APC Accelerator™ — Module 7 Supporting Materials
Procurement and Tendering
Narrative Builder · Answer Builders A & B · Question Bank
Knight Khonje FRICS | Knight Khonje APC Advisory
Module 7 Supporting Materials
Lesson 7.2 · Worksheet
Procurement Narrative Builder
Complete this worksheet before starting the answer builders. It maps your procurement experience across employers into a coherent professional story.
Part 1 — Your Procurement Experience Map
For each employer/role, note the procurement context — what types of procurement you were involved in, what your specific role was, and what professional insight that experience gave you.
01
Contractor Experience
AMEY / NEC highways renewal — or equivalent
Procurement involvement (role, project type, contract form)
What you learned about how contractors approach procurement and price risk
How this shapes your professional advice to clients today
02
Consulting Experience — Earlier Projects
Traditional procurement, JCT Standard Form, bills of quantities
Procurement involvement (role, project type, contract form)
What the professional adviser's role in procurement taught you
How your approach to advising on procurement route developed
03
Most Recent Consulting Experience
Manchester City Council lift installation — JCT ICD, two-stage procurement
Procurement involvement (role, project type, contract form)
What the regulatory/BSA complexity added to your professional judgement
What this project added to your professional development in procurement
Part 2 — Your Professional Development Arc
Complete these sentences to draft the narrative arc assessors want to hear.
My earliest procurement experience taught me…
Working as a contractor changed how I think about procurement advice because…
The most important factor I consider when advising a client on procurement route is…
My professional judgement on procurement is most clearly demonstrated by…
Reference
Procurement Route Quick Reference
A working reference for assessment preparation — not a textbook. Focus on the "When to recommend" and "Assessor probe" columns.
| Route | Best suited when | Key risk to client | Likely assessor probe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional — single stage (bills of quantities) | Design is fully developed before tender. Client requires maximum cost certainty. Time is not critical. Deep market available. | Cost and programme certainty only achievable if design is genuinely complete. Errors or omissions in BoQ become re-measurement disputes. | How did you verify the design was sufficiently developed to support a BoQ? What happened when it wasn't? |
| Two-stage competitive tender | Design is still developing. Client wants cost certainty but cannot wait for full design completion. Specialist contractor input is valuable during design. | Stage 2 pricing may diverge significantly from Stage 1 if scope is not controlled. Client may feel locked in to preferred contractor. | At what point did you advise the client they had sufficient cost certainty to proceed to contract? How did you manage Stage 2 pricing risk? |
| Design and Build | Client wants single point responsibility. Design is not yet started or is at early RIBA Stage. Speed to site is a priority. | Client loses direct control of design quality. Contractor designs to minimum specification unless Employer's Requirements are very detailed. Fitness for purpose risk unless excluded. | How did you advise the client to protect design quality through the Employer's Requirements? What did you include to manage fitness for purpose risk? |
| Management contracting / Construction management | Programme is critical and overlapping design/construction is needed. Project is large and complex with multiple specialist packages. | No cost certainty until packages are let. Client bears all package contract risk directly. Requires active client involvement. | In what circumstances would you advise a client against management procurement despite programme pressure? |
| NEC Option A (priced, activity schedule) | Scope is clearly defined. Client wants fixed price with contractor taking programme risk. Lower complexity project. | Contractor takes programme risk — compensation events can still generate significant cost and time change. | How does the activity schedule affect payment under NEC Option A compared to a BoQ under traditional procurement? |
| NEC Option C (target cost) | Scope has inherent uncertainty. Client and contractor benefit from sharing efficiency gains. Collaborative procurement ethos suits the client. | Client exposed to actual cost plus fee. Requires robust Defined Cost monitoring. Risk of Disallowed Cost disputes if records are poor. | How did you protect the client's cost exposure on a target cost contract? What records did you require the contractor to maintain? |
| Framework agreements | Client has a repeating programme of similar work. Procurement of individual projects is time/cost prohibitive. Relationship-based delivery benefits the client. | Lack of competition at project level. Framework rates may become uncompetitive over time. OJEU/Find a Tender compliance for public sector clients. | How did you ensure value for money on call-offs under the framework? How were framework rates reviewed? |
Session 1 Answer Builder — Part A
Procurement Route and Tender Strategy
Complete and upload via the Session 1 booking form. This is the document Knight reads before your session.
