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Your Guide to Selling to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
About the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) aims to make Britain the “most creative and exciting place to live, visit and do business” in the world. The DCMS protects and promotes the UK’s cultural and artistic heritage. DCMS is a ministerial department supported by 44 agencies and public bodies including:
Arts Council England
VisitBritain
BBC
Channel 4
Ofcom
UK Sport
British Film Institute
Royal Parks
National Lottery Commission
British Museum
Natural History Museum
Read more
Introduction to Selling to DCMS
Procurement at the Department for Culture, Media & Sport covers the purchase of goods, services and works for its central support services. Many of the agencies which support the Department manage their own procurement, making finding opportunities a challenge. However, the effort is worth it as DCMS offers business opportunities for organisations of all sizes with contracts of various values across a diverse range of industry sectors.
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Approach to Procurement
DCMS follows the UK Government’s procurement policy to get maximum value for the taxpayer. It complies with EU and UK legislation that governs how to buy from suppliers.
The benefits of government procurement policy to you as a supplier include: You will receive honest, unbiased treatment with full transparency
DCMS will honour terms of contract in a reasonable manner, whilst also remaining open to negotiation.
DCMS manages contracts as if in partnership with supplier.
Payments are made promptly in accordance with the terms of contract.
DCMS looks to build relationships with suppliers based upon high standards of conduct. This is to ensure ethical and fair processes are maintained.
Small firms are also actively encouraged to enter the procurement process with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport as part of the Government’s policy to ensure small and medium enterprises are not shut out.
A commitment to sustainable procurement has been adopted by the Department to help achieve overall green policy objectives. Therefore environmental factors are included in DCMS’s purchasing decisions.
Finding Opportunities
DCMS and its agencies advertise their new contracting opportunities in accordance to procurement legislation.
The Department will advertise via the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) any contracts above these value thresholds from 1 January 2014: • £111,676 (€134,000) for Supplies • £111,676 (€134,000) for Services • £4,322,012 (€5,186,000) for Works
DCMS will also advertise contract opportunities on its Procurement Portal, on Contracts Finder and in specialist publications, trade, national and local press.
Member agencies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland advertise their contract opportunities on their respective national websites.
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Preparing to bid for public sector contracts
A crucial factor in bidding successfully for any public sector contract is the preparation you put into your tender proposal.
Remember these top tips:
Read and understand the Invitation To Tender (ITT) – it sets out exactly what you are being asked for.
Ask yourself if you can actually complete the contract.
Follow instructions for responding carefully.
Answer the question. Your answers should be as complete, yet concise as possible. Try getting someone not involved in the process to read your response before you submit it.
Be honest and upfront with your answers – explain and support your answers too.
Make sure you meet the deadline.
How DCMS evaluates tenders
The ITT documentation will inform you of the criteria for evaluating your submitted tender. The awarding body cannot deviate from these criteria once they are issued, meaning all bids are assessed equally.
The DCMS has stated that: “If you are tendering for a contract with DCMS, your bid will be successful if it is the one that offers the Department the best value for money.”
When bids are evaluated, best value for money is not the same as the cheapest bid.
As part of the evaluation process, you may be invited to an interview to discuss your bid in more detail.
The Department aims to award contracts as soon as possible following evaluation.
Unsuccessful Tender Bids
Debriefing is always offered by DCMS to unsuccessful bidders either by phone or face to face. Debriefing is a two-way process, intended to provide reasons why a bid failed and constructive feedback that can be used to help the bidder become successful in the future.
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Contacting DCMS
Contact details are given on advertised contract notices and tender documents. It is best to contact the procurement teams directly in the first instance.
For general procurement enquiries, contact: Procurement Team Department for Culture Media and Sport 2-4 Cockspur Street London SW1Y 5DH
Head of Procurement, Paul Howard Email: [email protected] Telephone: 020 7211 2175
Procurement Manager, Noel Miller Email: [email protected] Telephone: 020 7211 2088
About This Guide
This guide to selling to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is brought to you by Tracker Intelligence, provider of the only business intelligence solution dedicated to helping customers grow their businesses with access to tender opportunities and leads, cutting-edge market intelligence and insightful competitor analysis.
For more information about Tracker or selling to the public sector, visit www.trackerintelligence.com
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