This is a face-to-face course

This training is aimed at PCN Managers and Clinical Directors.

Course objectives

  • To build participants’ confidence in, understanding of, and skills for a competitive writing environment
  • To discuss the right structure, style, tone, content and professional language to use
  • To develop expertise in writing and editing to challenging word/character counts in tight timescales.

The content is especially designed to be consumed in bite-sized chunks with regular breaks. Course contents and delivery style are also designed with neurodiverse participants in mind, and we are able to make adjustments to ensure participants with a range of accessibility needs gain maximum benefit from the training.

Course Agenda

Trainer welcome and objective setting.

Understanding the bid writing context. 

  • Where we have won and lost bids before – lessons learnt. What we can do to prepare for bids in 2024/25.

Effective practice before, during and after a bid.

  • What actually happens during the bidding process? Who needs to be involved? How do we pull information together? How can we best support the people writing the response? What resources can we put in place to make our bid writing easier, more effective and efficient?

Planning for our readers.

  • What must we consider about the people who will mark our submissions? What are they expecting to see? How can we use the questions to formulate our answers and meet their priorities.

Organising our information.

  • A session to discuss the importance of structured content.

Writing to be read and remembered.

  • A session discussing vocabulary and readability. And probably Chat GPT. This session comprises discussions and practical sessions to ensure you create clear messages, using the right style, tone and vocabulary. We must omit nuance and ambiguity and ensure we are clear when we express fact, opinion, assumption, interpretation or belief. This session includes specific discussion about the need to step back from specialist vocabulary  with practical tools to help you assess the readability of your work. We will also discuss how text works and when your reader wants to see charts or diagrams instead.

Ruthless summarising.

  • A session on editing techniques (including the importance of grammar and punctuation in a document that might turn into a contract)

Practice questions.

  • Writing exercises as part of a group, with peer group feedback.

Questions and end.

Lunch is provided. Parking is available.

**Terms & Conditions apply**

This event is funded, through the Training Hub, by public money. Non-attendance therefore comes at a cost to patients, the NHS, and the public. Spaces at our events might be limited and your absence may prevent others from benefiting from the opportunity. If you are no longer able to attend, please notify us by replying to this email as soon as possible. For cancellations less than 72 hours prior to the course start date and all ‘no-shows’, we reserve the right to charge a £50.00 administration fee.