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Government Research Tenders: Find the Right Opportunity with Hudson Discover

Posted on by John Hudson

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.

Market Research Tenders: A Guide on Sectors, Sources, and Success

Posted on by John Hudson

Read this blog to understand how to tackle market research tenders

With markets trends changing often, market research tenders are needed more than ever. With this short guide, we’ll walk you through sectors, sources, and tips for market research tenders.

What forms can market research tenders take?

Some of the sectors that include market research are:

  • Research services
  • Evaluation services
  • Marketing services
  • Brand consultancy
  • Product research.

With this in mind, let’s go through where you can source market research tenders…

Where can I find market research tenders?

There are countless websites you could search through to find market research tenders…

But there’s a simpler option…

Research Tenders.

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

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

Wiltshire Tier 4 Substance Misuse Market Research 

Wiltshire Council – South West – Budget: Undisclosed

Market Research Support

Construction and Procurement Delivery (CPD) – Northern Ireland – Budget: Undisclosed

Market Research and Analysis for Renewable Electricity Support Scheme

Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland – Republic of Ireland – Budget: Undisclosed 

Our Big Conversation Phase Two Market Research 

City of York Council – Yorkshire and Humber Budget: £45,000

Customer Insights Programme: Market Research Tender 

FAIR4ALL FINANCE LIMITED – London – Budget: £165,000

4 tips for winning market research tenders

With sourcing these tenders out of the way, let’s look through four tips for winning them.

1. Eligibility & Qualifications

Another thing to consider is your eligibility. If you’re halfway through a bid, and you find you don’t have the right qualifications, it can be disheartening. Ultimately, you’ve invested time and resources, only to find out you haven’t won.  So, the best thing to do is to read through the documents and make sure you have everything accounted for. Market research tenders or not, this applies across the board. In some cases, buyers may reject you based on your annual turnover. A good rule of thumb for pre-empting this is if your tender is over half your annual turnover. If that’s the case, then you’re less likely to win the contract.

2. Proofreading & grammar

Regardless of whether it’s market research tenders or any other contract, you have a grammatical standard to keep to. Your competition will have their grammar sorted, so it’s important that you ensure your grammar is top-notch. A common method to keep this under control is proofreading. After finishing the work, you read through it a few times, checking for mistakes. Get someone else to look through the work. This provides fresh eyes and further protection against errors. If you want certainties when it comes to proofreading, look into outsourcing. We offer this service through our Tender Mentor. We ensure that your bid is in line with specifications so that the questions are answered effectively.

3. Structuring your time management

When writing your bid, it’s easy to get caught up in the process and lose sight of the finish line. Poor time management can be deadly to your chances of winning. A good way of avoiding this is a system of monitoring. Checking in with the team and keeping progress trackers can do wonders for time management. This can help with team cohesion as everyone is aware of their contributions to the larger goal.

4. Case studies

A vital error in writing a bid is not presenting enough case studies. Case studies will provide substantial evidence for the buyer of your suitability. On average, it’s likely that the buyer would want to see at least 3-5 case studies in your bid. However, don’t provide inaccurate case studies, as this can irritate the buyer. Ultimately, take some time aside to select the most accurate case studies and implement them into your bid.

In summary

We’ve reached the conclusion to this blog on market research tenders! With this in mind, let’s have a recap!

  • What sectors include market research tenders– An idea as to what sectors market research tenders could serve.
  • Where can I find market research tenders – A short summary on sources for market research tenders.
  • Past market research tenders – five market research tenders that we’ve previously sourced for our clients.
  • 4 tips to help you win your market research tenders
  • Proofreading & grammar– Making sure that your grammar is top-notch. Using proofreading to ensure that errors are erased.
  • Getting your work in on time– Ensuring good time management. Using a monitoring system for teams so that they can all take part in the process.
  • Eligibility & qualifications – Considering whether you can take on the project and whether you have the right qualifications.
  • Case studies– Providing evidence to the buyer of your suitability. Being careful to select the most accurate case studies for the contract.

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:

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:

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

Survey Tenders: Find the Best Opportunities for Your Business

Posted on by John Hudson

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.
  • A 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.

 

 

Research Bids – Win a Place on the Research Marketplace DPS

Posted on by John Hudson

How to Succeed in Research Bids and Win a Place on the Research Marketplace DPS

The UK’s market research industry is the second largest in the world after the US. This means there are plenty of opportunities for market research bids. Market research bids are available in both the public and private sectors.

What is the Research Marketplace DPS?

DPS stands for dynamic purchasing system and was created by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS). This framework is used when the government is looking to procure services for social, economic and market research. It’s used for projects of all sizes and values.

This framework uses a Dynamic Purchasing System which helps buyers find relevant suppliers through a filtering system. Businesses looking to procure services can select the areas of work they want to commission through the DPS. The DPS contains a shortlist of suppliers that match the buyer’s needs. Suppliers can apply to join at any time throughout the life of an agreement.

