A client had approached me and asked me to design and run an awayday for them. We had met and discussed the needs, and agreed a draft design for the day, a date and so on.
Then they said that we would have to go through a tendering process. (I was slightly surprised at this, as the value of the event was not high, and I was already on an approved suppliers' register, following a previous 'framework' tender).
But what concerned me was that:
A) Either I was the only person being asked to tender, in which case it seemed entirely meaningless (particularly as one of their organisational priorities is reducing meaningless work...);
B) Or they were inviting others to tender, in which case:
- Either they had really decided to use me, but were going through the motions (wasting their own and others' time, and compromising their integrity) or
- It was a real competition, in which case I had been misled earlier, when we had agreed that I would do the work, on a specific date etc (on the basis of which I did the (admittedly small amount of) consultation and design at no cost).
Further, I was expected to sign declarations of non-collusion, non-canvassing etc, including a statement that I had not talked with anyone at the organisation about this bit of work.
That was clearly a nonsense, and I could not sign it.
The good news is that I have talked all this through with the appropriate senior managers, they agree with my analysis that the system has thrown up something which, inadvertently, goes against a number of their own principles of operation, and they are sorting it out.
But as a supplier, it can be hard to raise such issues ('I can't sign that!') if one fears one may lose a contract, or even a client. There must be a better way...
