a free live demo with Research Tenders to see how we can help your business grow.

WANT TO SAVE EVEN MORE TIME?

Upgrading to Discover Elite allows you to optimise your tendering opportunities even when you’re busy. Our two upgraded packages can improve your competitor awareness and bidding success rate. Each can help save you even more time when searching for tenders for design work.

THE ULTIMATE TIME SAVER PACKAGE OFFERS YOUR BUSINESS:

  • A maximum of five tender breakdowns per month.
  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Hudson Discover sector-specific portals. This option can help businesses that overlap two industries such as Creative and Technology, for example.
  • Pre-market and award engagement notices are monitored on your behalf.
  • Buyer portal management, including registration, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid or no-bid
  • Weekly phone calls with your dedicated Account Manager to discuss viable creative tendering opportunities.

THE BECOME A PRE-BID MASTER PACKAGE ALSO INCLUDES:

  • All of the above.
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
  • Bid Strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of 5 years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business grow.

 

 

Market Research Contracts in 2020/21 – What’s Trending?

Looking for market research contracts? Here’s what you need to know.

Market research contracts offer a vast and versatile range of work for research businesses and contractors. And after a year like 2020, market research is more important than ever! Businesses are adapting to new practices and working on recovery strategies. So, what are the current industry trends? And what’s the best way forward for market research experts?

What does a market research contract typically entail?

Essentially, a third-party contractor is required to research the needs and preferences of a particular market for a buying authority. In general terms, market research enables businesses to find out essential information to inform their products or services. For example, a business might hire a market researcher to answer questions such as:

  • What exactly do consumers want from our products?
  • What needs aren’t being met with similar existing products?
  • How much competition is there for our products?
  • What target market should we be aiming at?
  • How much should we charge consumers?

A wide range of contracts are on offer.

We host a varied range of contracts on Research Tenders and know market research can cover a wide range of intel. Market research contracts may include:

  • Business-to-business marketing
  • Business-to-consumer marketing
  • Business-to-government marketing.

For example, the following recent market research contracts demonstrate their versatility:

  • An educational body such as the Department for Education seeks a company to conduct market research. This research will determine the most suitable equipment and classroom set-up for students to improve education standards.
  • A private tech company has no in-house research capability. They seek a contractor to investigate and evaluate the market for new products, which will then inform what they create.
  • A government organisation seeks contractors to research the country’s dairy sector. This research will consider emerging trends in dairy nutrition and inform future spend and opportunities for the sector.

Why is market research important?

Strong market research is often vital to the success of a project or business. Whether it’s shaping a product for consumers, or a government public health initiative, solid research beforehand will improve the outcome. Risks are also reduced dramatically. A well-informed business or organisation can make properly informed decisions, which means less money and resources are wasted.

How has 2020 increased demand for market research?

Now, with many businesses hit hard by the pandemic, risk management is more important than ever. Unnecessary spending is being limited, across the board.

So how are market research contracts fairing alongside these drastic economic changes? While many companies have slashed their marketing budgets, the future of market research has been called into question. But recent research reveals a slightly different story…

There’s an increased need for well-informed business decisions.

The following industry insight shows how businesses are investing in market research as part of their COVID-19 recovery plan:

  • Insight from Detsu: Detsu recently surveyed hundreds of chief marketing officers worldwide to understand how the pandemic is affecting market research. 40% of those surveyed said the most significant challenge for businesses over the next year is understanding consumer behaviour. In particular, understanding whether new behaviours are a temporary shift or a permanent change to inform business decisions. The survey determined that chief marketers who felt the most prepared for adapting to the pandemic were putting market research first. Among this group, “understanding changing consumer behaviour and undertaking market research is the most popular future strategy.”
  • Insight from Kantar: A study by Kantar found 38% of UK firms are maintaining their investment in market research during the pandemic. A further 9% increased their budget for market research in response to recent changes. Rosie Hawkins, chief innovation officer at Kantar, talked about the importance of innovation when it comes to drastic change. She said:

We see leaders taking steps to understand and explore the spaces for innovation in their business to drive recovery:

Evolving their business models; 

Innovating in their portfolio to address newfound habits and consumption patterns; 

Reinventing routes to market, and; 

Reimagining the customer experience in a digital environment.

