Welcome - to the website of Tendering for Care (TfC) The leading national provider of training and support for Care, Housing, Support, Voluntary and Third Sector Organisations in tendering for publicly funded contracts. TfC was set up to provide help for care, housing, supportcharities and voluntary sector organisations generally to operate in the new public procurement and tendering environment. TfC has developed a range of services which can be tailored to the needs of member organisations. We now provide help, support and training for organisations from the small to very large across the UK.

Members of TfC have said:

The value of the return which we get from TfC Membership is out of all proportion to what we pay you. TfC provides tremendous value for money

...in just six months we have come a long way in this tough world of tendering and we certainly feel that TfC have been key in helping us get there

Joining TfC was one of the best decisions we have ever made.

Following one of our Workshops one delegate said:

I leave this event inspired and motivated to help our Members win contracts - thank you

TfC Wins a National Training Award

On 21st October 2008, during a ceremony in Nottingham TfC received a National Training Award for the East Midlands. This recognises, not just excellence in training, but also the demonstrable effects which that training is having for its learners. The award confirms TfC's status as the leading national provider of training in tendering and procurement. It also confirms that those who undergo the training which TfC provides have a much improved chance of success when tendering for public sector contracts. The judges said of TfC:

the design and delivery of the training is well tailored to meet the [learners'] needs. The support given to the voluntary sector is very impressive and well worthy of recognition.

 TfC are extremely grateful to all those individuals and organisations who have supported us over the past three years and have made this success possible. We are especially grateful to NAVCA for their support. Kevin Curley, the Chief Executive said:

Members who have attended the training have given their organisations the best possible chance of success in a competitive tendering situation.

One aspect of the Award was the ongoing help and support which is available from TfC

Tendering at a Time of Financial Crisis and the TfC 12 Golden Rules for Tendering as a Consortium are just two documents which were published recently for our Members including  subscribers to our two weekly ejournals upDATE and Staying Ahead. Annual subscriptions to these ejournals  are available at a rate of £141 including VAT for Third Sector organisations. For more information please click on the link under "Information" at the top right hand corner of this page.

TfC Network Launched

A fequent question at our "Tendering as a Consortium" courses is - this is all very well but how do we find organisations who might be interested in joining a consortium? This request was repeated at our recent PCO events on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions. On 10th September we launched the TfC Network This is designed to fulfill the need to find other organisations who might be interested in offering their services to a consortium Initially the TfC Network will be available to TfC Members. We will shortly extend access toindividuals who attended the PCO events, whilst later in the Autumn this will be opened up to charities and voluntary organisations.

The TfC Network can be found at http://network.tenderingforcare.com

 For further information contact us on info@tenderingforcare.com

TfC Autumn 2008 Programme of Open Courses now Available

This year we are offering a programme of open courses which have been devised in direct response to requests in workshop feedback forms collected and collated over the past year. These requests cover three areas:

- Understanding Tendering and Procurement

- Preparing Effective Tenders

- Tendering as a Consortium

Full details of the courses can be found by clicking on "TfC Open Workshop Programme" in the top right hand corner of this page. Detailed leaflets and a Booking form can be downloaded from this page. In order to reserve a place, please print out the booking form and complete by hand then send to us by fax to 01629 584972. Please follow this up by sending the original by post. As our courses tend to fill rapidly we suggest confirming by telephone or email that a place is available.

Public Contract Opportunities - A New Approach

Following on...

The DWP supported Public Contract Opportunities programme of events has now been completed with our usual extremely high levels of satisfaction rates and some most appreciative comments regarding the quality of the tgraining delivered by our tutor, Lloyd Davis. We should like to thank those who took the trouble to send messages of thanks in addition to the feedback forms.

We are now turning to meeting the needs identified following on from these and other events. The highest priority appears to be in two areas:

a) How does an organisation demonstrate to procurement that it has the capacity and capability to accept risk and responsibility for the delivery of a contract?

b) What are the processes and procedures which an organisation should follow if it is to submit successful tenders?

Two very practical workshops designed to address each of these areas are now available for booking on an in-house basis for dates from September onwards. Please click on the "In-house" heading under Information at the top right of the screen to down load firther information.

email pco@tenderingforcare.com

Over 3,000 Representatives of Voluntary and Third Sector Organisations Trained by TfC

The number of people trained in procurement and tendering in a fifteen month period exceeded the 3,000 figure with a training day in early April for the staff of NAVCA in Sheffield. It is now clear that TfC is having an effect upon the pfrocurement of services provided by third and voluntary sector organisations nationwide. Perhaps the clearest evidence of this arose from a series of training events for voluntary organisations in Gloucestershire. These led to the organisations themselves telling Commissioners what they could and could not do in the procurement and tendering process. The culmination was in an excellent day on 30th April 2008 when TfC provided tfgraining for 10 Commissioning officers for Gloucestershire County Council. Some comments from those present:

Really useful Workshop - interactive with an impressive amount of information

Very useful - I am leaving with a much clearer view of the issues involved

Satisfaction Rates

Overall satisfaction rate reported from our Workshops in feedback continue to be exceptionally high.

