Evidencing Co-Production in Tenders and Inspections
📘 Blog 7 of 7 in our Co-Production & Engagement Series
Evidencing Co-Production in Tenders and Inspections
Links to all 7 blogs in this series are at the bottom of this post.
📝 Why Evidence Matters
Commissioners and inspectors hear the word “co-production” frequently, but they only reward it when it is backed up with clear, verifiable evidence. In tenders, evaluators want to see how co-production has shaped service design, delivery, and improvement. In inspections, the CQC looks for consistent examples of people’s voices influencing outcomes under Well-Led and Responsive.
🔑 What Commissioners Expect
In tenders, co-production evidence should show:
- Case studies — specific examples of how people shaped service design, training, or policies.
- Quantifiable impact — e.g. “92% of people said they felt more in control of their care after introducing co-produced care plans.”
- Governance links — people involved in steering groups, quality committees, or recruitment panels.
- Ongoing process — not one-off events, but embedded systems for listening and responding.
When framed well, these examples become high-scoring content.
👁️ What Inspectors Look For
Inspectors don’t just take your word for it — they test co-production in practice. They will look for:
- Consistency — are people’s voices reflected across records, care planning, and governance minutes?
- Staff confidence — can staff explain how they involve people in shaping their care?
- Real changes — examples of “you said, we did” logged, communicated, and reviewed.
- Feedback loops — evidence that outcomes are monitored and fed back to people and families.
Providers who embed co-production in daily practice consistently score higher under Well-Led and Responsive.
📊 Practical Evidence Sources
Examples that work well in tenders and inspections include:
- Minutes — from co-production meetings or forums, with tracked actions and outcomes.
- Surveys & focus groups — with clear follow-up actions.
- Peer recruitment panels — showing people shaping the workforce directly.
- Training co-design — lived experience sessions included in induction and CPD.
- Case studies — challenge ➜ action ➜ outcome format for maximum clarity.
⚠️ Common Weaknesses
- Generic statements like “we involve people in decisions” with no detail.
- One-off engagement events with no follow-up or impact.
- No written record of how people’s views influenced change.
- Staff unable to describe co-production in practice.
🧰 Tender & Inspection Preparation Tips
- Develop 3–5 strong co-production case studies to include in bids and inspections.
- Use data to show impact — satisfaction, retention, improved outcomes.
- Embed examples in bid strategy training so managers can speak confidently during scrutiny.
- Include co-production in tender reviews to strengthen clarity and evidence.
- Standardise documentation across services to ensure consistency and traceability.
🤝 Need a hand putting this into practice?
Start with a quick quality lift via:
Protect your pipeline using:
Build re-usable foundations with:
Keep performance “renewal-ready” through:
If you need a bigger reset to map your needs:
💼 Rapid Support Products (fast turnaround options)
- ⚡ 48-Hour Tender Triage
- 🆘 Bid Rescue Session – 60 minutes
- ✍️ Score Booster – Tender Answer Rewrite
- 🧩 Tender Answer Blueprint
- 📝 Tender Proofreading & Light Editing
- 🔍 Pre-Tender Readiness Audit
- 📁 Tender Document Review
🚀 Need a Bid Writing Quote?
If you’re exploring support for an upcoming tender or framework, request a quick, no-obligation quote. I’ll review your documents and respond with:
- A clear scope of work
- Estimated days required
- A fixed fee quote
- Any risks, considerations or quick wins
🔁 Prefer Flexible Monthly Support?
If you regularly handle tenders, frameworks or call-offs, a Monthly Bid Support Retainer may be a better fit.
- Guaranteed hours each month (1, 2, 4 or 8 days)
- Discounted day rates vs ad-hoc consultancy
- Use time flexibly across bids, triage, library updates, renewals
- One-month rollover (fair-use rules applied)
- Cancel anytime before next billing date
🚀 Ready to Win Your Next Bid?
Chat on WhatsApp or email Mike.Harrison@impact-guru.co.uk
Updated for Procurement Act 2023 • CQC-aligned • BASE-aligned (where relevant)
📚 Catch up on the full Co-Production & Engagement Series:
- 📘 Why Co-Production Matters in Social Care
- 🧭 Principles of Co-Production: From Tokenism to True Partnership
- 👥 Involving Families and Carers in Service Design
- 🏛️ Co-Production in Governance and Quality Assurance
- 🌍 Building Engagement Pathways for Under-Represented Voices
- 💡 Case Studies: Co-Production That Changed Services
- 📄 Evidencing Co-Production in Tenders and Inspections