If you’re wanting to apply for government research bids, you need to be a member of the Research Marketplace DPS. This means you will be a registered research supplier, allowing you to bid for government research contracts.

This system is used throughout the central government departments. This is including the Cabinet Office, Department for Education, Home Office and the Post Office to name a few.

Benefits of joining the Research Marketplace DPS

Secure workload

Once you secure a place on the Research Marketplace DPS, you’re an approved supplier. Whenever the CCS is looking to outsource their research needs, they will access this system. They will then publish a tender, known as a Call for Competition. Suppliers can then respond to competitions for relevant contracts advertised by buyers.

If you win one of these contracts, then it means you will have a secure workload with guaranteed income. In some cases, contracts can be for many years. For example, Hudson Succeed has helped businesses secure contracts for up to four years.

Other benefits include:

  • Not having to demonstrate your capability or suitability every time you wish to compete for a contract on the DPS.
  • The award of individual tenders can be quicker
  • A DPS stays open to new suppliers throughout the period of the agreement.
  • The approval process is often simpler and quicker than a framework.
  • Suppliers can apply for additional lots throughout the DPS agreement should they expand into new areas.

By subscribing to Research Tenders, you find out about these opportunities straight away. This means you don’t miss out on any research bids that go live. Our team of Opportunity Trackers manually search through thousands of sources a day, so you don’t have to. Once you subscribe, you’ll get a daily email with all the relevant research bids that are live.

Watch our free Tender VLE masterclass for more information on how frameworks and DPS’ can benefit SMEs.

Before you begin, you’ll need to think about your:

Contract Examples

You will need to provide two past contract examples. You’ll need to certify each of these with a Letter of Conformation of Works. This letter needs to be signed by both your organisation and the customer who received you research services.

Cyber Essentials

Your organisation will need a Cyber Essentials Certificate in order to be awarded a government contract. You’ll be asked to provide this on question 155 when filling out the selection questionnaire (SQ). It’s worth noting that ISO 27001 will be recognised as the equivalent to Cyber Essentials.

Financial Capability

The CCS assesses your businesses’ financial standing. They do this by looking at your Dun and Bradstreet credit score. If you have a credit score less than 51, you’ll fail to meet the financial threshold to join. However, if it’s less than 51, you’ll be asked to provide audited accounts for the last two years.

Sub-Contractors

If you plan to use any sub-contractors over the course of your contract, you’ll need to provide their details. Within the SQ, you can provide up to 35 sub-contractors details. You don’t need to include the sub-contractors that supply general services such as window cleaners for example. You should only include the sub-contractors that supply key services such as translation or data processing. If you’re a qualitative research agency, you aren’t required to list all recruiters you may use in your work.

For each Call to Competition, you’ll be required to provide a list of sub-contractors. You only need to provide the sub-contractors you plan to use for that specific contract.

Modern Slavery Act

A business will need to provide evidence that they comply with the Modern Slavery Act (2015). This is only applicable if your organisation has a turnover of more than £36 million. For this, you’ll need to provide a link to your anti-slavery and human trafficking statement.

What skills are required for market research contracts?

If you’re applying for a research bid, you might be wondering what qualifications and requirements are needed. Some of these skills required for contracts are:

  • Experience of conducting strategy or programme reviews.
  • Experience in mixed research methods.
  • Expertise in data gathering and conducting interviews.
  • Dedicated teams that have suitable qualifications and experience.

There are some qualifications that are typically needed when applying for market research bids. These are not always the same requirements for public and private sector tendering. It’s best to read the spec carefully to make sure you have the right qualifications that are asked for. These could include:

  • ISO 20252
  • ISO 27001
  • IQCS (Interviewer Quality Control Scheme)
  • Cyber Essentials

It’s also worth going over the Market Research Societies (MRS) Code of Conduct. In addition to these standards, researchers should also be aware of other legal, professional, ethical and regulatory rules. 

Here are just a few examples of past market research bids that we have sourced on Research Tenders:

Research to identify best communications practices and tools to engage and inform priority groups

NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership-Procurement Services (hosted by Velindre University NHS Trust)- Wales- Budget: Undisclosed

15-01-2021

User Research Participants for the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy- London- Budget: Undisclosed

12-01-2021

User Research Capability

NHS Test and Trace- London- Budget: £370,000

11-01-2021

Development and dissemination of regional research and knowledge products

UN Women- International- Budget: Undisclosed

12-01-2021 

How Hudson Succeed can help you win a place on the DPS

If you’re interested in joining the Research Marketplace DPS but don’t know where to begin, we can help.

Here at Hudson, we have over 40 years’ experience in bid writing across a variety of industries. Our 87% success rate speaks for us. Whether it’s your first-time tendering, or you simply need someone to take a look at a bid response you’ve written. We have four bid writing packages to suit your needs:

  1. Tender Writing

If you’re interested in getting on the Research Marketplace DPS we can help. Our Bid Writers will help you every step of the way. They’ll even submit your research bid for you! They’ll provide you with a full tender writing breakdown and will let you know how long it’ll take.

