How to win government contracts as a small business

This workshop is for those who have limited previous experience of bid writing/ public procurement/ government contracts and need to gain skills and knowledge of the public procurement process to win government contracts.

We also look at how to make your applications more successful and give tips to those who have written unsuccessful application or who find writing funding applications challenging The workshop identifies the essential elements and skills that are necessary to construct and write competitive bids and tenders.

This workshop will cover:

• Sources of Funding - being fit for funding and how to find the funders
• Portals, Access and the required information to be presented
• Understanding the ‘language’ of bidding
• The do’s and don’ts for applicants! Focusing on key terms and documents
• Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) – A questionnaire used by public sector organisations to check the suitability of suppliers and shortlist the ones to be invited to tender.
• RFI (Request for Information) – An alternative term for PQQ.
• Specification – A description of the essential technical requirements for goods or services to be delivered under a contract, including the method for checking that the requirements have been met.
• SQ (selection questionnaire) – Essentially a set of standardised questions to fairly and transparently assess if the supplier meets minimum standards
• Key bid features – including; social value, outputs, activities, results
• Using AI to complete funding applications
• Bid analysis
• Bid writing
  

Learning Objectives

Delegates will be able to:

• Focus on key responses required by funders
• Translate the language of funding into accessible bid responses
• Analyse why your bid fails
• Recognise the difference between active and passive responses
• Recognise the difference between strong and less effective applications
• Systems Design and responses to scoring regimes
• The next steps
  

PLEASE NOTE: This event is being photographed and recorded

Photographers and videographers will be capturing this event, and the event may be streamed live on Facebook and later made available on YouTube for playback. You may appear in event photos or video used for future marketing and promotional purposes.

If you would prefer to stay out of the spotlight or have any concerns, just let us know prior to the event or upon arrival.

Joining the FREE West Kent Business Support Programme

This event is delivered by the West Kent Business Support Programme, which supports businesses in West Kent to flourish. By joining the West Kent Business Support Programme, businesses can access practical workshops, webinars, networking events, mentoring 121s, business grants, and have the opportunity to exhibit at the West Kent Expo 2026. All businesses/aspiring entrepreneurs who have signed up to this workshop should complete this registration form if they haven't done so already, to join the programme.

About the speaker - Gary Parker - BA (Hons), MIOF, MIED

Gary is a London based consultant with 20 years’ experience. He has been involved in the running and management of a range of businesses, including companies involved in training, event management, consultancy, nutrition and wellbeing, retail, education and business support sectors.

Gary has developed and delivered fundraising and grant writing training for many businesses and social enterprises. He regularly writes funding proposals for businesses, local authorities, social enterprises, universities and colleges.

Currently Managing Director of CNT Associates, a fundraising and consultancy organisation. He is a member of the Institute of Fundraising and previously a visiting lecturer / research associate at the University of Central Lancashire.