1. PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES
PRAG
PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES

2. Procurement procedures
Which procedure to apply ?
Type of contract and thresholds
OPTIONS
Open procedure/Restricted procedure
International / local
Competitive negotiated procedure / framework contracts
Dynamic purchasing system
Competitive dialogue
Negotiated procedure
Single tender

3. Award criteria Lowest price - satisfying the conditions laid down
Best value for money ( most economically advantageous tender)
Criteria
Precise
Nondiscriminatory
Non prejudicial to fair competition

4. Types of contracts Services Supplies Works
WHAT: the provision of services e.g. technical assistance, studies, training or designs
WHO: Contracting Authority & Consultant
Supplies
WHAT: the purchase, leasing, rental or hire purchase of products including
their design, manufacture, delivery, assembly or commissioning of
goods together with any related tasks e.g. installation, maintenance, repairs, training and after-sales service
WHO: Contracting Authority & Supplier
Works
WHAT: the execution of works, or both design and execution of works;
a work is the outcome of building or civil engineering works.
WHO: - Contracting Authority & Contractor
- Contracting Authority & Supervising Engineer (separate services contract, will be detailed later during the course)

5. Contract Award Procedures
Services
budget  €5,000
Single Tender
€5,000 < budget < €200,000
1 Framework Contracts
2 Competitive Negotiated Procedure
€200,000  budget International Restricted Tender Procedure
Supplies
€5,000 < budget < €30,000
Competitive Negotiated Procedure
€30,000  budget < €150,000
Local Open Tender Procedure
€150,000  budget
International Open Tender Procedure
Works
€5,000 < budget < €300,000
€300,000  budget < €5,000,000 Local Open Tender Procedure
€5,000,000  budget
International Restricted Tender Procedure (exceptional cases)

6. Publicity and Transparency
Contract Forecasts
Must be published (in OJEC, Internet and any other appropriate media) once a year
Should give brief indication of project subject
Procurement Notices
Must be published (in OJEC, Internet and any other appropriate media) at least 30 days after the publication of the contract forecast.
Must identify clearly and precisely the subject of the project and who the Contracting Authority is

7. Publicity and Transparency
Selection and Award Criteria
The Tender Dossier contains an evaluation grid outlining the selection criteria that will be used during the evaluation meetings and on the basis of which a contract will be awarded.
These selection criteria may under no circumstances be modified during the evaluation procedure.

8. Shortlisting of Companies
Short listing is a process whereby the Contracting Authority tries to identify the best placed and highest qualified companies to ensure a successful implementation for the project.
It is standard operating procedure under the international restricted tendering procedure for services and a possible procedure for works projects.

9. Short listing procedure
Interested companies submit an Application for an EC Funded Service Contract in response to the Procurement Notice
This Application requires that the interested company provides the following information:
Name of the lead company and partners,
Details of the contact person
The economic and financial standing of the company
The staff resources
The fields of specialisation
Experience related to the project
A declaration confirming that the company is eligible to participate and will abide by the ethics clause.

10. Short listing procedure
The Applications received before a given deadline are evaluated by a Shortlist Panel appointed by the Contracting Authority and composed of:
A non-voting Chairman
A non-voting Secretary
An EC observer (optional)
An odd number of voting members (minimum three) possessing the necessary technical experience.

11. Short listing procedure
The task of the Shortlist Panel is to:
establish a long list summarising all applications received
eliminate those candidates who are ineligible
check that the candidate’s financial situation is sound
verify the candidate’s technical and professional capabilities with regard to
the staffing levels and extent of the professional experience of the management, and
the main services provided by the candidate during the previous years
The selection must be carried out by applying the criteria specified
in the Procurement Notice.

