Research tenders

A tender is a formal offer to perform work in return for payment. Payment can be in the form of a fixed price or via a schedule of rates. Work may include the supply of goods, services, or both, and can often contain a research component.

Compared to a traditional grant, a tender differs in a few ways; tenders usually:

request very specific goods/services to be provided
are considered a fee for service and are costed on commercial terms
have strict deliverable dates and short turn-around times

Tendering is a competitive process but can be less competitive than traditional grants due to the specialised nature of the work provided. In many cases, once you have developed a reputation and evidence of tender delivery, you’ll have increased success in future tender responses.

While your academic track record is important to demonstrate your capabilities and skills, tenders are more about the capabilities of the team and proven ability to complete the requested services professionally and on schedule. Remember that tenders are end-user driven, with the scope and requirements being dictated by the funder. This means that you need to understand the funder and their problem.

There are several available platforms that you can register with to obtain information on available tenders; examples include Austender, GrantConnect, and SA Tenders and Contracts. Registering with these sites will allow you to search for the most relevant opportunities yourself and obtain relevant documents (including any addendums and FAQs – which are common with tenders).

Related resources

Application process

Accepting your award

Funding application resources

Research tender application process

Once you've found a research tender you'd like to apply for, follow the below steps on what to do next.

Contact RDS

Tenders require a period of intensive work in a very short time and by letting the Research Grants and Tenders team (IGII@Flinders.edu.au) in Research Development and Support (RDS) know of your interest, the team can support your application and provide timely advice.

Most tenders come with a proposed contract that must be reviewed and approved by the University prior to tender submission. When you have decided to respond to a tender, the Research Grants and Tenders team will send the draft contract and all relevant response documents to the Research Contracts team via ServiceOne. The Research Contracts team ideally needs a minimum of 5 working days to review the contract. The review can be in progress while you are working on your tender documents.

Contact the Research Grants and Tenders team

Meet with RDS

Organise this meeting as early as possible. The format (in person, Microsoft Teams, phone) and content of this meeting is up to the researcher, but should be used as an opportunity to walk through the entire response documentation. From a Research Grants and Tenders team perspective, key items include:

discuss any parts you are not sure or need advice about
to determine who will be responsible for which parts of the response
agree on timelines for completion
identify the main contact person in the Research Grants and Tenders team

Most tenders require some business or corporate information such as ABN, governance structure, information on insurance policies, Workplace Gender Equality compliance, data security etc. The Research Grants and Tenders team can provide the necessary documentation for these items.

At the meeting, the Research Grants and Tenders team can provide guidance on pricing, including links to consultancy rates and the commissioned research budget estimator tool, and highlight any key aspects of the response documents in terms of compliance.

Prepare response documents

Make sure that you familiarise yourself with the tender requirements. These are usually very different for each opportunity. You will be responsible for assembling the response documents including all the parts that are completed by the Research Grants and Tenders team and Research Contracts team.

Some tenders come with a response checklist which is helpful to ensure that you have all the correct attachments or schedules associated with your response.

Carefully check the tender guidelines for budget costing rules. The budget estimator tools are available to assist in developing a budget.

Intellectual Property developed during the conduct of a tender is usually owned by the funder; make sure you are clear about your rights in terms of intellectual property and your ability to publish your research post the tender process.

The University tender information page provides information on the most commonly requested information used in responding to tenders on behalf of the University. This is useful if you have to provide information on supplier of insurance information.

Take note if you need to upload your response documents to an online portal or submit via email. Many tenders require that you register via an online portal prior to submission. Does the University need to register on your behalf? If so, contact the Grants and Tenders team as soon as possible.

Take note if you need to have institutional sign-off or is there a declaration page in the online form (Director, Research Development and Support and/or Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) will need to be notified of this declaration). This can take time, highlighting the importance of informing the Grants and Tenders team early of your intent to submit a response.

Obtain College approval

As with all external research funding applications, College approval is required prior to submission. This can be acquired through completion of a ResearchNow application form.

The ResearchNow application form approval process can be completed with an advanced draft of your application response including the budget. This process should be started as soon as possible to ensure adequate time for your Dean (Research) to review your proposal.

Send final versions for signatures

Most tender responses require sign-off by an authorised representative, so be sure to send your final versions to the Research Grants and Tenders teamto obtain signature. This authorised representative is normally the Chief Research Development Officer, Research Development and Support. However, before sign-off can be obtained, the contract must have been reviewed and accepted by Flinders University, and you must have obtained College approval (via ResearchNow).

Submit the tender response to the funder

Submission of the response documentation for the tender is the responsibility of the researcher unless the guidelines explicitly state that submission is to be via the institution's Research Office (or equivalent).

Check the submission date, time and time zone – don’t assume the time of submission is 5 pm, as this is variable between tenders.

Please ensure that you send a copy of the final version of your response documentation to IGII@flinders.edu.au, along with acknowledgement of receipt by the funder. This allows the Research Grants and Tenders team to monitor all tenders that have been submitted and support you further if the tender is awarded.