February 1, 2010
Increasingly as competition increases so standards are pushed up. A number of purchasers have adopted the E & D standards. These are available for download in the documents section. Where does your organisation fit in the standards? Remember, if the standards are used, then they can form part of a PASS/FAIL question - fail to meet the required standard and you are out!
January 21, 2010
We believe that 2010 will turn out to be the "year of the contract" as orgaisations which were previously grant funded by the public sector come to terms with the new grants culture. Tenders frequently ask for a plan covering the period from signing the contract to the start date. We have prepared a checklist which is available in the download section and has its roots in the National Audit Office's review of tendering practice. This sets out the key areas for consideration, and offers an table for the management of the various headings.This model will form a sound basis for pre-contract planning.
January 21, 2010
Our January round of courses have now started. We are delighted that 54 people are now working towards this new professional qualification in tendering and procurement. This follows on the eleven people who successfully completed the pilot course.
We will be offering open courses starting at the beginning of April 2010. These will be delivered in two parts. Part One during the period April to July; Part two duirng the period October to December 2010.
We are receiving an increasing number of enquiries from organisations who would like groups of their own staff or their Members to obtain the TaPP qualification.These have included National companies and charities as well as a number of Federations, CVS and Voluntary Actions organising the course for their members. We are always happy to discuss options and develop bespoke models of course delivery designed to meet specific requirements
December 16, 2009
Following today's successful audit of the Project development and Support ltd OCN Centre we are delighted to be able to announce that all of the students on the TaPP Pilot who completed the course have passed. These are individuals who are involved in, or responsible for, tendering on behalf of organisations such as Leonard Cheshire, KCHT, Dimensions, Somerset Care, Creative Support, The Wilf Ward Family Trust, etc. and some whose role it is to help others to tender, such as staff from the Regional Teams of the Former Age Concern England, now Age Concern and Help the Aged.
Many congratulations to all eleven students who worked very hard to reach this standard.
June 19, 2009
The October courses are now underway. Once again we have students from a wide range of organisations and jobs from across the country.
Two courses are planned for a January 2010 start 14th January 2010 at 11 am - and thereafter every three weeks on Thursday at the same time and on 18th January 2010 at 11 am - and thereafter every three weeks on Monday at the same time
For details of the rolling programme please see the leaflet from the Document Downloads. We will post future start dates on an ongoing basis
June 30, 2009
TaPP is an investment for the Company/Organisation as a whole as well as in the student.
The TaPP course has been developed to be delivered in such a way that the company, charity or organisation employing the student also derives considerable benefit from the course. For example tasks are set which require the student to review aspects of management, which, if implemented would considerably improve competitiveness and thus success when tendering.
Students are required to undertake reviews, make recommendations, prepare draft Board papers, etc. As a direct result of staff undertaking the course in the pilot groups there are already examples of their employers:
making changes to the tendering procedures leading to improved tendering success;
having an increased understanding of the options to challenge the decisions of the purchaser and when to do this; making changes to the way presentations and interviews are conducted;
considering Board papers presented by the student making recommendations a to how the company/organisation can become more competitive;
benefitting by students from umbrella organisations and federations having the ability to undertake reviews of other organisations to help them to become more competitive.
June 24, 2009
If you are a Small Organisation with a turnover of between £150,000 and £750,000, primarily engaged in recession-related services and would like one of your staff to benefit from the TaPP Qualification then the Modernisation Fund is now open for applications for bursaries of £1,000. For further details and the link to the application form go to: http://www.modernisationfund.org.uk/grants/index.html
June 14, 2009
The OCN level 3 accredited qualification in Tendering and Procurement Practice (TaPP) is now available.
Following almost twelve months of work, and with support from the Open College Network (London Region) the OCN qualification at level 3 in Tendering and Procurement Practice (TaPP) is launched today. Project Development and Support Ltd, the specialist tendering training and support company has designed the course leading to the qualification to complement their Tendering for Care range of services for care, third and voluntary sector organisations.
Starting in February of this year the course has been piloted with a group of sixteen people from large and small charities across the UK. These have included senior staff with job titles such as Business Development Manager, and a group of three Regional Service Development Advisers from Age Concern and Help the Aged.
The TaPP course is delivered by distance learning using telephone conferencing. The pilot has used this approach successfully and has proved to be very popular with the students involved. The pilot group has included people from as wide spread locations as Scotland, Kent, Somerset, Manchester and Leeds. The format does not require the students to travel to a tgraining venue. They can participate from their office or from home. Students have found this to be an efficient use of time, and have been able to build the requirements of the training into a busy workload.
Project Development and Support Ltd is a NOCN Registered Centre number 55869 The course code is VJ2/3/LR/001
For leaflets: Giving details of the course Fees Possible grant aid to cover a significant proportion of the course fees click on the downloads button
Students from the pilot course said:
"The pilot course delivered by Tendering for Care in partnership with the OCNLR has been extremely useful in terms of cementing my 'on the job' experience of tendering and procurement practice with a theoretical knowledge base. The course is flexible and enables those in full time, busy roles to study towards the qualification in a way which works for them. The course materials are informative and diverse and the delivery of the course itself through the email and teleconferencing facility is well-organised, with the team at TFC clearly knowing their stuff! I would recommend this course to anyone who is interested in expanding their skills and knowledge in this area and would like to thank TFC for presenting me with this opportunity to continue my professional development." -- (Gemma Shepherd, Creative Support)
"The course has provided a great opportunity for some members of the Business Development Team, to build upon their professional practice in the area of Tendering and procurement and in doing so been beneficial to the wider organisation." -- Jeff Palmer (Head of Business Development, Dimensions UK).
"The course is proving to be invaluable, it has enabled me to take my extensive practical experience and provided me with a far greater underpinning knowledge. This has already helped me considerably in my work." -- Louise McInnes (Business Development Coordinator, Dimensions UK ).
"As Advisers to local Age Concerns, the course has been a huge support in learning about the tendering process and how to challenge problems organisations may face. We now feel much better equipped to advise and support local Age Concerns" -- Three Regional Service Development Advisers – Age Concern and help the Aged
© 2009, Project Development & Support Ltd.
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30 Gritstone Road, Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 3GB