Ultimately, cutting back on market research for the sake of cost-cutting is a short-sighted idea. In the long run, it’s detrimental. Effective market research will prove to be an essential part of recovery for businesses as we emerge from the pandemic. 

If anything is certain, it’s that things are always changing!

As new demands spring up, we’re seeing increased tenders for market research in new areas. Consumers are raising their expectations of how businesses operate, and how they employ sustainability in their operating models. This has led to an increased focus on sustainability and environmental impact in market research contracts. For example, surveys into the awareness of environmental issues in the marine environment, or attitudes towards home energy efficiency.

Tendering for market research contracts yet? …No? Here’s why you should be.

Tendering opens the door to a wide range of market research contracts that aren’t accessible otherwise. Many companies see the tendering process as a barrier which is too difficult or time consuming to cross. This idea that tendering is a drawn-out, complicated process stops many companies from competing for work, particularly government contracts.

In reality, however, tendering doesn’t need to be complicated – especially with the right support. Tendering can open doors to a vast range of opportunities that will ultimately grow your business! It’s an oversight for companies to miss out on work that could boost their business due to misconceptions.

Here’s some insight into why tendering is an effective route if you’re interested in market research contracts. Don’t miss out any longer!

Tenders offer structured and purposeful research projects!

One advantage of tendering is that a structure and purpose has already been set out for the research in hand. Research work can sometimes feel boundless, especially if you’re working with qualitative data. When do you draw conclusions? At what point does field research become too time-consuming or costly to justify?

An Invitation to Tender (ITT) for a market research contract means the groundwork has been laid out already. You can rest assured that your services are in demand and you’ll be working within a structured project. When a market research contract is put out to tender, the buying organisation has already established and defined the following:

  • Purpose: The need for the research.
  • Outcome: What the research needs to demonstrate.
  • Timescale: How long the research should take.
  • Budget: How much should be spent on the research.

Within these constraints, planning your market research and allocating the spend becomes a much simpler task. You also get a clear gauge of what businesses expect to pay for specialised market research services, going forward.

Can anyone tender for market research contracts?

In short – yes! We generally recommend that businesses should tender for contracts that are worth no more than 50% of their annual takeover. For instance, if a company’s annual turnover is £150k, they should tender for contracts with a max value of £75k. However, this doesn’t mean companies with smaller turnovers can’t tender at all. Market research contracts are versatile, and smaller projects are up for grabs, too.

On Research Tenders, we host opportunities with a range of budgets, suitable for businesses of all sizes. Here’s some insight into the range of market research contracts that are available – and how you can start winning work.

What kind of market research contracts are available for SMEs?

  • Small contracts.

A smaller business may budget a market research contract at £5,000. For instance, a printing company who needs market research to better inform their next wave of products. As a small company, they don’t have market research skills in-house. So, they put out a tender which states they’re seeking a company with the following: Expertise in market research to provide accurate market assessment on which to base investment decisions.

  • Large contracts.

Larger contracts don’t always exclude SMEs or sole traders. A market research contract may contain the following statement. This contract may be suitable for small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement. This essentially means you still have to be able to price your services in competition with larger companies.

Work on large contracts may be available through framework agreements or dynamic purchasing systems. Watch our free Tender VLE masterclass for more information on how frameworks can benefit SMEs.

What skills are required for market research contracts?

Qualifications and requirements for a market research contract may include:

  • experience in mixed methods research
  • expertise in conducting interviews and other data gathering approaches to generate policy and practice recommendations
  • experience of conducting programme or strategy reviews
  • dedicated teams with suitable experience and qualifications

How to win market research contracts.

Generally, to win market research projects, you’ll need to:

  1. Demonstrate evidence of previous projects.

Stating that you have the skills and qualifications to complete a contract isn’t enough. You need to provide proof of past projects and lessons learned in the form of case studies. We recommend creating at least three strong case studies before tendering for work.   