Part A · Session 1
Procurement Route Selection and Tender Strategy
Session 1 scope
Choose your strongest procurement example — the one where your professional advice most clearly influenced the client's route selection or tender strategy. The Manchester City Council two-stage ICD procurement is the recommended vehicle, but choose the example where your judgement is most demonstrable.
Opening Answer — READY Structure
R
Recognise the Problem
What was the client's procurement challenge? What factors made the choice of procurement route a professional judgement decision rather than a default? Name the project, contract form ultimately selected, and the key variable driving the decision.
E
Evaluate the Options
What procurement routes did you evaluate? What were the specific risks or limitations of each option in this client's context? Why was the default approach unsuitable?
Name at least two routes you considered. "We went with two-stage" without explaining what you ruled out is not a Level 3 answer.
A
Advise the Client
What was your specific recommendation to the client? What did you tell them about the trade-offs? What did you advise them to do in the tender documents or tender period to protect their position?
D
Deliver the Outcome
What was the commercial or programme outcome of your procurement advice?
Y
Your Professional Responsibility
What was the professional risk to the client if they had defaulted to a standard approach without your advice? What could they not have navigated without your expertise?
Anticipated Follow-Up Questions
Route Selection Probe
Why did you not use [the alternative route you considered]? What specifically made it unsuitable for this client?
Your answer — be specific about the client's context, not generic advantages/disadvantages of the routes…
Contractor Market Assessment
How did you assess the contractor market before advising on procurement strategy? What did the market conditions tell you?
Your answer — draw on your contractor-side experience here…
Tender Period Management
What instructions did you issue to tenderers during the tender period, and on what basis?
Your answer…
Reflection Question
Is there anything you would do differently in this procurement looking back?
Your answer — acknowledge the trade-off honestly. See Lesson 7.2 for the right approach to this question…
Session A readiness check
Can you name the specific factors that ruled out the alternative procurement routes you considered? Can you explain the tender strategy you recommended and why it suited this client's objectives? Can you draw explicitly on your contractor experience to explain how it informed your advice? If yes to all three, you are ready for Session 1.
Part B · Session 2
Tender Evaluation, Recommendation, and Award
Session 2 scope
Session 2 focuses on what happened when tenders were returned — how you evaluated them, what methodology you used, how you presented the recommendation to the client, and what happened between recommendation and contract award. This may be the same project as Session 1 or a different example if you have a stronger tender evaluation story elsewhere.
Opening Answer — READY Structure
R
Recognise the Problem
What was the evaluation challenge? Was there a significant price spread between tenderers? A quality vs. price tension? An abnormally low tender? A tenderer whose methodology raised concern? Describe the professional judgement challenge in the evaluation.
E
Evaluate the Options
How did you structure the evaluation? What weighting did you give to price versus quality and why? What did you look for beyond price in the tender returns? Where did tenderers' returns diverge from your expectations and why?
Describe your actual evaluation methodology — not a generic description of MEAT criteria. What did you specifically look for given this project's risk profile?
A
Advise the Client
What was your recommendation to the client? How did you present it — what report format, what information, what caveats did you include? If there was a price/quality tension in the recommendation, how did you advise the client to weigh it?
D
Deliver the Outcome
What was the outcome — including any post-tender negotiation or best and final offer process?
Y
Your Professional Responsibility
What was your professional duty to the client in presenting the evaluation recommendation? What would the consequence have been of a poorly structured or poorly reasoned recommendation?
Anticipated Follow-Up Questions
Abnormally Low Tender
"What is your approach when one of the tender returns is significantly lower than the others?"
Your answer — cover your obligation to investigate, how you approach the tenderer, and how you advise the client on the risk of accepting a price that may not be commercially viable for the contractor…
Public Sector Procurement
"What additional considerations apply to procurement for a public sector client like Manchester City Council?"
