Imagine you had commissioned builders to build your house extension; would you just leave them to it? More likely you would want to check how things are going, maybe even adjust things a little as you go along.
You need to keep tabs on the research project, so you know it’s going along the right lines, keeping to time and budget, and to respond to queries and problems as they arise.

You may be able to share this overseeing responsibility with someone else in your organisation, or on your project board. Here are five things that need to be done.

1.    Be available

Particularly at the start, your researchers will need access to you or someone in your organisation, to provide background information, and essentials like client lists, details of programmes you run, provide feedback on their draft questionnaire, etc.

Later your involvement is likely to diminish, though there should always be someone available to respond.

2.    Make your contributions

However much you want the researchers to take the work off your hands, there are bound to be tasks which have to be done by someone in your organisation. If the researchers are to keep to their timescale, they depend on you to provided lists, and give feedback on their plans and drafts quickly. Delays at your end will introduce delays in their work.

3.    Formal review

Unless you have commissioned a very small piece of research, you have probably built in some formal checkpoints. These are likely to be milestone events such as completion of a stakeholder workshop, or completion of key chunks of work such as gathering data.

You may have scheduled meetings to review progress, perhaps requesting a verbal or written progress report.

These milestones are often tied into payment schedules, making them straightforward to monitor on both sides.

4.    Informal contact

If you set up a good relationship with your researchers, they will feel encouraged to keep in touch with you. This is time well spent, since it means that if things do go off-course you’ll hear sooner rather than later.

If you are unavailable for more than a few days it’s a good idea to give your researchers another contact.

5.    Troubleshoot

If you or the researchers feel there’s a challenge to be tacked with the research that is beyond their remit, you will need to make time to have an input, and perhaps make a decision.

The bottom line: Being available, ensuring your organisation makes its contribution, keeping formal and informal checks on progress, and troubleshooting will ensure your research runs smoothly, and that you don’t get any nasty surprises at the end.

You have six tenders sitting in front of you

This task reminds me of going to buy a pair of jeans for my teenage daughter. First I need to be very clear of her size and current fashion preferences, then there’s a fair chance I’ll get a pair she likes!

Here are my four tips for checking out tenders

1.    Be open to different approaches

If you already have a picture of the way you feel the research should go, put it aside while you check out the approaches your respondents have come up with.

It’s quite possible there’s another approach you hadn’t thought of, which would save time or money, or produce results that you hadn’t thought it would be possible to get.

For example, a respondent suggests piggybacking a workshop onto the project’s Board meeting, giving an ideal opportunity to invite the other key stakeholders, and hold a mind workshop to explore their views.

2.    Set up a logical selection system

Hopefully, you gave respondents the criteria you would use to assess proposals. Just like interviewing candidates for a job, it’s good to use a points system, so your subjective impressions don’t take over.

For example you might choose to allocate points as follows for each of the following criteria,

30%    Appropriate method
40%    Relevant experience
20%    Cost
10%    Available start date

If several people are reviewing tenders, each one applies the criteria, so you have an objective assessment from each person.

3.    Interview, if necessary

You may want to leave the decision whether or not to interview until the written proposals have been assessed (though it’s prudent to have given respondents the date to pencil in their diaries in case).

If there is a clear front runner it may not be necessary to interview.

If you do decide to interview, you may want to use the same criteria again, with the ability to change scores given as you question respondents.

You may also want to add in one or two further criteria, such as:

• assessment of relevant interpersonal skills (eg listening, questioning, engaging)
• expansion of relevant experience given in the written tender
• flexibility to accommodate different viewpoints

4.    Inform everyone of the outcome

Aim to contract with your preferred respondent quickly, so you can then let the other respondents know they were unsuccessful

It’s good practice to give unsuccessful candidates feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of their tender. This provides some recompense for the time they invested preparing their tenders.

The bottom line: You can increase the chances of selecting the most appropriate tender by: being open to new approaches, having a logical assessment system, and interviewing if necessary.

Summarising what your project is about, and asking questions of potential evaluators can feel daunting.

This checklist will help you benefit from the experience of others, put your invitation to tender together quickly, and receive robust tenders.

Check out your organisation’s procedures

If your organisation has a Procurement Officer, or uses online tendering, check this out first. There will probably be a set of procedures you need to follow, and perhaps a template, to make it easy for you.