  1. Offer good value for money.

Price your services to ensure you’ll be the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT), whilst still making a profit.

  1. Deliver the job within the timeframe.

Timeframes for research tenders can be short, for example, the contract may specify research should be concluded within 2 months. Ensure you have the team and capabilities to complete the job within the specified timescale.

If you need support producing a winning bid, look no further. The bid writers in our Hudson Succeed division can help your business produce the best bid possible for market research contracts. They have extensive experience, and an 87% success rate. Let them help your business succeed! 

Research Tenders

At Research Tenders, we source hundreds of current research opportunities, including:

  • Market Research
  • Academic Research
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Qualitative and Quantitative Research
  • Survey Services and many more.

Below are previous market research tenders sourced on our portal:

Provision of Market Research & Stakeholder Engagement Services

Agri-Epi Centre Limited- Scotland- Budget: £189,000

Marketing Research into New Sectors

Hospice Quality Partnership- North West- Budget: £3,000

Business Research & Data Provision

Worcestershire County Council- West Midlands- Budget: £45,500

Invitation to Quote for Business Support Market Research

The Business Growth Hub Limited- North West- Budget: £25,000

GB-London: Managed Service Providers’ Market Research

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport- London- Budget: £100,000

Book a free, live demo today to see how our service can help your research business. The demo will show you all the useful features of our site, the current opportunities and the time-saving benefits.

ONE WEEK UNTIL TENDER VLE!

Procurement training platform, Tender VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) will launch next week on 1st June 2018! This is an ideal platfrom to use if you are new to tendering or struggling to secure Research Contracts. 

We have spoken about this new project in many of our recent blogs – but what can it do for you?

Who will benefit?

Tender VLE considers three tiers of experience when it comes to procurement training. We have modified our content to adhere to different levels of understanding that we have categorised as;

  • Start – Complete beginners guide when it comes to tendering and procurement.
  • Develop – Familiar with the processes and may have even undertaken a role in the procurement system previously.
  • Excel – This section refers to those who may already be working as Bid Writers or as part of a wider bid management team.

What is it?

 Tender VLE is an online procurement training platform. It’s the first of its kind as it is completely FREE TO USE! The site will contain video-led masterclasses, delivered by our, in-house, procurement experts, comprising of;

  • Daniel Hall – Content and Procurement Manager.

Daniel has multiple years’ bid writing experience, which is exemplified by his first-class degree in English and has never scored lower than 85% quality score during his Bid Writing career. He will be the first instructor to deliver expert-level content that covers the basics during our launch period and more advanced content throughout.

  • Jill Hudson – Growth Director.

Director and Co-Founder, Jill has over 16 years of experience working as a Bid Writer. She has secured hundreds of contracts for suppliers across multiple industries including Creative industries, the Technology sector and Engineering firms.

  • Kathryn Johanson – Creative Head.

At Tender VLE, our vast experience tells us that the presentation of the bid can be one of the deciding factors between a success and failure. Kathryn heads our, in-house, Creative Team, ensuring that our clients stand out through the responses’ presentation and brand-specific design, especially with the likes of Creative Tenders.

  • John Hudson – Group CEO.

As Hudson Procurement Group’s Co-Founder, John will feature in Tender VLE’s investment masterclasses. John has experience in running multiple successful businesses and will offer first hand, long-term, strategy planning knowledge.

No time to watch the videos? Don’t worry! Each video will be accompanied by a fact sheet containing a condensed, bullet-point version, summarising each topic and a short blog that discusses the points clearly.

Why Tender VLE?

Whilst working at all levels and on both sides of the procurement industry, our experts noticed substantial knowledge gaps – leading to a complicated process. The aim of Tender VLE is to simplify the whole procedure for suppliers by clearing up any misconceptions when tendering for new work. There are many consultancies out there who provide this information and training at a cost and we know that if everyone is provided with this type of information freely, then this levels the playing field with all SME operators nationally.

Want to request a topic?

We will be adding videos to the procurement training site on a regular basis so please feel free to request a specific topic and our procurement experts will do their best to cover it in as much detail as possible.

