What is the Procurement Specific Questionnaire and how to respond to it
With the Procurement Act 2023, there are a number of changes that are being implemented. One of those is the introduction of the Procurement Specific Questionnair
e in order to replace the Standard Selection Questionnaire (SQ).
With the recent release of the template version of a version of the Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ), the UK Government is preparing for the Procurement Act which will come into force on 24 February.
It’s important that bid and tender writers understand and are mindful of the changes if they want to writing winning tenders and achieve tender success.
What is a Procurement Specific Questionnaire?
A Procurement Specific Questionnaire is similar to an SQ and PQQ in terms of its functionality. It will be a pre-qualifying questionnaire that will be used by authorities to qualify potential bidders and develop a shortlist of potential suppliers by asking basic information from bidders and tenderers.
It comprises of a number of core areas including:
- Core Supplier Information: This is where you put in general information about your company and organisation. You will need to provide company registration details, contact people and also some economic and financials. It is relatively straightforward – just ensure all the information you include is correct.
- Exclusions: This is where you list people or organisations in order to comply with the participation conditions. You will also need to include sub-contractors where applicable. Again – it is relatively straight-forward.
- Conditions of participation: This is where you really need to prove your capabilities. It covers insurance and financial conditions, as well as real contract examples that enable you to demonstrate your experience. You also need to answer questions on safety, data protection and other processes. You need to focus on showcasing your expertise in order to be successful and move onto the next stage.
It’s important to note that when you complete a PSQ, you need to tailor your response in order to win. I.e. provide experience that is relevant to the contract you are bidding for.
What are the benefits of the Procurement Specific Questionnaire?
Some of the key benefits of the introduction of the PSQ include
- Less doubling up – there is a CDP which will have unique identifiers for your business and will store information centrally. This means less time filling in forms and less time and hassle on tender admin.
- There is the option for authorities to ask technical questions. This is important as they can ask for specific experience and expertise. From a tendering perspective, it’s important to put forward a comprehensive and tailored response to progress to the next stage.
- Transparency and oversight – there are substantial benefits from a transparency and oversight perspective. This means there are certain opportunities for SMEs to smaller businesses across the UK to win contracts.
The other processes for qualification for government contracts and how we can assist
The PSQ will not be the exclusive method use by authorities for the qualification process. The other pre-qualification documents which will continue to be used will include:
- Single Procurement Document (SPD): Our bid and tender writers with experience in Scottish and Welsh tenders have strong experience helping clients complete SPDs. We will continue to support clients in Scotland who require assistance with these bids.
- SQ and PQQ: Our bid writers will still support clients who are bidding to government agencies using these formats. We exact that there will be a two or three year transition period before (nearly) everyone is using the PSQ.
- Common Assessment Standard (CAS): this was designed by Build UK and is popular in construction bids. Our professional bid writers are able to assist with these.
Other changes and implications with the PSQ
There are several other changes and implications that are introduced into the PSQ. These are generally beneficial to small businesses and include:
- Prompt payments: There are conditions and implications that ensure there are fair payment terms through the supply chain.
- PAS91 has been removed. They have instead introduced the Common Assessment Standard.
- Questions are now more standardised – this makes the marking, scoring and evaluation process fairer.
- Use of AI in Tender responses – suppliers are now permitted to use AI in tender responses to help them save time. Our bid writing professionals can guide you on how to use AI.
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