pathways21

Bid Doctor Surgeries!

pathways21 — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 12:54:07 +0000

‘Bid Doctor’

Surgeries!

Thursday 12^th May 2011

Saturday 14^th May 2011

Thames Innovation Centre

Veridion Park

Erith DA18 4AL

Winning your tender!

Pathways 21 and CNT Associates are offering specialist workshops supporting the design and completion of tenders and bids to public sector procurers. Expert consultants will be available to ensure that you are maximising the effectiveness of your submissions and enhance your chances in competition with other applicants. Here’s a cost effective way to add value and additionality to your proposals whether you are at the PQQ or ITT stages.

Two of the best!

Gary Parker and Stewart Goldring will be available to provide support at these workshops. Their considerable skills, knowledge and experience in tendering, bidding and proposal development constitute an invaluable resource for both experienced and novice applicants.

How does this work?

We book 30 minute sessions where you can present your latest tender for appraisal by the specialist consultant. They will quickly identify any areas for further work and suggest strategies to give your tender the best possible chance of succeeding! We are offering this service at the highly competitive rate of just £50 for every 30 minutes or part thereof.

How do I book this service?

Telephone 0208 320 1440

Or 07763 529 785 at your earliest convenience!

If you require further information please contact Stewart at Pathways 21 who will be able to give you further help or information.

10 principles of bid writing!

pathways21 — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 17:21:43 +0000

Here’s our latest thinking on better bid writing!

Why bids fail?

pathways21 — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:28:36 +0000

In April 2010 we carried out a research project asking the programme managers of funding agencies the reasons they refuse funding bids. We asked managers of programmes that -

Were available to groups not individuals.

Gave funding more than £1000 in value and were based nationwide or in the Greater London area.

Funded community/Social projects.

The results were interesting – for example 85.7% of respondents named ‘capacity to deliver’ as their most important reason as to whether a bid would succeed or not.

The whole report is available on our website – http://www.pathways21.info/Full_content.asp?contentid=678

New thinking on expediancy

pathways21 — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:09:49 +0000

•The Three E’s

•Economy, Efficiency and Expediency?

•Has effectiveness taken a back seat?

•Introduction

•In the past, organisations have focused on achieving a balance between economy and efficiency to achieve effectiveness. But in the current financial climate, has expediency replaced effectiveness as the most important third criteria?

•Definitions

Economy

•“No one can be made better off without making someone else worse off.”

Efficiency

•How capable are we of producing an effect?

•Efficiency ‘can be learned and must be earned.’

Effectiveness

•How successful or how much impact work makes.

•Definitions

Expediency

•Appropriateness to the purpose at hand; fitness.

•Suitability for particular circumstance or situation.

•Are decisions influenced by expediency or effectiveness?

•Are funding decisions made according to how effective a project is or how expedient it is?

•Political expediency

•What is political expediency?

•New Government – new culture

•Third sector – now Civil Society – what’s the difference?

•Challenges

•Can we become more expedient?

•Should we become more expedient?

•Planning for expediency

•How can we fit current notions of expediency without compromising our work?

•The language we use

•The way we present our work and our organisation.

•Can expedient organisations ever be effective?

•Do decisions based on expediency have validity?

•Can expedient decisions produce effective outcomes?

•If effectiveness still important?

•Does it still matter to funding agencies?

•Should your organisations still make effectiveness a priority?

Hello world!

pathways21 — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:08:36 +0000

Welcome to our first post! Stewart Goldring here – every week I hope to be writing on issues affecting the third sector and its funding. I am particularly keen to hear from anyone with interests in the sector especially those that know me!