Please send all requests or further queries via our Tender VLE LinkedIn forum.

Don’t have the time or resources to bid for work? We understand that it can be a lengthy process, get in touch with our Tender Consultants HERE to see how we can support your procurement efforts even further.

Tender VLE will launch on 1st June 2018 and can be accessed via
www.tendervle.co.uk completely FREE!

We’re here to help you SUCCEED!

Tendering for Research Contracts Doesn’t Need To Be Complicated!

Tendering for Research Contracts doesn’t need to be complicated

We’ll repeat … TENDERING FOR RESEARCH CONTRACTS DOES NOT NEED TO BE COMPLICATED!

There are many factors to why people assume tendering is overly-complicated. This is usually down to the amount of time it takes to complete and how mundane the process is. Yes – there may be 5000 pages of specification but hey … who doesn’t love a bit of light reading!

The three things you MUST possess when tendering is PERSISTENCE, PLANNING & POSITIVITY!

Let’s get past the moaning and downtrodden attitude to how ‘complicated’ tendering is and break the process down to show how easy it actually is!

In order to de-complicate the situation – let’s look at a few things that are deemed complicated when tendering. This includes:

1. Terminology

The number of abbreviations flying around is becoming increasingly common in the procurement world. Terms like RFQs, ITTs, PQQs, DPS, and RFPs seems like they are only used to confuse us into a state of literary decline. Let’s simplify:

PQQ Pre-qualification questionnaire – this is usually a stage-1 questionnaire asking about specific company details like insurance and similar contracts you’ve worked on etc., along with simple ‘yes and no’ questions making sure you’re not fraudulent and you pay your taxes etc.
ITT Invitation to Tender – we can sometimes forget out the PQQ and jump straight into an ITT, which is usually where your quality and costing ratio comes in. This is where you price the job at hand and answer several technical questions about your ability to undergo the work in accordance with usually detailed specification/scopes of work.
RFP Request for Proposal – very similar to an ITT where cost and quality are assessed however RFPs are used in situations where the client either can’t – or doesn’t want to – define the scope of work up front to an adequate level of detail, meaning you need to be very descriptive and state a clear proposal to what’s needed.
RFQ Request for Quotation – The RFQ is a lot like the Tender, however typically smaller in size and scope. They’re often more geared towards clients who are seeking pricing information for a defined scope of work or supply of materials or equipment. Detailed proposals are typically less often sought here.
Framework Framework Agreement is an agreement between one or more businesses or organisations. If you enter into a framework agreement, usually you will be one of many suppliers contractually bound to deliver against buyer requirements.
DPS Dynamic Purchasing System – A DPS is similar to an electronic framework agreement, with two exceptions, new suppliers can join at any time and it is to be run as a completely electronic process. DPS is used exclusively by public sector organisations and can be considered as a ‘competitive supply chain’, where all chosen supply chain members regularly compete for work via ITTs and RFQs.

2. Opportunities

These are extremely broad with hundreds upon hundreds of opportunities released daily! Customers tend to wish to have one main platform to source the most relevant opportunities to grow their business. Wouldn’t that be great? Currently, opportunities are typically shared through typically problematic electronic algorithms across multiple platforms, either showing you irrelevant opportunities or no opportunities at all.

Keeping it simple – sign up with our industry-specific portals via Hudson Discover to receive daily opportunities, sourced from the hundreds of UK tender portals. These are manually searched and published on a daily basis by a team of procurement-based staff, not computers. We are the first company to do this and the feedback we have is out of this world

3. Portals

There are thousands of online platforms, websites and communication systems that are evident across UK procurement. Some portals are outdated, complex and an all-around pain to navigate. Our team have used them all! Just make sure you know your key focus areas and process-knowledge for each website – these are working your way around:

  • Downloading all tender information;
  • Asking/monitoring clarification questions from other suppliers/the buyer;
  • Submitting the tender;

Every website should have a ‘help’ section – don’t be afraid to use it and/or contact the people who run it.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was one platform for everything? For every industry? For every buyer? WATCH THIS SPACE– we are working with national professionals to work on a user-friendly, affordable and globally accessible platform to condense UK procurement in a one-stop-shop fashion.

