CIF bid support in 2027 to 2028: what good support includes and what the DfE requires

By Grayling Thomas Architects · October 2026

Good CIF funding support for 2027 to 2028 helps a school build a bid it owns: independent evidence of need, a bespoke costed options appraisal, a realistic delivery plan and a cost plan that matches the portal form. The Department for Education (DfE) sets the limits. The accounting officer (or, for a sixth-form college or VA school, a member of the senior management team) stays responsible for the application, a technical adviser cannot submit it, and every school that uses an adviser must now evidence how that adviser was procured. Fees must be proportionate. When a school buys Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) support, scope, procurement and independence matter as much as price.

For how the fund works more broadly, see the practice's complete guide to CIF funding for schools.

The round's dates and other rule changes are set out in the practice's guide to the CIF key dates, rule changes and what to prepare by the deadline.

Responsibility for a CIF bid when a consultant helps

The school stays responsible, not the consultant. The DfE's CIF information for applicants says a school can use a technical adviser or representative "to help prepare your application, but this isn’t a mandatory requirement." It then draws the line plainly: "Please note that technical advisers cannot apply on your behalf and even where you use a technical adviser, you remain responsible for the application."

Responsibility sits with a named person. "The accounting officer, or in the case of a sixth-form college or VA school, a member of the senior management team is solely responsible for the CIF application." That covers the accuracy of the information and its submission on the portal, "not any consultant or technical adviser you may be using". The accounting officer's checklist asks for confirmation that the application "has been submitted by the accounting officer/senior management team, not the technical adviser." During the round, any responses to the DfE "must come from the applicant and not any technical advisers that you may be working with."

Good support is therefore built around the school. An adviser can gather evidence, design the solution and cost the options, but the guidance expects the school to check everything uploaded, "including where you have worked with a technical adviser, and be satisfied that it is correct and nothing is missing before submitting your application." A consultant who hands over a finished pack in the last week leaves the accounting officer signing something they have not had time to understand.

What must a school show about how it appointed its adviser?

This requirement is new this round: the DfE lists it first under "New requirements for CIF 2027-28". "Applicants must clearly explain and adequately evidence a compliant procurement process undertaken to appoint their technical adviser." The accounting officer's checklist asks for evidence that an adviser was procured "in line with the Academy Trust Handbook, the trust's procurement policy and DfE requirements."

The application has to include:

• details of the procurement and selection process, and the evaluation and scoring method used;

• the rationale for the appointment and how value for money was achieved, including any benchmarking or market testing;

• how the adviser was selected and, where it applies, the suppliers considered or invited to bid;

• records the DfE can check, such as tender documents, quotations, framework call-off documents, evaluation and approval records and the contract award.

Three details are easy to miss. The rules apply "regardless of how the adviser is remunerated, including where services are provided on a no-win-no-fee basis." The appointment "must cover all stages of the project, including support during application development and, if successful, project delivery", so the procurement should be sized on the value of the services if the bid succeeds. And the school must be able to show "the technical adviser was formally appointed before undertaking work in connection with the project."

The DfE also says it would "strongly recommend appointing advisers who are members of recognised professional bodies, such as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Chartered Institute of Builders (CIOB) or Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)."

Get this wrong and the bid is at risk: failure to evidence a compliant process "may result in the application being disqualified." Once the procurement route is set, judging the adviser's record is a separate question, covered in the practice's guide to choosing a CIF consultant as a standalone academy or small MAT.

Conflicts of interest and independent surveys

"A conflict of interest could lead to your application being disqualified, your final score being reduced, or your application being placed on hold whilst further due diligence is carried out." Schools should consider any conflicts the adviser may have with others in the application, "such as those undertaking the condition reports or tendering for the works". Tenderers must declare their interests, and the school must declare potential or perceived conflicts in the application form.

The condition evidence has its own test. "The survey source will not be considered independent if, for example, it is conducted by a firm that has also quoted or tendered for the work or is a manufacturer of any proposed solution." Surveys should not be older than 1 October 2023. Where a school does not include the full survey, it must include the front page(s) clearly showing the name and qualification of the surveyor and the date. A school planning new school condition surveys should settle who carries them out with independence in mind from the start.

Special schools raise their own questions about what a condition survey should record, covered in the practice's article on condition surveys for special schools.

What does the DfE say about fees for CIF bid support?

The guidance does not set a fee. It sets a test: "Fees must be proportionate to the type of project being delivered." On percentage fees, it says "Percentage fees are not necessarily appropriate for this type of work and if used, they should be a maximum of 10% of the total project value." That ceiling "includes all professional fees and disbursements, as well as one off ‘bid writer’ fees, not just the technical adviser fee."

