Key issues for government agencies reflect differences in power, accountability, and the
cultural set of the public sector.
Many government agencies are now astute buyers with access to sophisticated advice and
support from experts within the public sector.
Full-scale open tendering is declining in popularity for reasons including magnitude of evaluation processes and potential wastefulness for private legal providers. Selective tendering and requests for proposal are increasing in popularity - this saves resources and time (for tenderers and evaluators) but presents special probity challenges.
For private law firms to work effectively with government agencies, it's essential to demonstrate strong understanding of strategic drivers, public sector culture and values, cost-effectiveness, and early dispute resolution.
A tender cannot win unless it meets all the basic criteria and includes satisfactory answers to every question within the written submission.
When tendering:
- meet all mandatory criteria
- answer questions, as asked
- be careful about quality of written expression and presentation values
- use clear examples rather than just making claims
- demonstrate your firm's unique and differentiated approach
- be sensitive to probity and transparency of process
Some winning themes with government agencies include:
- accountability to stakeholders
- effectiveness and appropriateness of services
- sensitivity to community concerns
- balancing interests
- process transparency and procedural fairness
- equity and fair dealings
- ethics
- alignment of interests
- privacy
- freedom of information
- overall costs
- recognising superordinate goals
- probity
- contestability.
Weave these themes into your proposal, think about them constantly as you develop your service proposition, and demonstrate how you and your firm will deliver on your promises.
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