Tenders and grants offer Aussie businesses fantastic funding opportunities.
In 2018–19, the Australian Government awarded 78,150 tender contracts worth over $64 billion.
And according to an Our Community Innovation Lab report, 20% of state and federal government spending was is in the form of grants, totalling $80 billion each year.
But while there is plenty of opportunity out there, grant and tender applications can be complex and time-consuming.
In this blog, we present a checklist to help you apply for grants and tenders with confidence.
Use this checklist before, during or after preparing your application to help you put your best foot forward.
Purpose
It takes time and effort to apply for grants and tenders. This is why it’s so important that you meet eligibility criteria before applying. Otherwise, you waste your time, leaving other businesses that better match the criteria to win the bid.
Similarly, your best bet is to apply for opportunities that match your strategic business goals. Only when your purpose matches the opportunity will you be able to present a winning offer.
Time
Make sure you have enough time to complete the application to a high standard and before the deadline. You need to factor in time to review the application and the resources available.
Be sure to account for proofreading, designing and even printing.
Selection criteria
Go through the selection criteria and make sure you can competently address each one.
Pay attention to which criteria hold the most weight and invest more time and effort in addressing these.
Evidence
Rather than simply stating that you can deliver a product or service, show you can using prior examples.
Here are two types of evidence you can give:
- Qualitative: describe the statistics or data that you’ve used to show and measure outcomes
- Quantitative: use case studies to describe how you achieved a positive outcome for stakeholders
Resourcing
It’s important to show how you will resource the project. If you already have the staff in your business, that’s great. If you don’t, show how you will contract the relevant labour.
Show you have the resources with the following items:
- Team chart: Use a chart to show the structure of your organisation. State each team member’s role, making sure they’re relevant to the project
- Biographies: Showcase your team’s skills and experience with bios for each person
Plan
Show how your organisation will meet the needs of the tender or grant with a clear plan. Your plan should go through the project objectives and show how you can tackle each item.
Present your plan as a chart, and be sure to include milestones, tasks and dates where needed.
Measuring and reporting
Grants and tenders normally come with a series of key performance indicators (KPIs). But if they don’t, go through the application and nut out what they would be.
In your application, detail your framework for measuring and reporting. This will cover the project criteria and important dates. It should also show regular progress reporting and how you will present invoices or acquittal reports on time.
Review
Go over your submission and make sure it’s complete and presentable. Your language should be specific and concise. A tidy and grammatically correct application will show that you take pride in your work.
Review your:
- Cover letter
- Executive summary
- Attachments
- Financials
- Referees
- Branding and design
- Language
- Grammar
In closing…
Grants and tenders offer Aussie businesses a great opportunity, especially in a post-COVID world.
But your tender and grant applications need to be high quality, otherwise you risk wasting precious time and resources.
Use the above checklist while preparing your application and improve your chances of making the winning bid.