And it’s still a good idea to check the rest of this list, since it’s possible I’ve included some ‘extras’ you’ll find helpful.

Put yourself in your reader’s shoes

You need to assume the people who will read your invitation know nothing about your project. This probably means spelling out things that are obvious to you, but very necessary for your readers. The better your invitation, the fewer people you’ll have ringing you up or emailing you questions!

Give the background

A concise background helps readers know how your project developed, how it fits into the bigger picture, and why the proposed research has come about.

It’s a good idea to include links to relevant websites and reports.

State the aims and objectives of the research

Include a clear statement of the general aim(s) of the research, and more specific objectives. Be as specific as you can.

For a complex project refining the aims and objectives sometimes forms part of the research.

Include any guidance on methods

If you have already worked out methods for the research include them as suggestions, and allow respondents to offer alternatives. There’s always a chance they may have an even better idea!

Don’t worry if you don’t have ideas –your respondents will certainly make suggestions based on their experience.

Ask for relevant skills and experience

You will feel more confident if you appoint a person, or team of researchers, with expertise of similar research, preferably in your sector.

Include your timescale

Check on the events which will determine the completion date for the research. These might include: a funding deadline, a Board meeting, the start of a new term, a workshop where recommendations can be debated, etc.

You also need to be realistic, for example: it takes time to pilot and conduct a survey, or to get people together for a workshop, etc.

Include dates for the milestones you expect the researchers to achieve along the way. For example: methodology piloted, interim report submitted, etc.

Include your budget

It’s best to give an idea of your budget limit, so the tenders you get all lie within it. Otherwise you may get wildly disparate estimates for the research.

Give a realistic timescale for responses

Allow at least three weeks for responses, or you may miss out on replies from good consultants who are away, or busy.

Explain how you will assess tenders

Common criteria include:
o    Familiarity with your sector/subject area
o    appropriateness of methodology
o    expertise of tender team
o    budget
o    risk assessment

If you propose to hold interviews for a shortlist of respondents, include the date with your invitation, so respondents can keep it free.

Be available for discussion

Unless your organisation precludes this, make yourself available to discuss the research with respondents. This gives them the opportunity to provide you with a fully developed tender, and avoid misunderstandings which can occur where dialogue is not allowed.

Get someone to read your tender over

This could be a co-worker or someone from your Board or Committee.

The bottom line: Following the above twelve points will help you to attract tenders containing the information that you need to move ahead with confidence to commission your research.

You know your research will be sound, however you’re feeling a bit unsure that your recommendations will be acted on.

It’s easy to get so involved in the ins and outs of researching your project, that you lose sight of the bigger picture. In the current climate of partnership working, and projects funded from multiple sources, you’re likely to have a range of stakeholders with an interest in your project. If you want your stakeholders to act on your recommendations; you’ll need to involve them at various stages of the research process.

5 ways to involve stakeholders

1.    Establish each stakeholder’s agenda

Start by making a list of all your stakeholders. Consider people or organisations who: have a management/supervisory role, are actively involved in your project, fund your project, make in-kind contributions, benefit from your project activities, set policy which affects your project.

Your key stakeholders are likely to sit on your Board or Committee. Are there more?
For each stakeholder, check out what they want to achieve through your project.

2.    Invite stakeholder input for your research brief

It’s a good idea to invite key stakeholders to comment on your research brief before it starts. This may happen automatically through your Board of Committee. If not, circulate your research brief, asking for feedback. That way your stakeholders are more likely to support you.

3.    Get your stakeholders’ views on your research

Plan to consult some of your stakeholders as part of your research, to get their views on your research questions. For example, how well do they feel key project objectives have been met? How well is the project meeting their own objectives? What do they see as successes of your project? How should it be improved in future? Their responses will help you make recommendations.

4.    Test your recommendations with your stakeholders

Once you have drafted up the recommendations which follow from your research, consider testing them out with your stakeholders before finalising your report. A stakeholder workshop can be very effective because it gives the opportunity for people with different interests to discuss your suggestions, and perhaps develop them further.

5.    Circulate your recommendations in a digestible form

If your recommendations are buried in a long report, or difficult to read, you’ll jeopardise your chances. Include an Executive Summary in your report, which lists all your recommendations, and give clear links to the more detailed justification of each recommendation within your report.

The bottom line: Involving your stakeholders at various points of your research makes sure you stay on track, and increases the chances of your recommendations being acted on.