In broad terms the standard government tender process consists of eight major development, publication and evaluation stages not all of which are publicly visible.

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Stage 1 – Requirements Definition

The budget initiatives approved via the integrated management cycle (IMC – State) or portfolio budget statements (PBS - Commonwealth) form the basis for stage 1 of the government tender process.

Upon receiving approval for a given budget initiative agencies commence the process of formalising the business requirements of each planned project or program. At this stage the process of preparing formal specifications is normally internally focused and does not involve seeking outside input.

Whilst a basic framework for the planned tender document maybe developed during stage 1 the focus is primarily on requirements definition.

Stage 2 – Progress Reporting & Soliciting Internal Feedback

The activities during stage 2 of the process vary somewhat depending in the significance of the tender.

Local Significance

Local significance refers to a tender that is only relevant to a specific department or agency. In this instance a high level overview of the initiative destined for publication as a tender, will be circulated and discussed amongst the departments affected output groups.

Whole of Government Significance

Initiatives that affect a number or all government departments or agencies are referred to as Whole of Government programs. (WOG)

If a planned tender affects multiple departments it is normal practice for internal briefing sessions to be held to communicate progress and solicit feedback. Whole of government projects are the slowest to progress because of the difficulty associated with reaching a consensus amongst departments.

Stage 3 – Briefing & Soliciting Ideas from Industry

Government initiatives for the coming financial year are outlined in the budget statements published in April/May each year. However, the specific details of initiatives likely to go to tender normally do not become public until stage 3 of the tender process.

Industry briefings be they public or invited are held for five main purposes:

1. To brief industry on a planned initiative

2. To test Industry reaction

3. To answer questions

4. To obtain industry input and ideas

5. To convey an impression of transparency

There is no globally binding policy that requires government to conduct industry briefings.

Stage 4 – Incorporation of Ideas & Feedback

Ideas and information obtained during industry briefings are incorporated into tender design/specifications during stage 4.

Stage 5 – Notify / Release / Promote

An RFx or EOI is released into the public realm at stage 5 of the tender process. The appointed tender manager is obligated to market the release of the tender as widely as possible. Generally attendees at industry briefings are automatically notified of the tenders release along with other key stakeholders.

It is standard practice for government to advertise all tenders in the press and on the web. The view and download information obtained from the website publishing of tenders is generally used to determine whether or not additional marketing of the tender is required.

Full probity requirements take affect from the moment the tender documentation is released.

Stage 6 – RFx / EOI Briefing

At a predetermined point in time after the release of a tender a briefing session will be held. The briefing session may or may not be compulsory depending upon the nature of tender. Again there is no global mandate requiring government departments to conduct a briefing session.

The Usefulness of Briefing Sessions

Many people question the usefulness of briefing sessions as they commonly recap what is already in the tender documentation and rarely lend themselves to insightful questioning. Conversely some companies attend all briefing sessions in the hope of identifying consortium bid opportunities.

Post Briefing Q&A Guidelines

After the briefing session there will be ongoing Q&A between the tender manager and potential respondents. It is now preferred practice for questions to be asked in electronic form so as to facilitate the delivery of answers to all interested parties. Interested parties are generally defined to be those individuals/companies that attended a briefing session or registered to download tender documents from the web.

An individual or company who has not obtained a copy of the tender documentation and/or attended a briefing session may at the discretion of the tender manager be added to the Q&A recipient list. However tender managers are under no obligation to add non-qualified individuals or companies and generally decline to do so.

The tender manager has discretionary powers with regards to managing the Q&A process which include:

• Directly adding a Question and Answer to clarify a point not yet raised by a respondent

• Declining to respond to a question which is off-topic or trivial

The tender manager may also omit or modify a question that is deemed:

• Derogatory, prejudicial or unhelpful

• To make a statement rather than asking a question

• Is already clearly answered in the tender documentation

• Is so poorly framed that it cannot be interpreted and therefore answered

With discretionary powers also comes accountability, accordingly tender managers must keep a log of all questions lodged and how they responded.

Stage 7 – Evaluation & Respondent Presentations

The manner in which tender submissions are evaluated is discussed in detail in part two of this section.

During the evaluation stage respondents may be invited to meet with the evaluation team.

Meetings during the evaluation stage cannot be used to change the tender requirements or to vary a response. However such a meeting may be used to seek additional verbal/written information that clarifies points that may unclear to the evaluation team.

An invitation to make a presentation to the evaluation team generally means that a respondent has made it to the short list. The tender manager may request a presentation that follows a particular agenda or elect to allow the respondents to develop their own presentations.

It is highly inadvisable to allow a sales or marketing professional to conduct a tender presentation. It is also important to directly address any issues raised by the evaluation team.

Stage 8 – Announcement & Debrief

The tender manager is required to inform all respondents in writing of the tender evaluation outcome.

The tender manager is further required to offer all unsuccessful respondents a tender debriefing opportunity. The debriefing session is not intended as an opportunity for an unsuccessful respondent to question the evaluation teams decision.