National Assembly for Wales
How to bid for an Assembly contract - a quick guide
Competition
Our contracts are normally subject to competition to ensure value for money for the taxpayer.
Low Value (under £5k)
There are exceptions for low value contracts where we aim to keep administrative costs to a minimum. If a contract has an estimated value below £5000 our staff will make inquiries as to price and quality before awarding a contract. The award of contract is confirmed by Purchase Order.
The Assembly's Standard Terms & Conditions of Contract always apply.
Quotations (£5k but under £25k)
For contracts will an estimated value between £5000 and £25,000 we seek formal quotations. This involves requesting at least 3 written quotations.
If you are invited to quote for a contract you can expect to be told about the criteria by which your quotation will be assessed and the relative importance (weighting) of each criterion. This allows you to make judgements about the balance between cost and quality when making your quotation.
Quotations are assessed against the criteria. The quotation with the highest score is awarded the contract which is confirmed by letter and the issue of a purchase order. The letter of confirmation will set out how we scored and ranked your quotation.
If your Quotation was unsuccessful we will tell you who the contract was awarded to and their relative score and offer you futher debriefing if you require it.
The Assembly's Standard Terms & Conditions of Contract always apply.
Advertisements
Once contract values are estimated to exceed £25,000 we advertise the contract through Sell2wales
Registering with Sell2Wales will maximise your chances of identfying contract opportunities with the Assembly and other public sector bodies.
Tenders (over £25k)
Once contract values rise above £25,000 we adopt a more formal, two stage tendering process.
Stage 1 - Pre-Qualification
We advertise for expressions of interest through Sell2Wales. The advert normally includes a downloadable Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ). The PQQ asks for specific information about your company, details of past client's (who may be asked for references) and the qualifications of staff who will be involved with the contract. We will also ask for financial information
We may also ask for additional information about your equality and environmental policies.
PQQs can be returned to us in electronic format or in hard copy. The responses are assessed and a decision made on who to invite to tender.
NB At this stage we are only assessing the suitability of potential tenderers - you will not have full details of the specific contract opportunity.
Stage 2 - Invitation to Tender
Invitations to tender will be sent to a number of companies who we believe best meet our requirements. If you are unsuccessful you can ask us to explain why.
The tender documents will set out the criteria by which your bid will be assessed and the relative importance (weighting) of each criterion. This allows you to make judgements about the balance between cost and quality when compiling your tender.
The tender documentation will include a reply label with a deadline for the return of documentation. The deadline is fixed. Late tenders are normally rejected.
Tenders are assessed (usually by a panel of our staff) before we award the contract by sending a formal award of contract letter and issuing a purchase order. Please note that the contract is formed as soon as the award letter is posted.
Our tender assessment matrix and scoring methodology is here (Excel-2003, 434 KB)
If you are unsuccessful you will be told how we scored and ranked your quotation. We will tell you who the contract was awarded to and how they scored and we will offer you futher debriefing if you require it.
The Assembly's Standard Terms & Conditions of Contract always apply.
EU Contracts (generally above £98k)
For contracts with an estimated value above the EU Thresholds we place adverts in the Official Journal of the European Community via Sell2Wales.
Tender arrangements are similar to the above but the timetable for the contract is set by EU Regulations. Significantly more time is allowed for expressions of interest and tendering.
More
The Assembly's Standard Terms and Conditions of Contract always apply and can be viewed here;