4. Writing

Not everyone can write in an engaging, concise and straightforward manner. It’s easy telling people what you do, but to put that on paper in a professional way, covering set criteria, is a major hassle for a lot of business developers. Don’t get stressed with it. Just remember 3 key focus areas when writing a response to any question:

  • WHAT: what you have done or what you are going to do?
  • HOW: how you have done this (methodology) or how you are going to do it?
  • EVIDENCE: hard-hitting proof that you have done it before- experience/ evidence is key!

We offer Bid Writing services, using our procurement experts with over 25 combined years’ experience of writing tenders. Check us out – Tender Consultants.

5. Losing

What is the point of spending all this time on a bid for it to lose and you to go back hating the process, hating the tender and subsequently hating life itself! Don’t fret – USE THE FEEDBACK! If you didn’t win the work because you lack ISO accreditations (for e.g.)– you know what to do! As part of our provision at Tender Consultants, we have a tender readiness programme that you can use to make sure you maintain a good chance of securing key pieces of work.
All procurement-based processes that most people find difficult/complicated are exactly that because of the lack of understanding of key tender-management processes. We will be launching a FREE training environment (Tender VLE) in May 2018, which focuses on everything tender and procurement based, including profound topics that will completely eradicate the notion that tendering and procurement is complicated.

Let’s leave them procurement pains behind!

We’re here to help you grow, develop and standout!

PQQ BASICS – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

PQQ is something you’ll hear most often in the tendering and procurement world.

The term can take many forms including SQ (Selection Questionnaire), Stage 1 Tender and the recently established ESPD (European Single Procurement Document).

PQQ stands for Pre-qualification questionnaire and it does exactly what it says on the tin!

This is typically the first stage of a tender process and helps the buyer filter through organisations that are more suited to deliver upon their requirements and needs, allowing a select few to be invited to tender (ITT) and making it easier to narrow down competent suppliers. It also ensures any previous convictions or misconduct is declared as per procurement regulations.

A lot of people assume that this is the easy part of the tender process. If you have all of your business affairs in order, then you’d be right! Think of it as an application form. It doesn’t necessarily win you the contract, but it’ll get you to the next stage!

The image below represents what’s featured in a typical PQQ – where you, as the supplier, would complete all relevant fields, including basic company information and registrations etc.

PQQ
PQQ

The PQQ is predominantly a ‘tick-box’ exercise, where you and your organisation state compliance against key legislative requirements in order to do business.

This includes compliance with the likes of:

  • Legal Compliance
  • Financial Standing
  • Insurance Cover
  • Modern Slavery
  • Equality & Diversity
  • Health & Safety Regulations
  • and Environmental Standards etc.

One of the most important aspects to a PQQ is your response regarding technical and professional capabilities. This is where you must list [usually 3] references/contract examples to show the buyer of your capabilities to undergo the required works based on your past experience (see extract below).

ResponseMost questions throughout a PQQ are quite clearly ‘pass and fail’. If you don’t commit to providing the correct insurance cover (for example) – you fail and that’s that!

However, the technical and professional capability is one of the few questions that is scored based on the quality of what is provided.

See our ‘Importance of Relevant Case Studies’ blog to make sure you are ahead of yourself when it comes to contract examples and case studies.

You’ll find PQQ information is quite repetitive and as long as you aren’t breaking the law in any way or have been found guilty of any misconduct, you’ll find you are answering the same information over and over. The more PQQs you complete, the easier they are to submit.

In 2017, the Crown Commercial Service wanted all procurement bodies/suppliers to stop using the typical PQQ and now use an SQ (Selection Questionnaire). This is nothing to worry be concerned about. The bulk of the PQQ questions still remain, with just a few tiny amendments, such as the inclusion of Modern Slavery compliance.

Also, due to the European Public Procurement Reform which kicked off in April 2016, one of the key elements to this was the introduction of the ESPD (European Single Procurement Document).  This is an online electronic form that any supplier can complete, download and submit as part of their bid for a growing number of public procurement agencies, both nationally and internationally.

