Bid Triage & Opportunity Assessment for Social Care Providers | Impact Guru

We help social care and NHS-commissioned providers make confident, compliant tender decisions. Our Bid Triage & Opportunity Assessment service builds structured, evidence-based tools that show when to bid — and when to walk away — saving time, improving governance, and focusing your resources on contracts you can win and deliver.

Who this is for

  • Learning disability, mental health, domiciliary care and advocacy providers bidding regularly across frameworks, spot contracts, DPS or NHS/ICB procurements.
  • NHS and VCSE providers involved in ICB/ICS procurements (IUC/111, UTC, Access/Enhanced Access, UCR and community pathways).
  • Teams who spend valuable time chasing low-fit tenders or unclear opportunities.
  • Organisations wanting a transparent, auditable bid/no-bid process aligned to the Procurement Act 2023 requirements.

Why bid triage matters

Under the Procurement Act 2023, transparency and proportionality apply to suppliers as much as buyers. Having a clear decision framework helps you:

  • Demonstrate due diligence in how you select and pursue opportunities.
  • Avoid wasted time and resource on tenders you’re unlikely to win.
  • Strengthen governance and risk management reporting.
  • Increase focus on tenders that align with your operational strengths and capacity.
  • Evidence internal assurance during audits and board reviews.

For ICB/ICS bids, structured triage also evidences proportionality, risk awareness and delivery readiness against MAT domains.

Our approach

We design tailored, data-informed triage tools that combine your commercial, operational, and compliance criteria into one consistent decision process. Our process typically includes:

  1. Discovery & Mapping: Review your past tenders, win/loss data, and evaluation feedback.
  2. Criteria Definition: Identify strategic fit, delivery readiness, capacity and risk criteria (clinical governance, IG/DSPT, digital integration, workforce resilience).
  3. Framework Build: Develop a custom Excel-based triage tool with RAG rating and override logic, plus a clear MS Word decision log template for governance and sign-off.
  4. Testing & Rollout: Run live or mock tenders through the tool to confirm reliability and usability.

Deliverables

  • Fully editable bid triage tool (Excel and MS Word formats).
  • Custom weighting of fit, deliverability, and compliance criteria.
  • Visual RAG dashboard and summary output.
  • Embedded decision log for transparency and audit trail.
  • Step-by-step guide for internal users.
  • ICB/ICS-ready view: optional fields for clinical governance, IG/DSPT and digital interoperability scoring.

Example tool features

  • Two-stage decision flow (strategic fit → operational readiness).
  • Configurable RAG scoring and override prompts.
  • Risk and compliance section linked to CQC/clinical governance, staffing and finance inputs (NHS assurance-friendly).
  • Automatic summary sheet for governance reporting or board sign-off.
  • Optional competitor awareness and “win probability” tracker.
  • Optional DoS/111, UCR and UTC fit prompts to flag interface risks early.

Benefits

  • Clear audit trail for board or trustee review.
  • Better use of team time and subject experts.
  • Higher quality tender submissions (by focusing effort).
  • Improved risk awareness before bidding.
  • Alignment with transparency and integrity principles under MAT.
  • Clear evidence of MAT-aligned decision-making for ICB/ICS submissions (transparency, integrity, value).

⚡ Need a Faster, Lighter Triage First?

If you’re not ready for a full bid triage tool yet, you can start with a smaller, fixed-price assessment to test fit, risk and readiness on individual opportunities.

  • 48-Hour Tender Triage – Bid / No-Bid Assessment
    Rapid review of a live tender to assess fit, risk and likely scoring potential — with a clear recommendation: Bid, Bid with caveats, or Don’t bid.
  • Pre-Tender Readiness Audit
    Short, organisation-level audit of governance, evidence, bid infrastructure and risks so you know how prepared you are before the next wave of tenders lands.
  • Tender Readiness Document Pack Review
    Evaluator-style review of your key documents (policies, evidence, structures) to highlight gaps and quick wins that will strengthen future bids.

You can use these quick-check services on their own, or as a stepping stone toward a full Bid Triage & Opportunity Assessment framework.

FAQs

Q. Do we really need a bid triage tool if we already discuss opportunities internally?
Yes — informal discussions are useful, but they aren’t consistent, auditable or aligned to Procurement Act transparency expectations. A structured triage tool ensures decisions are evidence-based, repeatable, and defensible during board, commissioner or auditor scrutiny.

Q. Will the triage tool reduce our bid volume?
Not necessarily. It reduces low-value bid volume — the tenders you cannot win or cannot safely deliver. For high-fit tenders, it actually increases quality by freeing time for better planning, storyboarding and response development.

Q. Can you build criteria specific to NHS/ICB procurements?
Absolutely. We frequently include prompts for clinical governance, IG/DSPT compliance, digital integration, DoS/111 dependencies, UCR pathways and workforce resilience — all mapped to MAT assurance domains.

Q. How long does development take?
Most providers receive a fully working triage tool within 1–2 weeks. The exact timing depends on scope and how quickly your team can supply the required documents. This window includes discovery, build, testing with real or mock tenders, and any refinements needed to ensure the tool works smoothly in practice.

💸 Bid Triage Packages with Online-Only Savings

You can book my Bid Triage & Opportunity Assessment Packages (Procurement Act 2023 Ready) directly online.

These packages are built around my standard consultancy rate of £600 per day, with stepped discounts for longer commitments — available only when purchased via the online product page.

Package Days Online Price Equivalent Day Rate Saving vs £600/day
Essential — Single-Service Triage Tool 1 day £600 £600/day –
Intermediate — Multi-Lot Triage Framework 3 days £1,650 £550/day £150 saved
Advanced — Mixed NHS & LA Toolkit 5 days £2,625 £525/day £375 saved
Strategic — Board-Level Multi-Portfolio System 10 days £5,000 £500/day £1,000 saved

Discounted rates are only available for online orders. Consultancy days are 8 hours for 1 day - Delivered by Mike Harrison

This investment can save your organisation tens of thousands of pounds in wasted time and resources spent bidding for inappropriate contracts — while strengthening team morale through a higher and more predictable win rate.

⚡ Improve Your Bid/No-Bid Decisions Instantly

Book your Bid Triage & Opportunity Assessment Package online

🚀 Book Now

🚀 Need a Bid Writing Quote?

If you’re exploring support for an upcoming tender, you can request a quick, no-obligation quote using my streamlined form. I’ll review the tender documents you provide and come back with:

  • A clear scope of work
  • Estimated days required
  • A fixed fee quote
  • Any risks, considerations or quick wins
📄 Request a Bid Writing Quote →

Fast turnaround • NHS & Local Authority tenders • Procurement Act 2023 ready

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