Tender thresholds

EU procurement process

Tender procedures

1. Open procedure
This is not commonly used. It's a 1-stage bidding process where suppliers respond to a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) and are invited to submit a tender.

2. Restricted procedure
This procedure is applied when a large number of applicants are anticipated. It's a 2-stage bidding process where suppliers respond to a notice in the OJEU and undergo a prequalification stage (see below). A shortlist is created and the shortlisted suppliers invited to submit tenders.

3. Competitive dialogue procedure
This procedure is used for complex contracts where the open or restricted procedure would be inappropriate. Suppliers responding to a notice in the OJEU are subject to a pre-qualification stage. A shortlist is created and the shortlisted suppliers are invited to participate in a competitive dialogue.

Competitive dialogue allows us to discuss potential solutions with suppliers. When completed, suppliers are invited to submit final tenders. No further negotiation with the contractors takes place following submission of the final tenders.

4. Negotiated procedure
Under certain limited circumstances we will negotiate directly with one (or occasionally) more than one supplier. This is a rare procedure and occurs either when another procurement procedure has failed or when one of the other exceptional reasons permitted by the procurement regulations applies.

Prequalification

You must demonstrate financial standing and technical ability to meet our requirements. We will take note of your past performance and experience with contracts of a similar nature.

We may also look for a clear demonstration of commitment to equality & diversity in employment, to the environment and to health and safety. We may ask for references from previous customers, bankers and business information companies and we sometimes arrange inspection visits.

All contractors are encouraged to use Constructionline or CHAS or an equivalent Safety Scheme in Procurement. This allows you to submit all your prequalification data at once for all procurements across common commodities. This saves time and reduces costs.

If you're a small business, we make sure that the procurement process is competitive and transparent so that you're not disadvantaged and precluded from tendering exercises.

Evaluating tenders

This is undertaken objectively, consistently and without bias. Tenders are evaluated against a pre-determined set of criteria.

It's unlikely that contracts are awarded on the basis of price alone. We usually award a contract that offers the best value for money. For this reason, the main evaluation criterion is usually the most economically advantageous tender.

The award criteria vary depending on the type of contract. An evaluation team of stakeholders and customers examine each tender and make recommendations as to which tender is the most economically advantageous.

Awarding the contract

We notify everyone who tenders at the same time. If you're unsuccessful you'll receive a letter explaining the decision and the characteristics of your bid compared to the winning bid. The letter will also specify a standstill period of between 10 and 15 days. We will not sign the contract until the standstill period has expired.

A contract award notice will be placed in OJEU (if applicable) within 48 days of the contract being awarded.