Tender response template

Yes. You can download the tender response template as it is and fill it in yourself. You only need a Cobl account if you want Cobl to rewrite it with your own tender pack, past bids and case studies, which you then review and edit before anything goes to the buyer.

A compliance matrix, the mandatory forms and declarations, your understanding of the requirement, method statements, case studies, social value commitments, mobilisation and risk, and the completed pricing schedule. The part most templates leave out is the clarifications log: answers the buyer publishes during the tender can change what a high-scoring response looks like.

Evaluators mark each quality question against published criteria, often on a 0 to 5 or 0 to 10 scale, then apply the weightings set out in the ITT. Price and social value are scored separately. Under the Procurement Act 2023, contracts are awarded to the most advantageous tender, so a lower price does not win on its own.

Social value is the wider benefit a contract brings, such as local employment, apprenticeships, SME subcontracting or carbon reduction. Many public buyers weight it at 10% or more of the total score. Answer with specific commitments, numbers and dates, explain how you will measure them, and match them to the themes the buyer lists in the ITT.

The Act came into force in February 2025. Suppliers register once on the Central Digital Platform and share core information with buyers from there, and contracts are awarded on the most advantageous tender. Exclusion grounds and transparency notices also changed. Check the tender pack for which regime applies, as contracts started under the old rules continue under them.

No. Run a bid or no-bid decision before you start: the fit with your services, your chance against the incumbent, the effort the response needs, the deadline, and the contract's value and margin. A response written in a hurry for a contract you are unlikely to win takes time away from the bids you can win.