The DfE says "The technical complexity of some works may justify slightly higher fees (but not necessarily above 10%)", and "the higher fee level must be specifically justified within the application." The DfE adds: "Please be aware that 10% is not a default fee allowed for the CIF programme." Schools "should not assume that fees below 10%, or any ‘no-win-no-fee’ arrangements automatically offer good value for money", and "If the fees are disproportionate to the work involved, your application is likely to be unsuccessful."

Advisers' costs can be funded: "If you are successful, we do cover the costs of appointing a technical adviser to help prepare your application and for oversight and management of CIF projects." But "You cannot use technical adviser fees, identified within the bid, to undertake additional works if you then manage the project in-house."

What does each part of a CIF bid need?

The scoring weights and page limits are summarised in the key dates and rule changes guide. For an adviser preparing the uploads, two formatting rules matter. Supporting documentation for project need, project planning and project cost is limited to 50 pages per document, "formatted in Arial font, no smaller than size 11." Anything submitted "beyond the 50-page limit for a document will not be considered as part of the assessment."

Project need. "Project need accounts for 55 points from a total of 100 for condition projects". The narrative goes in the portal form; the upload holds the evidence, led by an independent, suitably qualified condition survey with condition grades and priority ratings, plus specialist reports where the issue needs them.

Project planning. "Project planning accounts for 20 points from a total of 100 for all projects". Its sub-criteria are appropriateness of solution, timescales and delivery plan. The school must check with the local planning authority whether planning permission is needed before applying, and an academy with a CIF project that impacts on school land "is likely to require a separate consent of the Secretary of State via a land transaction application". CIF approval does not provide that consent, and the approved project cannot proceed until it is obtained.

The costed options appraisal. It must show alternatives considered, "including the costs, benefits, and risks associated with each option." The guidance asks applicants to show lower-cost options were considered and to "Always present a “do nothing” option". Reusing one: "Applications may be disqualified where it is identified that the same costed options appraisal has been used in more than one application."

Project cost. "Project cost accounts for 25 points from a total of 100 for all projects and consists of four sub-criteria: overall costs, cost certainty, funding sources and environmental sustainability." Successful applications are funded on the cost section of the portal form, not the uploaded documents, so the two must agree.

Feasibility. "You should carry out a feasibility study where your project may be considered complex with multiple options, regardless of value." The DfE's list of what a feasibility study should cover includes the design solution and why it will work, a detailed and robust cost management plan or a contractor's cost estimate, site issues and a risk register.

What should good CIF bid support include?

Measured against the guidance, support worth buying for this round covers:

• a formal appointment, procured in line with the Academy Trust Handbook (or College Financial Handbook, where relevant), your procurement policy and DfE requirements before any work starts, and scoped from bid through to delivery;

• declared conflicts, and condition evidence from an independent source: not a firm that has quoted or tendered for the work, or a manufacturer of any proposed solution;

• evidence of need that is specific to your buildings, not a narrative padded with generic statements;

• a costed options appraisal written for your project, with a do nothing option and lower-cost alternatives;

• a design and feasibility study in proportion to the project, with drawings where they show where the works sit;

• a cost plan that matches the portal form, with fees proportionate to the project, and any higher fee level specifically justified;

• a realistic delivery plan for the project size and a risk register with specific risks for your project, not a generic one;

• the planning position confirmed and any land consents identified early;

• enough time for the accounting officer to read everything, sign the declaration and submit.

Related guides

• CIF 2027 to 2028: key dates, rule changes and what to prepare by 15 December

• CIF guidance for 2027 to 2028: where the official documents are and what each one covers

• Choosing a CIF consultant as a standalone academy or small MAT: what track record actually means

• Architects for schools: how to choose one for a capital project

Working on 2027 to 2028 bids with Grayling Thomas Architects

Grayling Thomas Architects is a RIBA Chartered Practice, working since 2010, that has designed and delivered multi-million-pound school buildings. On CIF projects we work as lead consultant and architect, preparing the evidence, design and costed options with the school, so the accounting officer submits a bid they understand and own. We are not a stand-alone bid-writing service.

We were CIF bid writer, lead consultant and architect for Dorothy Goodman School in Hinckley, a new building for an existing special school, funded through the Condition Improvement Fund. The DfE's Condition Improvement Fund guidance confirms applications are now open for 2027 to 2028. Any adviser appointment must follow your own procurement process, so starting early helps.

Our CIF funding page explains how we work. To talk about a project, use our CIF enquiry form.