Grants and tenders: what’s the difference?
By Roshan Sahuakar, Tender Specialist (Sydney)
Purpose Plus and Tender Plus both assist clients in creating winning submissions. Purpose Plus is focused on winning grants for our purpose-led and not-for-profit clients to support communities and causes, while Tender Plus provides tender consulting services to companies looking to win contracts and keep them doing the amazing work they do.
Grants and tenders have a lot in common. And something we are often asked is: what’s the difference?
Grants v Tenders, what’s the same?
In comparing grants and tenders, it’s helpful to look at not only their differences but also their similarities.
First, grants and tenders both involve a formal application process to undertake a project. In the case of a grant, the applicant presents both a problem and a solution. They see a need—usually in the community or for a specific end user—and know how to address it. The grant application therefore outlines their capability and experience to solve the problem and offers a detailed project budget. A tender process has a much larger budget and a client with a clearly defined “problem”, for example, they are looking for a company to build a hospital, a commercial building or a new rail line.
Tender evaluators and grant assessors alike will want to see evidence that your organisation is qualified to deliver the project you are proposing and that you have costed the project appropriately. Whether you’re applying for a tender or a grant, your pricing proposal should be detailed. Get specific. If you can accurately account for every dollar, it is more likely to give confidence in your ability to spend the money wisely to ensure an optimal result. Creating a winning tender or grant application not only requires you to be able to deliver the project itself, it also involves having the skills to accurately quantify how much your project will cost.
Grants v Tenders: side by side comparison
While the basic premise of grants and tenders are the same, there are still many differences as shown in the table below.
Purpose Plus and Tender Plus: how we can help
Not-for-profit organisations rely on grants to fund the purposeful work they do. They will often apply for several grants a year and have the best chance of success if they have a clear strategy, a well-developed solution and the discretion to choose a grant that aligns with their cause. The challenge for not-for-profit organisations is that their personnel are already stretched to their limits on existing projects that support their purpose, and very often don’t have the time or energy to prepare a winning application to fund a future project. (Not-for-profits: we see you. If this is your situation, Purpose Plus can help.)
For a successful grant application, it’s important to consider the outcome you’re hoping to achieve and how you will measure your project’s success. If you win the grant you will need to justify how you’re spending it. You will impress the grant assessors if you can demonstrate that your project is achievable and that its success is measurable.
A tender response is usually more complex and detailed than a grant application, often involving weeks or months of intense strategising and planning of a technical solution, and parallel drafting of a tender proposal, supported by detailed resourcing and costings. Many companies employ professional bid managers – and/or engage tender specialists like the amazing team from Tender Plus – whose full-time job is to manage these messy, complex processes to maximise commercial opportunities.
In preparing a tender, don’t underestimate the importance of a solid strategy. Your proposal should consider the client’s needs and provide enough detail to assure them that your company has the capability, technical capacity and financial means to successfully deliver the project within the required timeframes and budget.
Businesses large and small rely on tenders to win work. The more tenders they win, the more future work they’ll have to sustain their business, maintain their reputation and, usually, help them win more tenders. And, just like their counterparts over at the not-for-profits, it’s the work required on live projects that gets in the way of tender writing. Again, this is where Tender Plus comes in: we support businesses in preparing tenders and help them win work.
Ever wonder how our grant writers and tender specialists can help? Our clients were just like you. We offer grant and tender writing support in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.