What Commissioners Are Really Looking for — and Why Most Providers Miss It
Understanding how commissioning priorities have evolved — and how social care providers can write tenders that score higher by focusing on outcomes, evidence, and authentic delivery.
For years, providers have been told to “be person-centred” and “demonstrate quality” in their tenders. But in 2025, commissioners are moving beyond broad principles — they’re looking for proof. Proof that your service delivers measurable outcomes. Proof that your staff are trained, supported, and retained. Proof that your governance systems actually influence care on the ground.
Whether you’re bidding for learning disability services, complex care contracts, or domiciliary care tenders, success now depends on one thing: how clearly you can connect your evidence, your workforce, and your impact on people’s lives.
📊 From Promises to Proof
Commissioners have read thousands of tenders that say, “We deliver high-quality, person-centred care.” Those words no longer move the needle. What earns marks now is how you demonstrate it.
- ✅ Evidence of outcomes — not claims
- ✅ Real examples of co-production and lived experience
- ✅ Workforce data showing stability and supervision
- ✅ Clear governance lines linking board to frontline
- ✅ Use of digital systems, assistive tech, or PBS to improve lives
This shift has been accelerated by two major policy drivers — the Procurement Act 2023 and the NHS Social Value Model. Together, they’ve raised expectations for transparency, measurable social impact, and ethical delivery. Commissioners now expect tenders to read like governance documents — not marketing brochures.
🏗️ How Tender Expectations Have Changed
Pre-2023 tenders rewarded polished writing and compliance. Post-Procurement Act, they reward alignment — how well your narrative connects to commissioner outcomes, CQC evidence, and policy priorities.
Here’s what that means in practice:
| Old Focus | New Expectation |
|---|---|
| “We will deliver safe, person-centred care.” | “We use CQC data, audits, and feedback to demonstrate continuous improvement in safety and person-centred outcomes.” |
| “We have a strong staff team.” | “We retain 87% of staff year-on-year through structured supervision, reflective practice, and wellbeing investment.” |
| “We use digital care planning.” | “Our digital care system provides real-time outcome tracking, safeguarding alerts, and audit trails reviewed monthly by the Quality Lead.” |
In other words: Don’t describe what you do — prove it works.
💡 The Five Things Commissioners Actually Reward
1️⃣ Evidence of Outcomes
Commissioners are under pressure to demonstrate that services deliver measurable change. They want to see how your model of care links to outcomes such as independence, inclusion, and wellbeing. Use data and real examples:
“Over the last 12 months, 82% of people supported increased their community participation, and 91% achieved at least one personal goal identified through co-production.”
2️⃣ Workforce Competence and Stability
Every tender section — from safeguarding to quality — connects back to your workforce. Commissioners look for assurance that you can recruit, train, and retain staff in a sustainable way. Link to your supervision model, staff surveys, and retention data.
3️⃣ Governance That Drives Practice
Panel members love tenders that clearly connect board decisions to frontline improvement. Governance shouldn’t sound bureaucratic — it should sound alive. For example:
“Governance meetings review real-time incident data and learning outcomes. This led to a 27% reduction in medication errors over the past year.”
4️⃣ Innovation and Adaptability
Innovation doesn’t always mean technology. It might mean new staff support models, “just enough support” approaches, or partnership working. Commissioners reward flexibility — particularly where it improves efficiency or quality without compromising safety.
5️⃣ Values in Action
Person-centredness must feel real. Panels now expect lived experience voices to be embedded in your tender narrative — from case studies to feedback loops. Commissioners often quote, “Would I want this provider supporting someone I love?” Every paragraph should make them say “yes.”
🧠 The Commissioner’s Mindset
Evaluation panels don’t just score words; they assess confidence and credibility. They read between the lines for signs of risk or overclaiming. Phrases like “we always” or “we guarantee” can backfire if not evidenced. Replace absolutes with proof points:
- Instead of “We always deliver on time,” say “We met 98% of all visit windows in the last 12 months.”
- Instead of “We have an excellent reputation,” say “Our 2024 stakeholder survey recorded 96% satisfaction.”
Moderators want consensus. They score highly when they feel assured your evidence is verifiable, measurable, and aligned to commissioning objectives.
🧩 Where Providers Lose Marks
Even experienced providers lose tenders for simple reasons — often unrelated to service quality. Here are the five most common scoring pitfalls in 2025:
- ❌ Generic content — “We do this well” without proof.
- ❌ Policy repetition — copying text from internal documents rather than rephrasing for scoring clarity.
