Many commissioning cycles are moving into investment phases. We are preparing advice for both commissioners and the community and health sector to understand when investment opportunities will occur over the next 18 months.
There are a range of ways government invests in the human service system:
- A direct grant – government will approach specific providers for specialist services for which there is not a competitive market
- A select grant or tender – government will approach a small set of providers for specialist services for which there is not a competitive market
- An open grant or tender – government will provide a public market opportunity for providers seeking to deliver the specified services.
To signal a transition to investment, the Homelessness and Housing and Community Support have released their Strategic Investment Plans. These Plans serve as prompt for sector partners to prepare for an upcoming tender or grant process – before they even open.
Get your resources ready
You may need to attach, reference, or provide documents, statements, policies or certificates as part of a tender response. Start gathering what you have, checking the expiry dates on insurance policies and preparing key statements like an organisational overview/ structure or background on key personnel. Review any previous tender responses or grant applications – can you reuse any key statements?
Response ready
Participate in commissioning engagement activities which may provide information around how a service/s may be procured (by grants or by tenders or a hybrid). Commissioning output documents such as Sector sounding papers, Listening Reports or Strategic Investment Plans outline the draft service specifications and the outcomes for the service. These also provide an opportunity to provide feedback on any assumptions outlined and for sector partners to start thinking about what part of the service/s you may seek to deliver.
When the formal request for tender or grant application is open, addressing evaluation criteria is the key. Follow the templates provided for the response. Incorporate elements of the questions or statements in your responses – limit extra narrative that isn’t requested. Always substantiate any claims you make by citing examples of your work, with statistics or references. Be realistic with pricing and clear on any assumptions you may have made. Importantly consider how your response represents value for money and alignment with the ACT Charter of Procurement Values
(consider focusing on one or two key values in your tender responses)
Get your supports ready
Supporting documents can add value to your tender response or grant application. Consider preparing case studies that demonstrate how your service or program has helped clients or the community. Who could be a referee for you? And would they provide a letter that speaks to your organisation, service, or program. Ensure you have health and safety documents especially for high-risk or trauma response services. Re-iterate and underscore your professionalism by including relevant policies or procedures.
Know your value
What are you innovating? What do you have a strong reputation for delivering your service or program? What makes you valuable to other parts of the sector or other services and why? Articulate your value in your organisational or service statement. It can be good to listen to feedback from clients or collaborators or other service providers to get an objective viewpoint that helps you shape your statement.
Get training
If you don’t respond to tenders or grant applications often, consider signing up to training. Training can help you gain a fresh perspective and insights on how to prepare and where to start.
ACTCOSS is delivering Grant Writing Workshops and while they are oversubscribed, do join the wait list as there may be more scheduled in 2023. The ACT Government will participate and share high level insights from evaluating community sector tender responses and grant applications. Grant Writing Workshop for the ACT Community Sector ACT Council of Social Service Inc
Procurement ACT also offer ACT Government Supplier Training modules and guides to support prospective tenderers navigate the Invest phase of commissioning
Find out more about investment phases: Understand the investment pathways
Page updated: 28 Feb 2024
