The public sector pitch process is too impersonal

Sarah Balmond’s analysis of Official Journal of the European Union tendering (DW 18 August) highlighted arduous form-filling, drawn-out pitching processes and inadequate rejection feedback as stumbling blocks for consultancies that want to get on to public sector rosters. I disagree. Consultancies decide whether they want to spend days filling out forms in the hope of getting some work.

Anonymity is the greater menace. The OJEU roster process fails because buyers do not meet the people who’ll create the work. So the danger – if not the current reality – is that public sector creative work falls into the hands of perfect form fillers. This, coupled with the public sector’s ‘cheapest quote wins the business’ mentality, will further reduce public sector creative standards.

OJEU’s ‘commitment to revising its forms to make the process more user-friendly’ misses the client/consultancy chemistry point completely.

John Rafferty, Managing director, The Rafferty Consultancy, West Sussex RH19 1AW