CB1 Invite tenders and award contracts

Overview

This standard is about inviting providers to tender to deliver health and social care services and agreeing the details of contracts with them.  It includes inviting and evaluating tenders and negotiating and awarding contracts for the provision of services. Users of this standard will need to ensure that practice reflects up to date information and policies. Version No 1

Knowledge and Understanding

You will need to know and understand:

1. legal requirements relevant to the functions being carried out
2. organisational requirements relevant to the functions being carried out
3. the importance of clarifying details and ensuring mutual understanding, and how to do so
4. the importance of keeping people informed about developments and changes to activities and plans, and how to do so
5. the importance of ensuring additional information is made available equally to all tenderers, and how to do so
6. the partner agencies in the local area
7. the range of suitable providers of services in the local area
8. ways of monitoring and evaluating objectives and levels of service effectively
9. the importance of developing clear criteria for evaluation, and how to do so
10. how to evaluate fairly against specified criteria
11. how to negotiate in ways which deliver good value for money and maintain effective working relationships
12. when you must go out to tender for services
13. what service specifications, tender documents and contracts should contain
14. how to develop service specifications, tender documents and contracts
15. the level of detail providers need to be able to produce an accurately-costed tender
16. procurement procedures
17. the importance of ensuring continuing delivery of specified services that represents good value for money over the medium term
18. the range of actions which may be taken if providers fail to deliver services to specifications
19. recognised good practice in commissioning and delivering services
20. the range of services

Performance Criteria

You must be able to do the following:

1. accurately identify when you must go out to tender for services
2. develop tender documentation for the services you are responsible for commissioning in line with organisational and legal requirements
3. ensure the tender documentation contains a detailed specification and all the information providers require to produce an accurately-costed tender
4. ensure the tender documentation specifies the procedures and timing for submission of tenders
5. ensure the tender documentation specifies clear evaluation criteria that are capable of helping you select the tender which offers best overall value
6. invite tenders from a range of suitable providers agreed with your partner agencies
7. ensure any additional information requested is made available equally to all tenderers
8. accept only those tenders which have been made in accordance with the procedures and timing for submission of tenders
9. ensure tenders are evaluated fairly against the specified evaluation criteria by people who are competent to do so
10. provide tenderers with opportunities to clarify any details which may be necessary to evaluate tenders fairly.
11. resolve with providers any areas where their tenders appear to be at variance with specifications
12. negotiate the details of contracts with providers in order to ensure the continuing delivery of specified services that represents good value for money over the medium term
13. negotiate in ways which are consistent with maintaining effective working relationships with providers and partner agencies
14. offer contracts for the provision of services to those providers whose tenders best meet the specified criteria
15. ensure the contracts you offer clearly state the aims and objectives of services and the level of service required
16. ensure the contracts you offer clearly state how the objectives of services and the level of service will be monitored and evaluated
17. ensure the contracts you offer clearly state the milestones and payments to be made to the providers
18. ensure the contracts you offer clearly state the roles and obligations of each party
19. ensure the contracts clearly state the action to be taken if the provider fails to deliver services to specifications
20. ensure the contracts you offer meet organisational and legal requirements
21. inform partner agencies and unsuccessful tenderers promptly of the outcome of the tendering process

Additional Information

This National Occupational Standard was developed by Skills for Health. It also appears in the Health and Social Care Standards as HSC441 Invite tenders and award contracts. This standard links with the following dimension within the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (October 2004): Dimension: G3 Procurement and commissioning This standard has replaced HSC441.