If it is decided that all or some of the audit should be contracted out, what should the partnership do next?

• Utilise existing expertise in contracting within the local authority. A Contracting Officer or Procurement Officer will be able to advise and assist the partnership in drawing up and managing contracts.

• Consider putting work out to competitive tender rather than commissioning a known individual or organisation to undertake this work. With a number of bids to choose from, the partnership will be more likely to gain a competitively priced audit that meets their requirements.

• Draw up a ‘Specification of Requirements’. This should focus on what the partnership wants to be achieved rather than the methods to be used. Typically, a ‘Specification of Requirements’ should include details of:

  • the purpose of the project; its aims and objectives

  • issues and scope; required outputs

  • a section on programme management asking the potential contractor to demonstrate how they would meet the requirements of the project

  • details of how performance and quality will be measured

  • skills and knowledge which the project team will need

  • duration of the project – the completion date

  • the evaluation criteria that will be used to determine which bid to accept; a background note (including information that would not otherwise be available to potential contractors).

• When detailing outputs in the ‘Specification of Requirements’, partnerships should include any presentations and the dissemination of findings following the publication of the audit (if applicable), as well as the actual audit document.

• Once a ‘Specification of Requirements’ has been drawn up, partnerships wishing to go through a competitive tendering process need to issue an ‘Invitation to Tender’. In addition to the ‘Specification of Requirements’, this should include a price schedule indicating how much the partnership will pay for work on the audit; in total, per task, on an hourly or daily basis (with set limits).

• As well as circulating the Invitation to Tender to known individuals and organisations, consider advertising this more widely, to achieve a greater field of interest.

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