This month I met an old university friend who said that, as things were likely to get tougher in the education market, they were thinking of trying their hand at winning more work overseas. I recalled our first international foray some years previously and thought it may be helpful to list our top five tips.

> Find a local partner: you are better off with one, but how do you find a good one? The best we have found in our travels have come from personal recommendations. They understand the local regulations, language and customs; but for sharing these privileges they will expect a significant share of the fee. Ensure you define what they are doing for this money carefully, who is responsible if fault is found in their work and allow enough resource to check and monitor their output.

> Tendering: bidding for work in the UK is relatively known and regulated. When bidding abroad you are not competing just with the consultants you know. There are often Americans, Australians, Turkish nationals, Egyptians and a multitude of other Europeans.  All have a unique relationship with the client, a different service or even a more competitive currency.
On one recent project we bid for we were a third cheaper than the Germans but twice the price of the Australians, who had probably offered to do less. Interestingly, the client was quite happy to share tender prices, to encourage us to reduce our fee.

> The culture: this is often the most important, yet most difficult, aspect to understand. What does the client want? Something connecting to his heritage or an international style?  A response to climate or an expression of the nation’s wealth? Though not mutually exclusive they must be clearly understood.

> Working practices: be prepared to work seven days a week, for 14 hours a day. Many countries work Saturday to Thursday and if you can replicate this in the UK it is bound to help. Time differences can also be an issue so getting in early really helps when working with Middle Eastern countries.

> Finally, if you still fancy the challenge, then don’t forget to hedge your fee and be prepared to wait a long time for it, grow a thick skin for the volatile nature of the developers and remain professional.

Phil Holden is managing director of Pascall+Watson architects