91% were Very Satisfied

8.93% were Satisfied

A Guide to Tendering as a Consortium - NOW AVAILABLE from TfC

There is a general view that smaller organisations might come together in groups for tendering purposes, each group forming a consortium which would then tender for contracts. But is this allowed? what structures are possible for each consortium? what are the risks? This CD is designed for CEOs, senior managers, procurement practitioners and those advising groups and organisations. Its sets out the relevant regulations, provides checklists for prospective consortium members and an action plan for managing the consortium formation process.Price £30 includes post, packing and VAT

Scroll down to the bottom of the page for a leaflet about the CD.

 

Bookings NOW being taken for the in-house version of our NEW workshops

"Tendering as a Consortium" and

"Preparing Effective tenders"

Dates available from September 2008.

For details click on the "In-house Workshops" link in the top right hand corner of this page.

Group Membership of TfC for Umbrella Organisations and their members

There is no such ting as "tender readiness" in a rapidly changing procurement and contracting environment , commissioning officers and purchasers are learning as quickly as the suppliers. One of the keys to successful tendering is keeping up with developments as they happen. Our Group Membership Scheme has been designed to help small organisations to do this, as well as providing "hands-on" help with tender preparation.

For details click on the "Group Membership" link in the top right hand corner of this page.

Keeping Updated on Tendering and Procurement Matters on a Weekly Basis

The saying "Knowledge is Power" has never been more appropriate than in the world of procurement. Tendering is a highly competitive process, and as with all competitions the best prepared competitors stand the best chance of winning. TfC produces two weekly e-journals. One, entitled upDATE is designed to provide news, government documents and information which is influencing Commissioning Officers and purchasers around the country. The second, entitled Staying Ahead provides the very latest guidance and information directly from the world of procurement.

For information as to how you can receive these highly valued publications and "stay ahead" please click on the link in the top right hand corner of this page.

A Legal Helpdesk

TfC has arranged for Hempsons, specialist lawyers for the health and social care sectors, to provide initial independent outline advice on legal aspects of procurement and tendering direct to Members. The Helpdesk, operated by Hempsons (and funded by TfC) provides guidance on legal procedure, compliance with the procurement regulations and the various remedies available where there has been a breach of the regulations or other procurement obligations by public purchasers. The Helpdesk is available to our Gold and Platinum Members and organisations with other levels of membership by agreement. Please contact us at the email address or telephone number at the bottom of this page for further details and terms and conditions of use.

The Helpdesk is designed to deal with straightforward queries and to assist enquirers to decide whether or not a legal challenge might be a realistic possibility before funds are committed and to decide whether further legal advice is required. For further information on Hempsons and their procurement services click on the web-link to the right. Where further advice is recommended by the Helpdesk, Hempsons can provide follow on independent legal advice to Members (if required) and are able to respond within the often short timescales available to bidders seeking to challenge contract awards and potential breaches of procurement obligations.

Acronyms and Glossary - NEW - February 2008 version available

As with all specialist areas of work, procurement has developed its own "jargon". In order to help organisations develop an understanding of the language of procurement TfC is developing a Glossary of Terms for Tendering and Procurement. The February 2008 version is now available. To download the glossary go to the "TfC Glossary" link which can be found under Information in the top right hand corner of this page.

In-House Workshops

With a final total of 202 Workshops delivered during the period january 2007 to April 2008, TfC has become the leading national provider of training and support for organisations tendering for public sector contracts for Third Sector organisations principally in the Care, Housing, Support and Voluntary Sectors. These services are being provided for a wide range of organisations including large national charities voluntary sector umbrella bodies.

The two events held in May/June for the national body National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA). were so successful that TfC and NAVCA collaborated to offer nine similar events through the Autumn of 2007. We are continuing to work with NAVCA. Details of the Autumn programme of events will be available shortly.
We have availability for the delivery of In-house Workshops to take place later in 2008. These events can be provided for organisations both large and small, also for umbrella organisations for their members. A shorter version of the Workshop is available for groups of Trustees. For a leaflet click on In-House Workshops on the top right of this page or contact us - details below.

In-house Workshop - Presentations for Tenders

Presentations can be used by purchasers as part of the tender evaluation process. Sometimes the presentation is just one of a number of selection criteria during the award phase. Sometimes a group of tenderers are selected to form a shortlist, then these organisations are invited to make a presentation. In either case, this is a crucially important scoring and thus selection opportunity - but how to use the process to your best advantage? TfC has developed an In-house Workshop which is designed to address this problem. We now have evidence that following the guidance for making successful presentations provided at these workshops organisations can win contracts. Bookings are now being taken for these events.

For information about our In-house Workshops go to the "In-house Workshops" link which can be found under Information in the top right hand corner of this page.

Of the training delivered by TfC at the fourteen Tendering Workshops organised by NAVCA during 2007/08 they say:

"You are the most popular trainer we have ever worked with"

We received a lovely comment following a recent Workshop

"I keep bumping into people who were on your recent course and they all want to talk about it and do so in very positive terms!!! A Chief officer of a children's charity was not only saying glowing things about you and the information she gained in a recent meeting but clearly she is now very motivated to get her organisation tender ready. A BIG vote of thanks to you!"

Some more quotes from Workshops:

*This Workshop is brilliant -aimed at the right level and not at all patronising to the voluntary sector. Many thanks superbly facilitated!

*Brilliant day - inspirational - MANY thanks

*Fantastic!

*Fascinating - Thank you

*Covered so much in detail - I found it very useful and informative

*The best workshop I have ever attended

*Excellent content and delivery - pitched at the right level

For more information please

Telephone 01629 57501

Fax 01629 584972

e-mail info@tenderingforcare.com