Specifying requirements in property procurement
Learn about specifying requirements for property procurement. Schools specify requirements to ensure that suppliers are fully aware of their needs and can submit their best offer.
| Level of compliance | Main audience | Other |
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Required
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Aspects of the property procurement process are mandatory and must be completed.
- Identify specific needs
- Prepare a statement of requirements
- Review the requirements
- Further information
Identify specific needs
Consult with key stakeholders to discover their needs. These stakeholders might include:
- teachers
- board members
- the Ministry's Property Advisor
- other frequent users of the property.
Also communicate with other schools to learn about similar projects that they have completed or are planning to undertake. Note the needs that they uncovered.
Prepare a statement of requirements
Detail what your requirements are.
This information will later be used in an approach to market document.
| Type of Requirement | Description |
|---|---|
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Outcome sought
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The overall result(s) to be achieved through the project.
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Solutions/deliverables
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The goods, services and/or contract works that are required to be delivered and/or undertaken.
These actions contribute to the delivery of the overall outcome.
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Capability
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The skills and expertise required of the supplier in order to deliver the required solutions/deliverables.
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Capacity
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The resources and availability required of the supplier in order to deliver the required solutions/deliverables within your expected timeframes.
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Pricing structure
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The way in which suppliers will be required to break down their prices when they provide pricing information.
It is important that all suppliers provide prices in the same structure, so that prices can be easily compared.
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| Intended contractual arrangement |
The type of contract that will be used and key contract terms and conditions.
Schools must use the contracts on the pages below in property procurement.
Contracts for school-led property projects and maintenance
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Phrasing requirements
All good requirements have five traits.
| Trait | Description |
|---|---|
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Specific
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The supplier should know exactly what action needs to be carried out or provided by their staff in order to meet the requirement.
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Measurable
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Schools should be able to measure with certainty if the supplier is meeting the requirement.
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Achievable
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The supplier should be able to meet the requirement when they make all reasonable efforts to do so.
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Relevant
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The supplier should be able to clearly understand how the requirement contributes to achieving an overall goal (such as ‘delivering a new classroom block’).
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Time-bound
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The supplier should understand when they need to complete the action by.
This will help schools to understand if the supplier is meeting their requirements.
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When stating requirements, avoid the use of:
- brand names, trademarks, or trade names (this will allow suppliers to offer alternative products that meet the outcome)
- jargon (to ensure that the requirement is clear and unambiguous).
Presenting requirements
Long paragraphs can be difficult for a reader to follow.
Some information is best presented in bullet point form. Other information is best shown in a table.
Try presenting requirements in different ways to see if doing so makes the point more clearly.
Review the requirements
When all requirements have been drafted, review them, to confirm that they clearly convey the needs.
To ensure that the requirement is appropriate, ask:
- Why are we asking for this?
- What results do we want to see from this?
- Is it possible for the supplier to deliver the construction works or professional services in this way?
To ensure that the requirement is written effectively, ask if it confirms:
- the exact construction works or professional services required
- how the construction works or professional services will be delivered
- who will be involved in delivery
- where and when the construction works or professional services will be delivered, or delivered by.
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