Supported Living Tenders
For many individuals and businesses, finding supported living tenders, and having to navigate the complex
NHS tendering process can become a challenge without the right tools and necessary know-how. In the United Kingdom, supported living care services enable people to live independently, in their own homes, while still receiving the necessary care and assistance. Individuals who provide supported living care to other adults, young people or children, assist with daily needs and improve their social capacity. Helping to empower other individuals can become a fulfilling experience, however, as a private sector business, you need to ensure that you present buyers with the right information when bidding for any supported living tender.
What is a supported living tender?
A supported living tender, which is often referred to as a
social care tender/span>, is a public contract that allows prospective service providers to submit a bid based on the necessary needs and requirements of a government entity. To simplify matters, these tenders outline the specific needs of individuals or groups that require additional support in their day-to-day routine, including social care, living services, and place emphasis on the ability to empower individuals in need of in-house care.
Who can bid for a supported living tender?
While there are several regulatory considerations to keep in mind when bidding for a
supported living or social care tender, organisations and individuals that can provide care to one of the following groups can bid for these tenders:
- ge-in-place individuals
- Young people and adults
- Care Leavers
- Individuals with behavioural disabilities
- Individuals suffering from a learning disability
- Individuals with mental health needs
- Recovering addicts and substance abusers
- Unhoused individuals
- Veterans with or without medical disabilities
- Former inmates or offenders on parole
Depending on the needs of local authorities, these tenders typically encompass one or several individual groups, ensuring that quality primary care is provided to some of the most vulnerable groups in society.
How to write a supported living care tender?
As a private service provider, bidding for social care or supported living services can be harder than you think, as you will need to clearly prove you have the necessary skills and experience to fulfil contract requirements, but most importantly care for other service users. Now it’s time to start putting together a winning tender that can help your businesses stand out against other competitors, and showcase your experience in the field of social care.
Provide background on the experience
One of the key parts of writing a winning tender is to ensure you provide sufficient background information to buyers. You will need to demonstrate your skills and experiences and outline an active outreach services strategy used in the field to fulfil your duties and complete tasks successfully. When bidding as a business, you can compile a list of suitable candidates, and provide clear background information on their experience, and any suitable skills they may have. As an organisation, you will need to showcase your services, and how you’ve overcome challenges in the past. Individual bidders will need to provide suitable references to previous work they have done, or any previous contracts they have completed. While it may be slightly harder to stand out from the crowd as an individual, you will need to provide sufficient information that clearly outlines your competency, achievement, and most importantly, social care skills.
Provide proof of service registration
Provision of service registration with the appropriate regulatory entities is a crucial aspect of your tender writing process. There are several social care regulators across the UK, and depending on the requirements of the tender, you will need to ensure that you are registered and licensed with one of these regulatory support services. In most circumstances, buyers will require proof of registration from the Care Quality Commission England (CQC), Care Inspectorate Scotland, Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) or Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority Northern Ireland (RQIA).
Outline strategy and outcomes of supported living
Additionally, you will need to provide buyers with a suitable strategy, based on the supported living tenders requirements. This will help outline all the important tasks your organisation will look to complete, and individuals will be cared for. More than this, it’s also advised to provide buyers with a long-term outlook, in terms of what you’re aiming to achieve with the contract and how you will be achieving these goals. Make sure that you identify key objectives throughout the bid writing process, and how you will be achieving supported living service milestones.
Demonstrate management strategies
Another key part of writing a successfully supported living care tender is to demonstrate effective management measures. These will often include strategies that outline safety measures used to keep individuals safe, and out of harm. You can highlight important measures that you’ve used in the past, and how employees have contributed to shaping a caring, supportive and safe environment for individuals.
Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)
While bids are often evaluated based on different themes, depending on the tender and local authority and city council, in some instances, assessment is based on meeting quality standards at the best possible price. This would mean that some buyers often look to award tenders to suppliers that can provide quality services and have the necessary skills at a reasonable price.
How to improve supported living tender writing
Here are some tips on how you can improve your supported living tender writing to help you stand out against other potential suppliers.
Highlight your skills
The best, and perhaps most important way to improve your chances of winning a social care tender is to ensure you highlight your skills. Demonstrate your experience, by guiding previous projects, and how you will fulfil the project requirements.
Use archive data
Make use of previous tenders, and data to help to formulate a winning strategy. With
archive data, you can assess whether your tender meets the requirements and is in line with industry standards.
Track spend analysis
Another way is to make sure you can create an economically advantageous tender that fulfils the quality standards of any tender but also meets the financial threshold. Using the
HCI spend analysis tool, you will gather insight into how previous bidders managed to compile a winning tender bid.
Assess the tender
Make sure that you have assessed the tender, and that you are informed about what the buyer is looking for. Get an idea of who the buyer might be, what they are looking for, and how you fulfil these needs based on your experience and skills.
Concluding thoughts
Finding the right supported living tender doesn’t have to feel like a challenge. Instead, make use of opportunity search portals to help streamline the process. Additionally, make sure that you clearly assess each tender, and that you provide sufficient information that helps to demonstrate your skills and experience.
