How to find public sector tenders FREE
Once you have identified a public sector tender that you want to bid for and you would like expert help in assessing or responding to tenders or pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs), contact us for a FREE tender review consultation
There are two types of opportunities:
1. High Value Public Sector Tenders
EU regulations stipulate these have to be advertised across Europe. You can pay for services that alert you when a government type tender comes up that meets your criteria. But most smaller businesses just won't have enough suitable tenders to justify the expense - especially when you don't even need to need pay!
This is a fairly easy & free (!!) way for you to check for Public Sector tenders (OJEU tenders) that are advertised in the European Journal and online at TED:
Go online http://ted.europa.eu/ |
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Quick Method:
- Go to English language on list EN (7th down)
- Choose Search from the menu on RHS
- Insert “UK” in Country field
- In Full Text field insert “kent” (or sussex, london etc) OR "cleaning" (or security, construction, social care etc)
NB you can also do more sophisticated searches (eg refine by CPV or NUTS codes), register to search archives (eg awarded contracts) and set up your own specific saved search profiles to save time in future |
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Tips:
- You can check weekly & just make a note on the number you got up to last time
- Best to check weekly even though your type of tenders may not be coming up every week in your area, sometimes the deadlines are very short
- Some large ‘contract award announcements’ may be worth following up as the main contractor may be involved in sub-contractor procurement eg construction or total facilities management
- Some work may be below the threshold for publishing an ad in the EJ so still need to call councils, health authorities etc
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2. Low Value Public Sector Tenders
There is a government portal to help small & medium size business win low value public sector contacts. Registration is FREE!
supply2.gov.uk has been replaced by a new Business Link service called Contracts Finder. New public sector contract opportunities over £10,000 will be advertised and you can search for live opportunities and awarded contracts. You can also set up FREE email alerts (after registering).
Go online www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk
NB These lower value opportunities are NOT advertised in TED so do register.
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Further Information
The high value (EU) thresholds are at European Commission however they are confusing as the show the whole of Europe so also see UK only at the Cabinet Office.
When dealing with low value contracts with a council, have a look at their individual web sites. They normally have something like 'doing business with xyz council' showing their thresholds for qutes, mini-tenders etc.
More useful tendering resources within our website include: Information on Public Sector Tenders
Details on what you need to consider before tendering in the Fit To Tender Checklist
A guide to the most commonly used terms and abbreviations - Tender Terms and Glossary
Tony Zemaitis contributed to BT's Upload magazine on Winning the Big Contracts. It includes his Top Tendering Tips.
If you want to have an informal discussion about tendering or want to book a FREE Tendering Review - call 01634 404903 or use the contact form
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