Thinking Different

Where the bid structure is not specified by the client, you may see this as an opportunity to organize the material in a framework that makes a distinctive point about your approach to the contract. Whatever structure you devise, it must not detract from the functionality of the document or from the client's perception of you as the contractor best suited to undertake the assignment.

An unconventional and imaginative structure can work to your advantage, provided that:

• it is a structure that the client will not regard as incompatible with an effective professional response;

• the content of the bid has genuine technical strength: in other words, the structure must not look like an attempt to hide a lack of substance;

• it does not suggest elements of risk to the client;

• the information that the client needs for the purpose of evaluation remains directly accessible. Never lose sight of this point. The easier you make it for clients to access key information, the more you are likely to gain from the bid.

If you choose a structure of your own, include a page explaining how the bid is organized, ie what each part does and how its material links into the following section. Signposting in this way is helpful to the people using the bid, provides an opportunity to demonstrate its logic and thrust and can act as an essential route map through the document.