By James Lopez, Bid Strategy Lead, Glaxtons Consulting
The method statement is where most tenders are won or lost. It is the scored answer that asks how you will deliver, and it is where evaluators separate suppliers who understand the work from those who are guessing. Yet most method statements read as a description of what the supplier does, not a specific, evidenced plan for this contract.
This guide gives away the approach we use to structure method statements that score in the top band. It is free, practical, and reusable across any sector.
Public sector answers are marked against published criteria and a marking scheme. Before writing a word, break the question into its parts and list exactly what the evaluator must see to award full marks. Then write to that list. You get no marks for good content the question did not ask for.
A reliable structure for each point in a method statement is: state what you will do, describe the feature of your approach, explain the benefit to the buyer, and give the evidence that proves it. This forces you past description into persuasion and proof, which is what the top marking band rewards.
Name the site, the volumes, the timelines, the constraints, and the risks that are specific to this requirement. A method statement that could be pasted into any tender scores as a low or medium answer. One that clearly could only have been written for this contract signals competence and lands in the top band.
Evaluators read many bids under time pressure. Use headings that mirror the question, lead each section with the key point, and use tables and diagrams where they compress information. If a marker can find the evidence for each criterion in seconds, you make it easy for them to award the marks.
A method statement is a scored answer that sets out how you will deliver the contract: your approach, mobilisation, resourcing, risk management and assurance. It is one of the most heavily weighted parts of most tenders.
A reliable structure for each point is Statement, Feature, Benefit, Evidence: state what you will do, describe the feature of your approach, explain the benefit to the buyer, and give the evidence that proves it. Write every point to the published marking scheme.
As long as the tender allows and no longer. Word and page limits are usually strict, and content beyond the limit may not be marked. Use the full allowance to add specific evidence, not filler.
The most common reasons are generic content that ignores the marking scheme, describing activity without benefit or evidence, weak risk mitigation, no named resources or dates, and exceeding the word count.
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