12. Short listing procedure
The final shortlist should contain a minimum of four and a maximum of eight candidates.
If the number of candidates meeting the selection criteria is less than four then the Contracting Authority may call upon additional candidates from other sources
If the number of candidates meeting the selection criteria is more than eight then the relative strengths and weaknesses of those candidates must be re-examined to identify the best eight candidates

13. Terms of reference / Technical specification
Standard format/ part of Tender dossier
Give instructions and guidance to contractors
Contractor’s mandate
Define characteristics of the product , service, material, work
Quality levels
Environmental performance
Design for all requirements
Levels and procedures of conformity assessment
Fitness for use
Safety or dimensions ( including sales name, user instructions, terminology, symbols, testing and test method, packaging, marking , labeling, production procedures…)

14. The Tender Dossier
The Tender Dossier is normally prepared by the Contracting Authority and either sent out to short listed Tenderers or made available at the premises of the Contracting Authority.
Given the technical complexity of many works projects the preparation of the Tender Dossier may require the assistance of external technical specialist(s). These experts would normally be available to assist in the evaluation process.

15. Content of the Tender Dossier
Invitation to tender
A. Instructions to the Tenderers giving information on
Type of contract
Tender timetable
Who may participate
Whether sub-contracting is permitted
Information to be provided by the Tenderer

16. Contents of the Tender Dossier
The Technical Offer which should contain
Sworn statements
Organisation& methodology
CVs of key experts
Statements of exclusivity and availability
Statement attesting the origin of the goods (supply)
The Financial Offer which should include
A budget breakdown
Cash flow forecast (service)
The tender dossier also includes:
Evaluation criteria to be used
Whether variant solutions are allowed
Information on clarification/site visits
Currency of the tender
Format of the tender guarantee

17. Contents of the Tender Dossier
B. Draft Contract Agreement, including:
Draft Contract
General Conditions
Special Conditions (supplies & works)
Terms of Reference / Technical Specifications
Organisation & Methodology ( services)
Curricula Vitae of Key Experts
Budget Breakdown
Model for Performance Guarantee
Model for Advance Guarantee

18. Contents of the Tender Dossier
C. Other Information:
Shortlist Notice (services)
Glossary of Terms (supplies & works)
Administrative Compliance Grid
Evaluation Grid
D. Tender Submission Form

19. Variant Solutions
the possibility for a Tenderer to propose a so-called “variant solution” must be indicated already at the stage of the Procurement Notice
variant solutions are only taken into account by the Evaluation Committee when:
the variant solution is part of the least expensive and technically compliant tender bid
the variant solution proposed meets or exceeds the TS as specified in the Tender Dossier

20. Tender Evaluations The members of the Evaluation Committee:
are appointed and nominated on a personal basis by the Contracting Authority
must attend all meetings and any absence recorded and explained in the evaluation report.
have equal voting rights

21. Composition of the Evaluation Committee
The Evaluation Committee is composed of:
a non-voting Chairperson whose main role is to ensure respect for PRAG procedures, impartiality and transparency of the evaluation
a non-voting Secretary, responsible for keeping minutes of all evaluation meetings, registering attendance and drafting the Evaluation Report
an odd number (minimum 3) of voting members (5 for international works tenders)
a limited number of non-voting observers

22. Impartiality and Confidentiality of evaluation Proceedings
all Evaluation Committee members (including non-voting members) must sign a Declaration of Impartiality and Confidentiality
any member who notices a (potential) conflict of interest due to one of the companies submitting a bid must declare this immediately and withdraw from the committee and shall be replaced by another individual nominated by the Contracting Authority. In this case all scores from the departing member need to be disregarded and the evaluation needs to be restarted

23. Impartiality and Confidentiality of Evaluation Proceedings
all proceedings are strictly confidential and any attempt by a Tenderer to influence the evaluation process in any way whatsoever will result in the immediate and definite exclusion of its bid from further consideration
all proceedings are conducted in camera (except for the public tender opening session)
no other people than the nominated members of the Committee should have access to the evaluation room
tender bids should not leave the room in which the meetings take place and should be kept in a safe place when not in use

