Scope of services

• Are the technical requirements of the work clearly defined?

• Is the contract part of a continuing programme of work or a one-off initiative?

• Will there be an even and continuous flow of work throughout the contract or will the work be subject to intervals and interruptions?

• What data have been supplied with the bid specification, and why?

• What level of professional effort will be needed to undertake the contract? Is most of the work routine or are there particularly demanding requirements?

• Are there tasks and activities that will clearly have a decisive influence on the outcome of the work and deserve a high priority of effort, but are given only a passing mention in the bid specification?

• Does the specification refer to mandatory procedures, methods or standards with which contractors must comply?

• If the client intends several contractors to have a role in the work, do there appear to be overlaps or gaps in their responsibilities?

An exhaustively detailed specification may be the mark of a practical, carefully thought-out approach and a consistent sense of professional direction; or it may reveal a rigid attitude to the contract, restricting your freedom of choice as a contractor and perhaps indicating that the client has a certain bidder in mind for the work. Particular constraints may lead the client to specify features of the brief in detail - for example statutory requirements or timetables imposed externally, health and safety factors or audit trail procedures on which the client has little or no room for negotiation.

At the other extreme you may receive just the barest outline of the services you are expected to provide. A key indicator of the adequacy of a specification is the clarity with which it defines the questions to be answered and the outputs to be produced. Clients should be able to say where they want the contract to lead, even if they are not certain how to get there.

Specifications and terms of reference prepared by international financing institutions and development agencies may include a logical framework or 'logframe' - a hierarchical matrix that sets out the logic on which the project is based. This will state the purpose of the assignment, indicate immediate and longer-term objectives and identify the required inputs and outputs, as well as quantifiable indicators of success. Where a logframe is provided, take account of its structure and content in shaping the text of the bid.