Bid writing glossary
Plain-English definitions of the acronyms, documents, and regulations you'll meet in UK public-sector bidding — from PQQ and SQ to OCDS, MEAT/MAT, and the Procurement Act 2023.
27 of 27 terms
The individual contract issued to a framework supplier for a specific piece of work.
A call-off is the contract that awards specific work under a framework or DPS. It uses the framework's core terms plus call-off-specific schedules (scope, prices, KPIs, service levels).
Related: Framework agreement, Mini-competition
A buyer question during evaluation, or a supplier question during the tender window.
Clarifications go both ways. Suppliers ask clarification questions during the tender window (usually via an e-tendering portal); buyers can also raise clarifications on unclear or inconsistent bid responses before scoring.
Related: ITT
A cross-reference table proving your bid answers every ITT requirement.
A compliance matrix maps each ITT requirement (spec, evaluation criterion, mandatory response) to the section of your bid that answers it. Evaluators use it to check completeness; senior reviewers use it as a QA checklist before submission.
Related: ITT
UK government service for below-threshold public-sector opportunities and pipeline notices.
Contracts Finder publishes opportunities from £12,000 (central government) or £30,000 (wider public sector) up to the FTS threshold. It's the primary source for SME-friendly tenders.
Related: Find a Tender
The EU/UK classification code that categorises what a tender is buying.
CPV (Common Procurement Vocabulary) codes are 8-digit classifiers used on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder notices. Suppliers filter opportunity pipelines by CPV to target relevant tenders — e.g. 72000000 (IT services) or 45000000 (construction).
Related: Find a Tender, Contracts Finder
Also: Feedback letter
Buyer feedback on why your bid won or lost, with scores and evaluator comments.
A debrief (or assessment summary under PA23) sets out your scores per criterion, the winning bidder's scores, and evaluator commentary. It's the single most useful input to future bids — capture it in a post-mortem alongside your win themes and gaps.
Related: Standstill period, Post-mortem
An open-ended supplier list that suppliers can join at any time during its lifetime.
A DPS (Dynamic Purchasing System) is like a framework but always open to new suppliers. Buyers run mini-competitions against DPS members for each requirement. Under the Procurement Act 2023 the DPS is replaced by the Dynamic Market — functionally similar with wider scope.
Related: Framework agreement, Procurement Act 2023
Also: FTS · Find a Tender Service
The UK's central publication service for above-threshold public-sector tenders.
Find a Tender (FTS) replaced OJEU/TED for the UK after Brexit. All above-threshold public-sector opportunities are published here, plus contract award notices and modifications. Below-threshold opportunities appear on Contracts Finder.
Related: Contracts Finder, OCDS
Also: Framework
A pre-approved list of suppliers that buyers can call off from without a full tender.
A framework agreement is a multi-supplier contract set up by a buying organisation (CCS, YPO, ESPO, NHS SBS, Procurement for Housing, etc.). Once appointed, suppliers compete in mini-competitions or receive direct call-offs against pre-agreed terms and rates.
Related: DPS, Mini-competition, Call-off contract
Used in competitive procedures with negotiation — a variant of the ITT that permits dialogue on terms.
ITN (Invitation to Negotiate) is used in Competitive Procedure with Negotiation and in the Competitive Flexible Procedure under the Procurement Act 2023. Unlike an ITT, the buyer can negotiate scope, terms, or price with shortlisted bidders across successive rounds.
Related: ITT, Procurement Act 2023
The formal request for a full priced bid, issued after PQQ/SQ shortlisting.
An ITT (Invitation to Tender) is the main tender document. It contains the specification, contract terms, evaluation criteria, response templates, and pricing schedule. Suppliers respond with a full technical and commercial proposal, usually scored on quality (60–80%) and price (20–40%).
Related: ITN, PQQ, SQ, Compliance matrix
The award criterion that balances price with quality — 'best value', not just cheapest.
MEAT (Most Economically Advantageous Tender) was the standard award test under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The Procurement Act 2023 renamed it MAT (Most Advantageous Tender) and explicitly broadens it to include social value, net-zero, and public-benefit criteria alongside price and quality.
Related: Social value, Procurement Act 2023
Also: Further competition
A scored tender run between framework or DPS suppliers for a specific requirement.
Mini-competitions (or 'further competitions') let framework buyers score appointed suppliers on the specifics of one call-off — refined specification, price, and quality — while staying within the framework's terms.
Related: Framework agreement, DPS, Call-off contract
An open JSON schema for publishing procurement data across the tender lifecycle.
OCDS (Open Contracting Data Standard) is an international schema maintained by the Open Contracting Partnership. UK Find a Tender publishes notices in OCDS format, enabling machine-readable pipelines, market intelligence, and spend analytics. The Procurement Act 2023 mandates increased OCDS publication for in-scope contracts.
