Outline of the Procurement Process

Figure 2.1 indicates the principal actions that might be taken by a local authority and a contractor respectively in a typical procurement process for services or consultancy: the process is shown as far as, but does not include, the stage of contract negotiation. The figure is presented simply as an example of common practice; as observed at the start of this chapter, procedures as distinct from rules are not applied in an unvarying form across the public sector, and authorities are free to follow their own methods so long as they do not conflict with EU rules or UK law.

Local authority	Contractor
Planning and preparation
Consultation and market testing to ensure that procurement strategy and contracting practices are conducive to securing an effective competitive response	Market analyses and business strategy
	Focus on target sectors
Project definition and design, including initial drafting of bid specification or terms of reference	Market intelligence for contract opportunities
Decision to adopt the restricted procedure	Client and project research
Determination of contract award criteria, weightings and quality:price ratio (Chapter 22)	Contacts with client managers
Appointment of assessment and selection panel
Review of supplier database, registration and pre-qualification information
Notification and pre-qualification
Initial advertisement and contract notice, inviting expressions of interest	Response to contract notice
First stage of selection: assessment panel filters received expressions of interest and, if necessary, reduces list to a manageable total for second stage of selection	Preparation and submission of expression of Interest
Second stage of selection: a more detailed assessment of prospective tenderers, possibly including interviews
Definition of shortlist - say, four to six selected tenderers
Tendering
Finalization of bid specification
Issue of tender invitations and accompanying documentation	Acknowledgement of invitation
	Decision to bid
	Confirmation of intention to submit a tender
Decisions on evaluation approach	Analysis of bid specification
	Preparation of tender
Arrangements for dealing with clarification requests	Request for clarification
Formal site visits or briefings, if appropriate	Briefing or meeting with client, If appropriate
Receipt of tenders or proposals	Submission of tender
Evaluation
Formal tender opening and checks for compliance
Tender evaluation - quality and price
Arrangements for presentations by lead contenders
Preparation of format and key questions for presentations	Preparation of presentation
Assessment of presentations	Delivery of presentation
Further clarification of contract issues, if appropriate	Further clarification of contract issues, if appropriate
Selection of the most economically advantageous tender
Contract award
Notification to successful tenderer, including any conditions to be discussed at contract negotiation stage
Notification to unsuccessful tenderers, including placing a reserve or hold on the tenderer ranked second in case negotiations with the first-ranked tenderer fail.

Figure 2.1: Steps in a Typical Local Authority Procurement Process for Services or Consultancy

Keeping abreast of change

In terms of their detailed application, EC procurement procedures are more complex than can be indicated in this brief outline. There are circumstances and conditions that give rise to exceptions from general rules, and aspects of the directives are open to differing interpretations. It is essential for prospective bidders to make a thorough analysis of the information in the contract notice and the bid specification (Chapter 7). And it is important to be up to speed on rules and requirements.

As well as the main EC portal (http://europa.eu.int), the TED site and Euro Information Centres (www.euro-info.org.uk), the SIMAP Web site (www.simap.eu.int) offers a useful means of staying up to date with developments in EU procurement and obtaining copies of documentation: it is particularly informative about changes in legislation and procedures. SIMAP (Syst me d'information pour les marches publics) was launched by the EC's Directorate-General (DG) XV as an information resource to help create a more open procurement market and facilitate the development of EU-wide electronic procurement. One interesting feature of its Web site is a discussion forum carrying views and opinions on public sector procurement issues and best practice advice, including responses from EC officials to questions raised by contracting authorities.