Your answer — cover procurement regulations (PCR 2015 / Procurement Act 2023), standstill period, record-keeping obligations, transparency requirements…
Post-Tender Negotiation
"On what basis did you negotiate with the preferred tenderer after the tender return and what safeguards did you put in place?"
Your answer — explain the distinction between legitimate post-tender clarification/negotiation and Dutch auctioning. Cover how you protected the client's position and the audit trail…
Evaluation Weighting Rationale
"Why did you weight quality at [X%] and price at [Y%] rather than a different split? What was the professional basis for that decision?"
Your answer — connect the weighting decision to the client's objectives and the project's specific risk profile. This is professional judgement, not a formula…
Session B readiness check
Can you describe your tender evaluation methodology specifically — not generically? Can you explain how you advised the client to handle any tension between the lowest price and the best overall tender? Can you describe the post-tender process and the safeguards you put in place? If yes to all three, you are ready for Session 2.
Reference · Procurement Question Bank
Assessor Question Bank — 35 Questions
Use to identify gaps before sessions. Do not prepare scripted answers for every question — focus on your three highest-risk areas.
Procurement Route Selection
1.
What factors do you consider when advising a client on the choice of procurement route?
2.
Walk me through a specific situation where you advised a client on procurement route selection. What was your recommendation and why?
3.
When would you advise a client to use a two-stage tender process rather than a single-stage approach?
4.
What are the risks to the client of committing to a preferred contractor at Stage 1 of a two-stage procurement before the Stage 2 price is agreed?
5.
When would you advise a client against Design and Build procurement, even if programme is a priority?
6.
How does the Building Safety Act 2022 affect procurement decisions for higher-risk buildings?
7.
What is the difference between management contracting and construction management, and when would you recommend each?
Tender Strategy and Documentation
8.
How do you advise a client on how many contractors to invite to tender?
9.
What pre-qualification criteria do you consider for specialist or technically complex work?
10.
What is the purpose of the Employer's Requirements in a Design and Build contract, and what are the consequences of poorly drafted ones?
11.
What is a tender return period and how do you advise a client on its length?
12.
What instructions did you issue to tenderers during the tender period and on what basis?
13.
How do you ensure parity of information between tenderers when queries are raised during the tender period?
Tender Evaluation
14.
What is Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) and how does it apply in your evaluation methodology?
15.
How do you determine the appropriate price/quality weighting for a specific project?
16.
What do you look for beyond price when evaluating tender returns?
17.
How do you handle an abnormally low tender?
18.
How do you present a tender evaluation recommendation to a client when the lowest priced tender is not the one you recommend?
19.
What quality criteria are most useful when evaluating specialist installation contractors?
20.
When would you recommend a best and final offers (BAFO) stage and how do you structure it?
Post-Tender and Award
21.
On what basis can you legitimately negotiate with a preferred tenderer following tender return?
22.
What safeguards do you put in place during post-tender negotiation to protect the client's position and the integrity of the process?
23.
What is Dutch auctioning and why is it problematic?
24.
What steps are required between tender recommendation and contract execution?
25.
How do you advise a client to manage the risk of a preferred tenderer withdrawing their tender after recommendation but before contract execution?
Public Sector Procurement
26.
What procurement regulations apply to public sector clients and what are the relevant financial thresholds?
27.
What is the mandatory standstill period and why does it exist?
28.
How has the Procurement Act 2023 changed public sector procurement obligations?
29.
What record-keeping obligations apply to public sector procurement and how did you satisfy them?
Professional Judgement and Contractor Perspective
30.
How has your experience working as a contractor influenced the procurement advice you give to clients?
31.
What does a poorly structured tender document tell a contractor about the client and how does that affect their pricing?
32.
How do you identify when a contractor's tender price includes excessive risk allowances, and how do you advise a client to address it?
33.
What market conditions make competitive tendering less effective and what alternatives do you recommend in those circumstances?
34.
Describe a procurement situation where you gave advice that was commercially unpopular with the client. How did you handle it?
35.
What is the most important factor in procurement success from the client's perspective, and how do you ensure it is achieved?
