Initiating step of a competitive tendering process in which qualified suppliers or contractors are invited to submit sealed bids for

construction or for supply of specific and clearly defined goods or services during a specified timeframe. Also called request for tenders.

a formal invitation to a small number of suppliers to make a detailed proposal for completing a particular p iece of work

This document is a template. The provisions will not be appropriate for all procurements and will need to be tailored. Professional advice should be sought before making use of the document in any specific circumstances.

The ITT is an invitation sent to a shortlist of bidders (selected via the PQQ) to make a formal and detailed offer to supply the services or goods required.

It is important that the ITT contains all the information and detail needed to enable a bidder to compile a fully formed tender for the requirement. The following highlights a few key parts of the document: the key dates section it is important that the contracting authority designs a proper and robust procurement process timetable which properly factors in the time needed for clarifications and evaluation. Whilst the contracting authority has the right to amend the timetable, doing so increases the legal risk that a bidder may feel it has been in some way disadvantaged by the change; the evaluation criteria appendix there have been a number of recent cases where bidders have successfully taken action against contracting authorities due to inadequate upfront disclosure of the criteria used to evaluate bids and their relative weightings. The best approach is therefore to devise the award criteria, sub-criteria, weightings and scoring methodology upfront and disclose them in full in the ITT; the conditions of contract appendix - full terms and conditions for the proposed contract will need to be included in the ITT. These cannot be negotiated following receipt of bids; and the statement of requirements appendix time spent getting this right will be well rewarded as it will ensure that the bids received are appropriate to the requirement. Requirements around how the supplier should provide details of their pricing (and potentially a pricing template) should be included.

This ITT is appropriate for use in the restricted procedure in which no dialogue/negotiation at ITT stage is permitted. If the competitive dialogue or negotiated procedures are being used, this template will need substantial tailoring, particularly to factor in details of the dialogue/negotiation stages in the timetable and process description.

The ITT document will require tailoring to suit the specific circumstances of a procurement. In particular, amendment may be required to address the following:

where it is likely that bidders will submit offers as part of a consortium, the contracting authority may want to include more detailed questions about the nature of any consortium; where an electronic tendering system is being used, the contracting authority will need to provide details of how this system operates, and how responses should be submitted using the electronic system; and use of lots to separate out the requirement into separate categories

What is a technical bid?

A technical bid is where the technical goods availability is given the priority and then followed by the price bidding process. Here, the suppliers with the most goods availability is considered by the buyer for the further bidding.

Definition of 'Tender'
To invite bids for a project, or to accept a formal offer such as a takeover bid. Tender usually refers to the process whereby governments and financial institutions invite bids for large projects that must be submitted within a finite deadline. The term also refers to the process whereby shareholders submit their shares or securities to a takeover offer.

Investopedia explains 'Tender'

For projects or procurement, most institutions have a well-defined tender process, as well as processes to govern the opening, evaluation and final selection of the vendors. This ensures that the selection process is fair and transparent. In the case of a takeover, most offers stipulate that a certain percentage of shares must be tendered by the deadline in order for the deal to proceed. Disgruntled shareholders who believe the takeover offer is too low often refuse to tender their shares; they may also try to marshal support from other shareholders against the takeover in a bid, to block the deal.

Definition of 'Linear Relationship'

A statistical term used to describe the relationship between a variable and a constant. Linear relationships can be expressed in a graphical format where the variable and the constant are connected via a straight line or in a mathematical format where the independent variable is multiplied by the slope coefficient, added by a constant, which determines the dependent variable.

Investopedia explains 'Linear Relationship'

For example, assume that the independent variable is the size of a house (as measured by square footage), determines the market price of a home (the dependent variable), when it is multiplied by the slope coefficient of 207.65 and is then added to the constant term $10,500. If a home's square footage is 1,250 then the market value the home is $270,062.50. Graphically, and mathematically:
Exponential relationship is the function a is a constant that is predetermined by another function b is a constant that is also predetermined by another function x is your variable Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS): Indicates the cost of work that should have been completed as of the date of review as per the original schedule planned and original budget, i.e. the budgeted (estimated) cost for the work scheduled to be performed until the status date. Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP): Indicates the budgeted cost of work that has actually been completed as of the date of review as per the original schedule planned and original budget, i.e. the budgeted (estimated) cost for the actual work performed until the status date. Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP): Indicates the actual cost of work that has been completed as of the date of review (incurred costs and not budgeted costs), i.e. the actual (incurred) cost of the work performed until the status date.

What Is It?
Earned Value Analysis is a project management concept that is used to evaluate the progress of an ongoing project. It combines measurements of cost and time and provides an integrated analysis that results in a very effective tool for project monitoring. Earned Value Analysis compares the ongoing project's progress against the estimates prepared at the start of the project. It calculates three primary indicators: Schedule Variance Time Variance Cost Variance

Terminology Used in Earned Value Analysis

Earned value analysis is always performed on a specific date and denotes the progress of the project as on that date of review (status date). Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS): Indicates the cost of work that should have been completed as of the date of review as per the original schedule planned and original budget, i.e. the budgeted (estimated) cost for the work scheduled to be performed until the status date. Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP): Indicates the budgeted cost of work that has actually been completed as of the date of review as per the original schedule planned and original budget, i.e. the budgeted (estimated) cost for the actual work performed until the status date.

Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP): Indicates the actual cost of work that has been completed as of the date of review (incurred costs and not budgeted costs), i.e. the actual (incurred) cost of the work performed until the status date. For tasks that have been completed, BCWP and BCWS will be equal. BCWP is a measure of "Earned Value" of a project. Earned Value Analysis can be used to control the cash flow in a project.

