Written library

How this actually works, written down

How bids are scored, what gets you excluded, what evidence a buyer accepts, and how a small firm gets onto a big bid. Every summary is open to read. The articles themselves are in every level from Lite upwards.

The full article library is for members. Sign in, or choose a level — Lite is €18 €9 a month, 12-month minimum. Your account opens with your first order.

All (12) compliance (2) evaluation (1) evidence (1) grants (2) partnering (1) playbook (1) scoring (3) sme (1) strategy (2) tenders (8) writing (2)

Tenders · 4 min · from Lite

Bid or no bid: the ten-minute test

Most lost bids were lost at the decision to bid. Ten questions that take ten minutes and save weeks.

Read the summary

Tenders · 5 min · from Lite

What "most economically advantageous" really means

The cheapest bid does not automatically win. How price and quality are weighed, and what that means for how you write.

Read the summary

Tenders · 4 min · from Lite

The ESPD in plain words

The European Single Procurement Document is a self-declaration you can prepare once and reuse. What it asks, and what goes wrong.

Read the summary

Tenders · 3 min · from Lite

How to ask a clarification question that helps you

Clarification answers go to every bidder. How to ask so the answer helps you without giving your approach away.

Read the summary

Playbook · 7 min · from Pro

Playbook: the criteria matrix, step by step

The one table that stops missing answers: how to build it, use it while writing, and check a bid against it before it goes in.

Read the summary

Scoring · 6 min · from Lite

How a tender is actually scored, and where the marks really go

Most bids lose marks in places the bidder never looked. Here is what the evaluator has in front of them.

Read the summary

Compliance · 5 min · from Lite

The five things that get you excluded before anyone reads your bid

Exclusion is not a scoring decision. It happens before scoring, and it is usually administrative.

Read the summary

Structure · 5 min · from Lite

Selection and award are not the same thing, and mixing them costs marks

One asks whether you are allowed to do this work at all. The other asks how well you would do this particular job.

Read the summary