If you need extra support with tendering for additional work outside the DPS, we can help. Just send us over the bid you’re wanting to go for, and we’ll take care of the rest. We’ll let you know if we need anything further from you.

  1. Tender Ready

This package is perfect for those who are completely new to the tendering process. We offer this three-stage process over a total of four weeks. If you choose this option, you’ll receive:

  • A 12-month Discover subscription to Research Tenders

This summarises the UK’s latest public and private sector opportunities relevant to your industry and area of expertise. This includes daily notifications via email of new opportunities.

  • Development of an Organisation-wide Bid Library

This includes developing new bid-specific content ranging from 3 case studies, 5 CVs and 8 policies. We provide a templated library for your team to manage all content easily when it comes to bidding. We arrange all of your company credentials, undertaking a full bid library audit. Then, we provide advice and guidance to increase your quality and tender competitiveness.

  • Access to Global Bid Directors and Senior Bidding Professionals

Our Bid Writers have over 40 years bidding experience in numerous industries.

  • A dedicated Bid Consultant

The programme can last up to three months.

  • Additional Flexible Benefits Options

Meet the specific needs of your business and tendering activity over 3 days’ worth of consultancy. You can choose from one of the three following options:

  1. A bespoke proposal covering 5,000 words of boilerplate responses accustomed to your company. This is fully editable and designed on Microsoft Word.
  2. Three days Bid Consultancy support, coaching and training with Hudson’s senior team.
  3. Three days Bid Consultancy support towards one tender, private sector proposal or public sector framework.

 

  1. Tender Improvement

The Tender Improvement package has similar benefits as the Tender Ready package mentioned above. It’s perfect for any business that has tried tendering but didn’t see success. Our Bid Writers analyse your previous tendering responses and supporting documents. They can then provide you with recommendations for improvement.

  1. Tender Mentor

Our Bid Writers will make sure your research bid is the best it can possibly be. Our writers will provide some guidance and feedback on a tender that you’ve already written before you submit.

Research Tenders

At Research Tenders, we source hundreds of current research opportunities. We know you’re busy. Our goal is to save you time and money by manually searching for new opportunities for you. We will send you daily alerts when new research bids are released.

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

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

You’ll have the ability to look for new research bids by filtering keywords, budgets or locations. You’ll also have a dedicated Account Manager on hand to help with any queries you may have about the process.

Book a free, live demo today to see how our portal 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.

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

Posted on by John Hudson

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.

We’ve Rebranded!

Posted on by John Hudson

Our parent company, Hudson, is going through a complete rebrand and so here at Research Tenders, we have a new look, too!

You can check out our new logos and colour palette below:

   

   

We hope you like it, we know we do!

Remember research tenders is the place to find all the latest research contracts and tender opportunities from around the uk.

 

HUDSON PROCUREMENT GROUP UNDERGOES MAJOR RESEARCH PROJECT

Posted on by John Hudson

Procurement Policy – Major Research Project!

Hudson Procurement Group is currently undergoing a major research project into how businesses supply government and publicly funded bodies, in a bid to create an open, fair and transparent process by anyone spending public purse.

As part of our long-term growth strategy, we will be launching our Procure Smart platform. This research will be used to inform our knowledge as we move into our next venture – dispelling the myths and overcoming the misconceptions surrounding tendering and procurement, for all.

Whilst conducting this research we will be assessing how and where tender opportunities are published in the wider public domain. In our early stage investigations, we have discovered mass confusion amongst both buyers and suppliers regarding terminology and procurement policy, we want to eliminate this and produce these findings to advise both sides of the buy and supply table.

One of the main aims of this research project and long-term goal for Procure Smart is to gain clear insight into public spending. Through our own exploration, we have uncovered some confusion surrounding freedom of information policy requests, mainly what is available and what is not.

Our Growth Director, Jill said ‘During my 16 years’ experience working in public sector procurement, I have noticed major discrepancies between buyers and suppliers. As part of our long-term growth strategy, we are working towards complete transparency within the procurement sector by evoking a change in current government policy.

‘We want suppliers to feel like they’re not wasting valuable time when submitting a tender response, and we want to ensure SMEs flourish by ensuring easy access of opportunities and a clear understanding of what is firstly available, and secondly what is right for their business’.

Our goal will ultimately help buyers and suppliers procure more effectively across the UK and beyond, as we lobby for smarter procurement practices to be embedded in certain legislation[s].

The launch of Procure Smart will drastically improve the way that procurement policy is conducted in the business to business industry, especially with the likes of a looming Brexit and the disconcert surrounding this.

For further information regarding this research please feel free to GET IN TOUCH!

Remember you can also view the latest research contract opportunities on this website also.

To access information and training into tendering and procurement please see TENDER VLE!

ONE WEEK UNTIL TENDER VLE!

Posted on by John Hudson

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!

Posted on by John Hudson

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 A 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

Posted on by John Hudson

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!