Related: Find a Tender, Procurement Act 2023
Also: Bid review
Structured review of what worked and what didn't after a win or loss.
A post-mortem captures debrief scores, evaluator quotes, decisions to reuse, and specific improvements for future bids. Bid teams that log post-mortems and feed them into content libraries typically lift win rate by 5–15% within a year.
Related: Debrief
Cabinet Office guidance that changes how in-scope contracting authorities must procure.
PPNs (Procurement Policy Notes) are the primary tool the Cabinet Office uses to update procurement practice between regulations. Recent examples include PPN 002 (social value), PPN 001 (Procurement Act 2023 transition) and PPN 09/23 (payment practices).
Related: Procurement Act 2023, Social value
Also: Pre-qualification questionnaire
A pre-tender questionnaire that filters suppliers on capability, capacity, and compliance before ITT.
The PQQ (Pre-Qualification Questionnaire) is the first formal stage of many UK public-sector procurements. Buyers use it to shortlist suppliers on turnover, insurance, references, health & safety, quality management, and modern-slavery/GDPR policies. Under the Procurement Act 2023 many buyers now use an SQ (Selection Questionnaire) instead, but the term PQQ is still widely used, especially in utilities and housing frameworks.
Related: SQ, ITT, Find a Tender
Also: P2W · PTW
The commercial analysis that identifies the price a bid must beat to win.
Price-to-win (P2W) blends competitor intelligence, buyer budget signals, and historical award data to estimate the maximum price at which your bid still wins on MEAT/MAT. It's the input to your final pricing sign-off, not the number in your model.
Related: MEAT / MAT
Also: PA23
The post-Brexit UK procurement regime that replaces the 2015 regulations from 24 Feb 2025.
The Procurement Act 2023 came into force on 24 February 2025. It introduces the Competitive Flexible Procedure, a central supplier debarment list, the National Procurement Policy Statement, and expanded transparency notices (planning, tender, award, modification, contract-performance, and termination).
Related: PPN, MEAT / MAT, Find a Tender
An informal or sector-specific variant of the SQ/PQQ, common in construction and housing frameworks.
PSQ (Pre-Selection Questionnaire) is used interchangeably with PQQ in some sectors — notably construction, housing associations, and utilities — where buyers apply their own template rather than the Cabinet Office SQ. Content overlaps heavily with the SQ but structure and scoring vary.
Your organisation's standard day rates by role, used to build tender price schedules.
A rate card lists day rates (and often loaded costs) by grade or role. It's the source of truth for pricing responses on frameworks like RM6187 (Consultancy) and CCS DOS, where price schedules must be filled at grade level.
Related: Framework agreement
US/private-sector equivalent of an ITT — a request for a solution proposal with pricing.
RFP is common in private-sector and international procurement. UK public buyers usually issue an ITT rather than an RFP, but the documents serve the same purpose: a scored request for a technical solution and price.
A price-only request, usually for below-threshold or off-framework spot buys.
An RFQ (Request for Quotation) asks suppliers for a price against a fixed specification with little or no quality scoring. Common for below-threshold procurements, framework mini-competitions with fixed quality, and dynamic-purchasing-system call-offs.
Related: Framework agreement, DPS
The Cabinet Office standardised replacement for the PQQ in central-government procurements.
The SQ is a three-part standard questionnaire (supplier information, exclusion grounds, selection criteria) mandated for above-threshold central-government procurements. It replaced the PQQ for in-scope buyers in 2016 and remains the default under the Procurement Act 2023 transitional regime.
Related: PQQ, Procurement Act 2023
Also: Alcatel period
The mandatory pause between award decision and contract signature during which bidders can challenge.
Standstill is a minimum 8-working-day period (Procurement Act 2023) between the award decision notice and contract signature. Unsuccessful bidders can request a debrief and, if grounds exist, issue a legal challenge before the contract is signed.
Related: Debrief, Procurement Act 2023
Regulations that protect staff when a service transfers between providers.
TUPE applies when a service moves from an incumbent provider to a new provider (or in-house). Staff transfer on their existing terms. Buyers must share TUPE data (grades, salaries, T&Cs) at ITT so bidders can price accurately.
Related: ITT
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Also: PPN 06/20 · PPN 002
Weighted evaluation of a bid's wider economic, social, and environmental benefits.
Since PPN 06/20 (now PPN 002), central-government tenders must award a minimum 10% weighting to social value themes such as jobs, skills, community, environmental protection, and equal opportunity. Bidders respond with Model Award Criteria (MAC) narratives and measurable commitments.
Related: MEAT / MAT, PPN
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