- ❌ Weak structure — mixing background, process, and evidence without clear flow.
- ❌ Missing data — outcomes or compliance rates not quantified.
- ❌ No link to commissioner outcomes — failing to tie activity to measurable system impact.
Our Bid Review & Proofreading Service eliminates these issues before submission — ensuring your answers meet both the question and the scoring descriptor precisely.
🏗️ How to Build “Scorable” Responses
Commissioners think in scoring matrices, not narratives. To hit “excellent” scores, build each response using a clear five-step logic model:
- Context — What is the issue or need?
- Approach — How do you deliver your solution?
- Evidence — What results or metrics support this?
- Governance — How do you monitor and improve it?
- Commissioner benefit — Why does this matter for outcomes, quality, or value?
This structure helps evaluators find what they’re looking for quickly — and makes moderation discussions easier, which means higher marks.
🧮 The Scoring Reality Check
Most tenders use a 0–5 or 0–10 scale. The difference between “Good” and “Excellent” is evidence and impact. You may be fully compliant but still only score 4/5 because you didn’t demonstrate added value.
| Score | Meaning | What You Need |
|---|---|---|
| 3 (Good) | Addresses the question but lacks depth or measurable evidence. | Show what you do. |
| 4 (Very Good) | Comprehensive, detailed, and mostly evidenced. | Show how you measure it. |
| 5 (Excellent) | Fully evidenced, outcome-focused, innovative, and risk-aware. | Show how it makes a difference. |
🧠 Turning Compliance Into Confidence
The best tenders combine compliance and confidence — balancing risk awareness with optimism. Commissioners need to feel your service is safe *and* progressive. Phrases that communicate confidence include:
- “We are confident our model consistently delivers measurable outcomes, demonstrated through…”
- “Our data-driven approach provides continuous feedback loops for improvement.”
- “Our governance structure ensures every incident, audit, and outcome informs safer, stronger practice.”
Confidence isn’t arrogance — it’s clarity. It shows ownership of performance and a mature understanding of accountability.
📚 Real Examples That Score Highly
Commissioners remember authenticity. Here are short, real-world examples that consistently score well:
- 🧩 Positive Behaviour Support (PBS): “All staff complete PBS training and receive quarterly refreshers. Restrictive incidents reduced by 43% in 2024 through proactive de-escalation planning.”
- 🏠 Domiciliary Care: “98% of visits are completed within 15 minutes of scheduled time, tracked via our electronic rostering system.”
- ⚕️ Complex Care: “Our nurse-led team supports 14 people with tracheostomies, with zero emergency call-outs in 18 months.”
- 💬 Co-Production: “Our service user forum codesigned our new recruitment video, resulting in 27% more applicants citing our values.”
Each example provides data, context, and outcome — the formula for credibility.
🧾 Embedding Evidence Across Your Organisation
Strong bids come from strong systems. Build evidence into daily operations so you’re always tender-ready:
- 📊 Collect outcome data monthly, not annually.
- 🧩 Link supervision notes to CQC Key Questions.
- 💬 Record lived experience quotes in real time.
- 🧮 Track training completion and incident reduction trends.
These data points become the backbone of your next tender — allowing you to respond quickly and convincingly.
🧭 Preparing for the New Procurement Landscape
The Procurement Act 2023 introduced more flexibility but also more accountability. Commissioners can now justify decisions through transparent evaluation logs — meaning weak evidence will show instantly. The 2025 landscape will reward providers who can combine quality with clear, data-backed value propositions.
Three emerging trends to watch:
- ⚙️ Outcome-Based Contracting — payment models tied to measurable service impact.
- 🌱 Social Value Weighting — minimum 10% in NHS and local authority tenders, with clear carbon and community metrics required.
- 🔒 Cyber Resilience & Data Assurance — now a growing quality question in all digital care environments.
📈 Building a Stronger Tender Culture
Winning tenders is rarely about one response — it’s about building an organisation that thinks and acts like a high scorer. That means:
- Embedding governance that informs quality improvement.
- Investing in staff capability for writing and reviewing bids.
- Maintaining a structured bid library and live triage tool.
- Using independent review to challenge and strengthen submissions.
🎯 Final Thought
In 2025, commissioners aren’t rewarding buzzwords — they’re rewarding believability. Your evidence, governance, and tone must tell one story: that you are safe, capable, and continuously improving. When you back every statement with proof, every sentence becomes a scoring opportunity.
Write not to impress, but to reassure. That’s what wins.
💼 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)