Guide · Donor Watch
Build a bid/no-bid decision from evidence rather than optimism
Many losing bids were never winnable. A bid/no-bid decision built on evidence, with hard eligibility checked first, saves weeks of wasted effort.
The short answer
Check hard eligibility first: legal eligibility, minimum turnover and experience, mandatory certifications, the deadline and conflicts of interest. Any “no” ends the discussion, whatever else looks attractive. Then score weighted criteria on evidence, not hope, and find the evidence for your weakest criteria before committing.
Why optimism wins the meeting
Bid decisions are often made by the people who most want to bid. Without a structure, a strong relationship or an exciting brief outweighs a missing certification or an impossible deadline.
Hard eligibility first
These are yes-or-no tests. Legal eligibility, thresholds, mandatory certifications, a compliant response by the deadline, and no conflict of interest. A single “no” is a no-bid; a “not sure” means getting written confirmation before deciding.
Then the weighted criteria
Strategic fit, client knowledge, competitive position, capability, team availability, past-performance evidence, price and contract risk. Score each on evidence you could show the buyer.
A worked example
In the bid/no-bid decision matrix, an evaluation tender scores 64 out of 100, a HOLD. One eligibility point, a mandatory certification, is uncertain. The weakest criteria point straight to the evidence to find: a list of likely bidders and your edge over each, someone who has worked with the client, and confirmed availability for every key expert.
What this guide does not cover
Scores are judgements. Their value is in making the discussion explicit, not in the number.
Responsible for this guide
Examples in this guide are illustrative, not client results. Figures come from the free tool’s worked example; change the inputs in the tool to see your own.
Related services
The same method, delivered with you: scoped in writing, with a named principal and a fee agreed before any work begins.
Funding and tender alerts
We screen your organisation against a defined set of current funding calls and tenders, and give you a clear verdict on each: bid, partner or pass, with the reason and the next action.
See the serviceServiceTender, RFP and bid writing
We start by reviewing one live tender’s compliance requirements, and price the full response only after the evidence and scope checks, so you never pay for a bid you cannot win on eligibility.
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