The first thing I needed to do for this project was to understand exactly what a tender document is and what it includes.
To this end we had a lecture this week all about freelancing, as a freelancer tender documents are a key part of securing work. It is therefore essential to understand them and how to create effective tender documents.
One thing I wanted to look at was the tender notices put out by organisations or government departments when seeking freelancers or agencies to carry out work for them.
These are complicated notices as you would expect from jobs that could value millions of pounds over the course of the contract.
The first one I found was from the General Dental Council who were looking for a graphic design partner to create a number of printed and digital designed materials for them. This included their annual reports and PowerPoint templates. Here is the actual tender notice:
Source: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/delta/respondToList.html?accessCode=EFR6U6E6JT (Last Accessed 14/11/23)
This particular tender was listed to be worth 100-500 thousand pounds over three years, so a very lucrative contract for any graphic design agency.
I also wanted to look at a government tender, these are often the most lucrative tenders available with the opportunity to secure a long-term contract to provide a service.
I found this tender from Zero Waste Scotland, a department set up by the Scottish Government to communicate the message of reducing waste and increasing recycling across Scotland. They were looking for a wide range of services within this tender and were willing to award the contract to multiple different organisations, freelancers or businesses as a result.
The part that I felt was most relevant for me to look at was the section looking for a single contractor to provide Creative Services. The tender broke this down to include:
Source: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/015239-2023?origin=SearchResults&p=1 (Last Accessed 14/11/23)