In a nutshell, a PQQ is a document you complete to show you are both capable of delivery and compliance against specific regulations. Once you’ve passed this point. You’ll then move onto the core part of a tender process – the Invitation To Tender (ITT).

Need further support with your PQQs? Get in touch now with our Tender Consultants!

Start by receiving those all-important opportunities today by receiving a free demo from one of our 10-industry-specific portals that are dedicated to helping you DISCOVER the right tender opportunities to bid for!

CLICK HERE to arrange a free demo!

Why Choose Hudson Procurement Group?

Why Choose Hudson Procurement Group?

  • What do you do exactly?
  • How does it all work?
  • Why should I choose you?

Although these questions are being asked less and less due to our growing presence online and current position in the procurement sector, we still want to show you some key traits of our provision and how we work FOR YOU!

We have recognised that across all businesses nationally, contract/tender opportunities are spread so wide that it takes time and unnecessary hassle to source the right prospects for your company. Even if the right ones come through from your many subscriptions on a range of procurement portals, this may be delayed by up to 5-10 days, along with some (if not all) opportunities having zero relevance to your organisation. This is because CPV codes* are being used incorrectly on a major scale by both buyers and suppliers, with some portals not offering the full range of CPV codes available and/or delaying the release of key opportunities due to automatic processes.

*CPV (Common Procurement Vocabulary) Codes are used to differentiate, segment and classify contract opportunities so that your company can search and receive notifications about the opportunities aligned to your provision/offering.

With over 25 years’ experience and extensive knowledge of tender management and opportunity tracking, the creative and innovative specialists at Hudson Procurement Group is doing something that no other company is doing – We are MANUALLY tracking all opportunities that are released daily from the majority of procurement portals across the UK and take this information to MANUALLY publish daily bulletins that are not only sector-specific, but specific to your actual service. We do not rely on CPV codes, which ensures no mistake, or irrelevant opportunity will ever be sent. Every opportunity posted by public AND private buyers will be provided to you promptly, clearly and consistently on a specific platform dedicated to your sector.

We currently operate 10 industry-specific platforms including:

We offer free demos with a dedicated Account Manager, who also provides live support with our platforms, however, due to the intuitive and user-friendly design, we guarantee minimal support needed.

Because customers are guaranteed to have every opportunity at their fingertips, including the value, location and brief description to what’s required, their procurement practices are effectively improved, eliminating excess time spent on sourcing opportunities and more time on developing their procurement strategies.

However, it doesn’t stop there – due to our combined knowledge and experience, we also offer Tender Consultancy, which supports clients to better understand and maximise procurement practices within their organisation. This includes impartial advice, tender writing, tender training, tender reviews and holistic support with procurement.

We have upcoming systems to support clients EVEN FURTHER in the upcoming years, which include:

  • Tender VLE– a virtual learning environment dedicated to offering FREE tender and procurement training on a range of educational levels (beginner, intermediate & advanced etc.) all in VIDEO & BLOG format;
  • Hudson Discover – a one-stop-shop for buyers and suppliers to use an inter-trading platform. This is to identify buying opportunities for our group of subscribers, making our portals more specific to the needs of our customers. This is already in development as per our ways of working above;
  • Tender Bank– an online platform where customers can obtain multiple documents that will support their tendering efforts, including policies, matrices, methodology templates and written response templates in line with sector-specific objectives;
  • Procure Smart– a user-friendly collaborative platform for buyers and suppliers where they will be able to upload, communicate and submit tender documents online.

 We are Hudson Procurement Group and we are here to ensure we help suppliers, buyers and the overall economy, maintain access to procurement best practices and most importantly DISCOVER relevant opportunities to them!

Why choose Hudson Procurement Group? – I think by now you already know!

Small Businesses, sick of the Government taking money from you? It’s time to turn the tables….

Small businesses, sick of the Government taking money from you? It’s time to turn the tables….