Calculating the Variances in Earned Value Analysis

BCWS, BCWP and ACWP are used to calculate the schedule, cost and time variances (see the example) as indicated below. Schedule Variance (SV) = BCWS - BCWP Cost Variance (CV) = BCWP - ACWP Time Variance (TV) = The time required for the project to come back on schedule.

Evaluating the Results of Earned Value Analysis

The above method can be used to calculate the variances (TV, SV, CV) as indicated. Performance Indexes can also be calculated as given below. Cost Performance Index (CPI) = BCWP / ACWP If it is greater than 1, it indicates the project is progressing under-budget and vice versa. If it is greater than 1, it indicates the project is progressing ahead of schedule and vice versa. Schedule Performance Index (SPI) = BCWP / BCWS By calculating the 3 variances, CPI and SPI, Earned Value Analysis can be used in Project Monitoring & Control. A graphical depiction of Earned Value Analysis is shown below.

Structural Analysis
Structuralism, from which Structural Analysis derives, is the methodological principle that human culture is made up of systems in which a change in any element produces changes in the others. Four basic types of theoretical or critical activities have been regarded as structuralist: the use of language as a structural model, the search for universal functions or actions in texts, the explanation of how meaning is possible, and the post-structuralist denial of objective meaning. In the field of literature, in which Structuralism and Post-Structuralism have gained particular importance, Structuralism seeks to explain the structures underlying literary texts either in terms of a grammar modeled on that of language or in terms of Ferdinand de Saussure's principle that the meaning of each word depends on its place in the total system of language. Though limited to literature, this definition from the Dictionary of Concepts in Literary Criticism and Theory provides an understanding of what Structuralism or

Structural Analysis is about. The French theorist Roland Barthes expands this definition by characterizing Structuralism in terms of its reconstitutive activity: "The goal of all structuralist activity, whether reflexive or poetic, is to reconstruct an 'object,' in such a way as to manifest thereby the rules of functioning (the 'functions') of this object. The structure is therefore actually a simulacrum of the object, but it is a directed, interested simulacrum, since the imitated object makes something appear which remained invisible or, if one prefers, unintelligible in the natural object" (Barthes, 1963). For Jean-Marie Benoist, "An analysis is structural if, and only if, it displays the content as a model, i.e., if it can isolate a formal set of elements and relations in terms of which it is possible to argue without entering upon the significance of the given content" (Benoist, 8). In other words, Structuralism is not concerned with the content of a text or any other kind of system; rather, it analyzes and explores the structures underlying the text or system, which make the content possible. One of the leading principles of Structuralism is that the form defines the content ("form is content"). That is, that the underlying structure of a text or system, which presents and organizes the content, determines the nature of that content as well as its message or communicated information. Thus Structuralism analyzes how meaning is possible and how it is transmitted - regardless of the actual meaning. According to Claude Lvy-Strauss, as well as other Structuralist thinkers in linguistics, anthropology, psychology, and biology (as well as other disciplines), the human mind structured to operate in certain ways and which determines the way we think and operate, regardless of the discipline we are working, the culture we are living in, or the language that we speak. The view that there is in man an innate, genetically, transmitted and determined mechanism that acts as a structuring force is one underlying premises of Structuralism and, though this view is far from reaching consensus among Structuralist thinkers, it has lead to the belief that there are permanent structures in our minds that determine who we are and what we can be. In this sense, this view of Structuralism is simply based on the application of structuralist principles to the human mind. Whether these principles can be applied only to texts, science, research methods, systems, etc., or be expanded to the human mind remains to be seen. However, this debate illustrates the basic premises of Structuralism and their universal application. Like Discourse or Critical Analysis, Structural Analysis (which can be considered part of Discourse Analysis) may be applied to any discipline. What differs Structuralism

from Discourse Analysis is its scientific claim or, rather, it's focus on underlying structures instead of content. Through this focus, Structuralism claims to preserve a certain level of objectivity in its analysis. Structuralism has turned into PostStructuralism and many of the thinkers who were previously considered Structuralists are now labeled Post-Structuralists. This is the case of Michel Foucault, Derrida, Barthes, and Lacan, as well as of others. Again, this illustrates the close kinship between Structuralism and Discourse Analysis and that theories and philosophies are not easily classified and distinguished from each other. Suffice it to note here, that Discourse Analysis is a broader concept than Structuralism and that current theories of Discourse Analysis rely upon the premises established by Structuralism. It should also be noted that Structural Analysis plays an important role in the fields of Engineering and Chemistry and other "hard" sciences. While the principles are basically the same, structural analysis in these fields is probably not surrounded by the same controversy and the term "Structuralism" probably does not apply in the same manner as in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

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Advantages and Disadvantages Structural Analysis can be used to study any kind of system, text, or material. It applies equally to the Humanities and Social Sciences as well as to the "hard" Sciences, though with different connotations. The methods of Structural Analysis might be different in each discipline. For example, Structural Analysis in Linguistics or Psychology might differ from Structural Analysis in Literature or the study of information retrieval and organization. The basic premises, however, are the same. As with all other methods of research the validity of the conclusions obtained through structural analysis depend on the quality and rigor of the study. In the Social Sciences, the validity of Structural Analysis may rest on quantifiable and verifiable research; though this may also be the case in the Humanities, the construction of the argument might have more importance. The major advantage of Structural Analysis is that it enables an awareness to underlying structures and reveals their limiting and conditioning nature. However, it does not enable analysis of the content. Another disadvantage is that the search for ultimate and final structures (especially in Psychology and Anthropology) may stifle innovation and enhancement (not to mention its limiting character with regard to human psychology and interaction).