Blog - Minerva

Advice on Writing ICT Managed Service Tender Specifications

 In the last of our blogs on writing tender specifications, we are focusing on the dark art of ICT Managed Service and they key things you need to include.

Advice on Writing Cleaning Tender Specifications

In the third of our series of blogs on writing tender specifications, we focus on detailed issues around cleaning and the key areas you need to include - which might not always be as clear as you think.....

Energy

Energy Masterclass: How To Leverage A Favourable Energy Market

Since the pandemic, energy rates have been volatile. We teamed up with Zenergi, to review what is happening in the energy market. Now that it is starting to calm down, we want to give you all the information you need to make the best buying decisions.

Cyber Essentials: The Advantages for Minerva and our Customers

Minerva achieved Cyber Essentials accreditation in January this year, after months of hard work, and what felt like a million new tracking documents, policies and training sessions. But what does Cyber Essentials actually mean for us and our customers?

Advice On Writing Catering Tender Specifications

Catering is one of the contracts that Minerva deals with most frequently. So, we know what you need to include in your specification so that you get the best outcome. Read on to get the benefit of our wisdom....

General Advice On Writing A ‘Fit For Purpose’ Specification

With procurement support and training for schools, academies and Trusts diminishing, I have decided to try and plug the gap in this blog and related webinar by looking at how you can write a fit for purpose specification to help you run your tender processes more efficiently and effectively.

Staff Retention by Role: Unpicking The Reasons Why Your Staff Leave

On the face of it, recruitment and retention may not seem to have a direct link to procurement. However, with rising resignation rates, we can expect to pay more for recruitment which further squeezes our budgets. We need to understand what the levers are that encourage retention.

Planning

Aligning Your Estates Vision With Your Educational Vision

Jo Marchant, author of the brilliantly practical “The School Premises Handbook”, has worked in school estate management for the last 15 years. In this blog,…

Customer Service

Minerva Procurement Consultancy Services Annual Customer Service Survey Results

Celebrating Service Excellence At Minerva Procurement Consultancy Services, we are thrilled to announce the results of our Annual Customer Service Survey, conducted in conjunction with…

Planning

How To Make Your School Stand Out From The Crowd

Communitas PR is a marketing communications consultancy working exclusively in the education sector both in the UK and internationally. Director Ken Stevens has designed and led…

Compliance

Your IT Audit: What You Must Do, What You Should Do and What You Could Do

IT is a massive area and understanding what you need to audit and how you should go about it is equally massive. In this blog, Neil Limbrick uses his considerable expertise to help you focus your attention on the areas you should be concentrating on and signposts some of the resources that can really help you.

Minerva news

Minerva and B1G1 – Working With Our Clients To Make A Positive Contribution To Society

Our aim at Minerva is to ensure that we provide an excellent service and make a big difference to our clients. However, we also feel that we should be making a bigger difference to the wider world. Read how we are working on our client's behalf with B1G1 to make this a reality.

Minerva news

Supporting Energy Saving Initiatives In Our Schools

Jamie Wade, Acer Trust's Chief Operating Officer, presents Icknield Community College with their well deserved Highly Commended Prize for making an energy saving of 22% through simple and effective changes.

Minerva news

A Day In The Life Of Rhian Begg

Meet Rhian, our team Administrator. Able to turn her hand to most jobs she remains, at heart, an adventurer who loves variety.

What are the new updates to the Selection Questionnaire?

As of April 2023, the Selection Questionnaire (SQ) has undergone several updates . These changes will affect the documentation that schools use to procure goods and services from suppliers when running a process compliant with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR2015).

Take Control and Make Your CPD Work For You

Do you feel that there is so much CPD available that you do not know where to start? Or that nothing is on offer at…

Minerva news

A Day In The Life Of Maria Robinson

Meet Maria! She is our PAM, a fan of 90s movies and very competitive at Crazy Golf. These are all requirements for working at Minerva......

The Power Of Personal Networks

Rhian has been running Business Managers Networks in Oxfordshire and Berkshire for nearly 10 years. Here she tells us why they are so important and top tips for setting up your own.

Compliance

Social Media Checks – How To Get Them Right

Ben Hart is the Co-Founder and Director of Social Media Check (www.socialmediacheck.com) with over 15 years working as an accredited detective and senior investigating officer…

Tender documentation

Have You Actually Read The Question?

I can certainly remember from my time at school, especially around exam time, one of the key mantras from the teachers was “make sure you…

Minerva news

A Day In The Life Of Ben Jones

Meet Ben, our Procurement Account Manager. He is an expert on Fuller's Beers and is a fully paid up member of the Dad's Cab taxi service.

The Procurement Blog