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:

• 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.

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:

• A Tender Writing service
• A Tender Ready programme
• The Tender Improvement package
• A Tender Mentor service.

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.