Award procedure decision tool

Choosing the right contract award procedure is a critical decision that must be made before a procurement process is commenced. A wrong choice can result in a breach of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 and the risk of supplier challenge, or an insufficiently flexible procurement process, limiting choice and potentially reducing value for money.

We have prepared a decision tool to provide some initial guidance around which of the four types of available procedure (open, restricted, competitive dialogue or negotiated) is likely to be appropriate.

Note that, while the tool refers to the use of the negotiated procedure without notice, this is available only in very limited circumstances and we would recommend legal advice is sought before the procedure is followed to confirm that it is appropriate.

In addition, the negotiated procedure with notice should, following the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, only be used in extremely rare circumstances, and it does not therefore appear as an outcome of the decision tool.

The outcome of the decision tool should be tested against the detailed criteria for selecting an award procedure, as set out in Regulations 13, 14, 17 and 18 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, and against the expected commercial outcome of the relevant procurement process.

> Download the award procedure decision tool (PDF document)