Public procurement glossary for suppliers

Contracting authority

The public body that buys: a state, regional or local authority, or a body governed by public law. The term is used in the EU procurement Directive 2014/24/EU and the UK Procurement Act 2023; US federal procurement speaks of the agency, whose contracting officer has the authority to award contracts. Also called the buyer.

Procurement documents

Everything the buyer publishes to describe the contract and the procedure: the notice, the specification, the instructions to bidders, the award criteria, the draft contract, and any later clarifications and amendments. Also called tender documents.

Invitation to tender (ITT)

A buyer's formal invitation to submit a tender, with the documents that define what to submit. A request for proposal (RFP) and a request for quotation (RFQ) play the same role; an RFQ usually asks mainly for a price for a clearly defined requirement.

Bid, tender and proposal

The supplier's offer in response to a procurement. British and EU usage calls it a tender; US federal procurement speaks of bids in sealed bidding and proposals in negotiated procurement. Tender Navigator uses "tender" for the opportunity itself, as defined in the Tender Navigator glossary.

Lot

A part of a contract that can be bid for and awarded separately. In the EU a buyer that decides not to divide a contract into lots must give the main reasons (Directive 2014/24/EU, Article 46).

Exclusion grounds

Circumstances that bar a supplier from a procurement, such as a conviction for fraud or corruption. In the EU, Article 57 of Directive 2014/24/EU lists mandatory and discretionary grounds.

Selection criteria

The requirements a supplier must meet to be considered capable of performing the contract. In the EU they may relate only to suitability to pursue the professional activity, economic and financial standing, and technical and professional ability (Directive 2014/24/EU, Article 58).

Conditions of participation

The UK term for the conditions a supplier must satisfy to be awarded a contract. They may relate only to the supplier's legal and financial capacity or its technical ability to perform the contract, and must be proportionate (Procurement Act 2023, section 22).

Mandatory requirement

A requirement the tender documents mark as pass or fail. A bid that fails one is normally excluded, whatever its other merits. See Can one missed mandatory requirement disqualify a bid?

European Single Procurement Document (ESPD)

The standard self-declaration EU buyers must accept as preliminary evidence that a supplier is not excluded and meets the selection criteria. The bidder chosen for the award then provides the supporting documents (Directive 2014/24/EU, Article 59).

Award criteria

The criteria against which compliant tenders are scored, such as price, quality, technical merit or delivery, each with a weighting or an order of importance stated in the documents.

Most economically advantageous tender (MEAT)

The EU award standard: the best tender identified on the basis of price or cost, using a cost-effectiveness approach such as life-cycle costing, which may include the best price-quality ratio (Directive 2014/24/EU, Article 67). The UK equivalent is the most advantageous tender (Procurement Act 2023, section 19), and the US federal counterpart is best value. See How tenders are evaluated.

Best price-quality ratio

An award approach that scores tenders on quality criteria as well as on price or cost, each with a published weighting, so that the best combination wins rather than the lowest price.

Life-cycle costing

Evaluating the cost of a purchase over its whole life, including use, maintenance and disposal, rather than on its purchase price alone. One of the cost-effectiveness approaches named in Article 67 of Directive 2014/24/EU.

Best value

The US federal standard for negotiated procurement: the outcome that gives the government the greatest overall benefit, reached anywhere on a continuum from a tradeoff between price and other factors to lowest price technically acceptable (FAR 15.101).

Lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA)

A US federal source selection process in which the proposal with the lowest evaluated price, among those that meet the technical standards, wins (FAR 15.101-2).

Abnormally low tender

A tender whose price or costs appear abnormally low for the work. In the EU the buyer must ask for an explanation, and may reject the tender only if the explanation does not satisfactorily account for the low level of price or costs (Directive 2014/24/EU, Article 69).

Consortium

A group of companies bidding together as one bidder, sometimes through a joint venture company. In the EU a group may not be required to take a specific legal form in order to bid (Directive 2014/24/EU, Article 19). See Consortia, joint ventures and subcontracting in tenders.

Contractor team arrangement

The US federal term for companies teaming on a government contract: a partnership or joint venture acting as a potential prime contractor, or a prime contractor with agreed subcontractors (FAR 9.601).

Subcontractor

A company that performs part of a contract for the bidder, which remains responsible to the buyer for the whole contract.

Clarification question

A written question a bidder puts to the buyer while a tender is open. The answers are usually shared with all bidders. See Clarification questions in public tenders.

Amendment, addendum and corrigendum

A formal change to the procurement documents (an amendment or addendum) or a correction to a published notice (a corrigendum). Formally issued changes are the ones bidders can safely rely on.

Sealed bid

A tender kept unopened and confidential until the submission deadline. In US federal sealed bidding, bids are opened publicly at the time set and, if practical, read aloud (FAR 14.402-1).

Standstill period

A pause between the award decision and the signing of the contract, during which the decision can be challenged: at least 10 calendar days in the EU when the decision is sent electronically (Directive 89/665/EEC, Article 2a), and eight working days from the contract award notice in the UK (Procurement Act 2023, section 51).

Debriefing

Feedback to a bidder on how its tender was evaluated. In US federal negotiated procurement it must be requested in writing within 3 days of notification of the award (FAR 15.506). The EU equivalent is a statement of reasons on request (Directive 2014/24/EU, Article 55), and the UK equivalent an assessment summary (Procurement Act 2023, section 50).

Bid protest

A formal challenge to a procurement decision. In US federal procurement a protest can be filed with the agency, the Government Accountability Office or the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (FAR subpart 33.1); in the EU and the UK the equivalent routes are review procedures and court proceedings under national law. See Sealed bids, debriefs and challenging a tender award.

Incumbent

The supplier that currently holds a contract being tendered again. An incumbent knows the contract well, which is an advantage but not, on its own, a sign that a tender is decided. See How to spot a tender that is already decided.

Go or no-go decision

The decision whether to bid for a tender at all, made from the notice and the documents before significant effort is spent. Also called a bid or no-bid decision. The Public tender bidding guide includes a checklist.

Preliminary market consultation

Contact between a buyer and the market before a procurement, to prepare it and inform suppliers of the buyer's plans and requirements. Allowed in the EU, provided it does not distort competition or breach the principles of non-discrimination and transparency (Directive 2014/24/EU, Article 40).