Cabinet Office
Foreword from Claire Dove CBE
VCSE Crown Representative
As the VCSE Crown Representative, I act as an intermediary between government and the charity and social enterprise sectors to champion the Public Services (Social Value) Act and improvements in commissioning and procurement practices.
The expertise of charities, public service mutuals and social enterprises (VCSEs) means they are often ideally placed to help create compassionate, responsive and efficient public services. I am working alongside the Cabinet Office and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), other government departments and the sectors to unlock the barriers that have prevented VCSEs entering the public sector market in the past.
We have created this guide because we are committed to bringing more charities and social enterprises into public sector supply chains. I hope it helps your organisation on your journey to becoming a successful government supplier.
Follow me on Twitter @VCSECrownRep and my GOV.UK page for updates. To keep up to date with all government procurement follow @gov_procurement on Twitter
Introduction
If you are a charity or social enterprise looking to build your experience and credibility, boost your sustainability and diversify your income, and if you are considering exploring the opportunities of selling on a large or small scale to central Government, local authorities and/or other public sector buyers, then this guide is for you.
Central Government has committed to diversify its supply chains. We have also committed to ensuring contracts are awarded on the basis of more than just price, but a suppliers social impact too, giving VCSE organisations much deserved recognition for their positive actions in society. VCSEs can have real impact in public sector procurement. This is why we have changed the way we buy goods and services to help more VCSEs and SMEs to bid for our contracts. These changes include:
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building on the Social Value Act to mandate all central government departments to explicitly include social value in all major new procurements
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buying in a simpler and quicker way by abolishing pre-qualification questionnaires for low value public sector contracts
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requiring the public sector to publish its contracts on Contracts Finder
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requiring the entire public sector supply chain to be paid within 30 days
So now is a good time to find out about opportunities that are available and learn how you can bid for public sector contracts.
This guide will cover how to work with public sector buyers, how to get ready for tender, what buyers are looking for and 10 top tips for tendering.
How to work with the public sector
Engage early
To be ahead of the game, spot opportunities before they have formally gone to market. Early-market engagement is your opportunity to shape the formal tender. The three main ways of engaging early are as follows:
Talk to commissioners or get involved in designing services (co-design) before they write the contract specification. Events range from information gathering to putting forward proposals on solutions. Search early engagement on Contracts Finder and research and talk to commissioners you might want to work with for more information.
Attend a meet the buyer event. These allow you to talk to buyers about how to bid, what their organisations future plans are and how they approach public services. Its also an opportunity for buyers to learn about your services and products. These events are advertised on the relevant organisations website. You can also search meet the buyer on Contracts Finder for more information.
Participate in a bidders event. Buyers frequently run events immediately before or during the early stages of a tender process. The purpose is to explain the documentation and objectives of a specific project. It offers you the chance to ask specific questions about the process. Search future opportunity on Contracts Finder for more information.
Find opportunities
Contracts Finder is the governments single online portal on which contracts valued above 10,000 in central government and above 25,000 in the rest of the non-devolved public sector are listed. Its free to use to find opportunities. You dont have to register but if you do you can set up an account to have new opportunities that suit your organisation emailed to you regularly.
The contract notice contains all the information about the opportunity being advertised, including the name of the buying organisation, what theyre seeking, any selection criteria, the scope of the contract and whether the buyer has identified it as being suitable for VCSEs or SMEs. We recommend filtering the search function of Contracts Finder by selecting the Suitable for VCSEs tag but it is worth looking at other contracts too - you are not restricted by whether or not opportunities have been tagged this way.
Take a look at notices for past opportunities and awards on Contracts Finder. If your organisation is experienced in winning and delivering contracts of a similar size and type to those you see, then consider bidding for contracts to supply directly to the government.
Join frameworks
Public sector buyers may sometimes know that they require a service to be fulfilled or work to be completed, but they may not know all the details up front for example, how many suppliers they need to fulfil the service. In these cases they may issue a Framework Agreement.
A Framework Agreement is an umbrella agreement. A lead buyer agrees terms with one or more suppliers via a procurement (in line with the rules of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015) and then they, and any other pre-advertised organisations can purchase goods or services from the suppliers on the framework agreement, subject to these terms. Each subsequent purchase forms a contract.
This means public sector organisations can request your services using shorter, simpler processes saving you and them time. There can be further competition for contracts but this is only between businesses on the framework.
The Crown Commercial Service manages a number of frameworks for central
government. Find out how to access current opportunities. See their future plans for new ones. Other government and wider public sector buyers also advertise framework agreements on Contracts Finder.
Register on Dynamic Purchasing Systems
The Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is a procedure available for contracts for works,services and goods commonly available on the market. As a procurement tool, it is similar to an electronic framework agreement, but new suppliers can join at any time.
However, the DPS has its own specific set of requirements. It has to be run as acompletely electronic process. It should be set up using the restricted procedure andsome other conditions (as set out in Regulation 34 of the Public Contracts Regulations2015).
DPS use a two stage process where firstly, all suppliers who meet the selection criteria and are not pre-excluded must be admitted to the DPS. There is no limit to how many suppliers can join a DPS. Unlike frameworks, suppliers can join a DPS at any point in its lifetime.
Individual contracts are awarded during the second stage whereby the buyer invites all suppliers on the DPS to bid for the specific contract.
Why is this useful to VCSEs? Dynamic Purchasing Systems help to streamline the procurement process for both suppliers and buyers. Suppliers dont have to demonstrate their suitability and capability every time they wish to compete for a contract within the system. Find out more about Dynamic Purchasing Systems.
Join the supply chain
With a bit of research, you could join a government supply chain. Search Contracts Finder for contracts that have been awarded to big businesses. Then look on their website for contract opportunities or approach