So, we are almost half way through 2017 and everybody, especially small to medium business owners, are struggling to keep up with government decisions and how politics has destabilised their playing field with Brexit, General Elections and certain decisions leading to uncertainty in the marketplace.

Such uncertainty is highlighted in the mixed bag of results thrown up by the numerous surveys published since the turn of the year.  For example one survey, Close Brothers Business Barometer, shows that 64% of companies surveyed with a turnover of less that £500k said they were not confident about the UK’s economic outlook for 2017 whereas Yahoo Finance highlighted research carried out by the American Express Global SME Pulse, which showed that 50% of UK SME’s surveyed expect to see growth of at least 4% over the year.

Such is the uncertainty for SME’s that, in a poll by funding-provider Liberis, 58% of all SME bosses listed reducing costs as their priority while a mere 39% said that their priority was to expand their business.

What most businesses seem unaware of is that we are fast approaching 2020, the deadline for the government achieving its pledge to spend £1 in every £3 with SME’s.  Whilst most government pledges are met with a shrug of suspicion and disinterest, it would be worth noting that this particular pledge could add up to £15bn worth of business opportunities.

It seems like a scam?

While you may be of the opinion that the halls of Westminster don’t always echo with the sounds of MPs championing the ‘little guy’, in this case there actually is something in it for you. In 2015, the Cabinet Office announced an ambitious new target to get more small businesses working on central government contracts.

In 2013 to 2014, central government spent £11.4bn with small and medium-sized businesses, by 2020, the government wants to increase this by an extra £3bn per year directly or through the supply chain. As part of these targets, the government has improved the way it buys goods and services to help more small businesses bid for public sector contracts, by streamlining the process and making winning business that much easier.

Minister for the Cabinet Office Matt Hancock said, “This is such an amazing opportunity for the country’s diverse and innovative small businesses, and today I urge them to get stuck in. From computers to uniforms – there are so many opportunities for small businesses to work with us, and I want to see more of them providing value for money for the taxpayer and benefiting from our spending.”

John Manzoni, Chief Executive of the Civil Service said, “Further opening up our marketplace to small businesses is good economic sense all round – making it easier for them to access and win government business opportunities, whilst encouraging increased competition and market innovation to deliver best value for the taxpayer.”

But aren’t government contracts notoriously difficult to apply for?

Historically, the process was lengthy and complicated but as Emma Jones, the government’s Crown Representative for SME’s recently blogged, things are a now a whole lot easier and she urges businesses to seize this opportunity to bid for and win government contracts.

She goes on to inform that the Prime Minister announced a review of the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), which will look at how they can increase the initiative’s impact and give more innovators their first break and that they realise that working with small businesses with new ideas generates innovation in government.

So, they do want your goods and services and with the government currently looking for everything from toiletries to tax advice, marketing services to interior design, and with the peace-of-mind that comes from knowing that the government pays suppliers within 30 days, it is time to take advantage.

I’m interested, but I’ve never tendered before, what is my next step?

Now that you know all of these great research contract opportunities are out there but are new to the tendering process, please don’t be put off.  Help is at hand in the form of Hudson Procurement Group who will put in place a bespoke solution to help guide you through the process and also steer you to success in landing contracts.

Through Hudson Discover businesses are able to purchase services from our suppliers on ten sector specific platforms.  It also acts as an inter-trading platform allowing buyers and suppliers to trade with one another creating a sense of community and business collaboration.

Our tender consultancy service, Tender Consultants Ltd, allows you to access the best tender writers in the UK, led by Jill Hudson, a focused and energetic Growth Coach. With over a decade of tender writing experience, and growing both UK and international businesses across a range of sectors, Jill has developed bespoke Tender Ready exercises which allows businesses to either take the first steps into tendering, or improve success rates where they may currently be lacking

We offer Tender Training for companies looking for support with Tendering and one to one coaching that is specific to your business and, due to common requests we’ve had from customers, we’ve launched a Tender Writing service for those businesses who wanted tenders writing on their behalf.

Take the first step, click below or call us on 0203 051 2217 today.

www.tenderconsultants.co.uk

www.hudsonprocurementgroup.co.uk