24. Stages in the Evaluation Process
RECEIPT AND REGISTRATION OF TENDER BIDS
PREPARATORY MEETING
TENDER OPENING SESSION
TECHNICAL EVALUATION
Administrative compliance
Technical compliance
FINANCIAL EVALUATION
CHOICE OF SUCCESSFUL TENDERER
CONCLUSION OF EVALUATION COMMITTEE
CONTRACT PREPARATION

25. Cancellation of Tender Procedure
The tender procedure may be cancelled at any time by the Contracting Authority.

26. Cancellation of Tender Procedure
Cancellation may occur where -
The tender procedure has been unsuccessful
The economic or technical data of the project have been fundamentally changed
Exceptional circumstances or force majeur render normal performance of the contract impossible
All technically compliant tenders exceed the financial resources available
There have been irregularities in the procedure
In no event shall the Contracting Authority be liable for any damages whatsoever connected with the cancellation of the tender

27. Co-financing Projects may be co-financed by: The Beneficiary Country
An Individual Member State
A UN Agency
The World Bank
The European Investment Bank
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

28. Parallel Co-financing
The project is broken down into clearly identifiable sub-projects that are each financed by the different co-financing partners.
The procurement procedures laid down in the PRAG, without any modification, MUST be applied to the EC funded part of the project.

29. Joint Co-financing
The total project cost is divided between the co-financing partners and all the funds are pooled such that the source of funding for a specific activity or sub-project within the overall project cannot be identified
In this situation the procurement procedures to be applied will be decided by the European Commission on a case by case basis.

30. Servıce Contracts WHAT: a contract concluded between the
Contracting Authority and a Service Provider
for the provision of services (e.g. technical
assistance, studies, training or designs)
WHO: - Contracting Authority
- Service Provider( Consultant)
SERVICE
≤ € 5,000
Single tender
 € 5,000 but
 € 200,000
Framework Contract
Competitive Negotiated procedure
 € 200,000
International restricted tender procedure

31. Organisation of Restricted Tender
publication of a Contract Forecast and Procurement Notice on Internet, in OJEC and local media as appropriate
compilation of a Long List on the basis of Applications received
organisation and chairing of Short List sessions
preparation of Short List report
drafting of the Tender Dossier
dispatch of Tender Dossier to short listed companies
reply to queries of Tenderers
receiving, registering and storing tender bids

32. Organisation of Restricted Tender
organisation and chairing of tender evaluation sessions, including:
Preparatory Meeting
Tender Opening Session
Technical Evaluation
Financial Evaluation
drafting of the Evaluation Report
preparation and signature of the Contract
notification to Tenderers
publicising the award of the Contract

33. Framework Contracts
Conditionality:
Duration of services must not exceed 12 calendar months
Rationale:
Rapid application
Simplicity
Transparency & equality of competition
Quality
Pre-agreed maximum fees per category of expert

34. Framework Contracts Lot 1 Rural development & food safety (10)
Lot 2 Transport, water and sanitation infrastructure (9)
Lot 3 Telecommunication & Information Technology (4)
Lot 4 Energy and Nuclear Safety (6)
Lot 5 Mining sector (5)
Lot 6 Environment (5)
Lot 7 Human rights, democracy & institutional strengthening (5)
Lot 8 Development of the social sector (7)
Lot 9 Culture & information (4)
Lot 10 Economic development (8)
Lot 11 Macroeconomic & structural adjustment (4)

35. Framework Contracts A methodology, if required
A Request for Services, together with the ToR is sent, on a rotational basis, to three consortia in the relevant sector
The consulted framework contractors should submit an Offer
for Services containing:
A methodology, if required
CVs of experts (maximum 3 pages)
Financial offer with breakdown of price by expert and expense

36. Framework Contracts
Any Offer for Services received after the deadline must be rejected
All Offers for Services are evaluated by two evaluators according to a standard evaluation grid
The winning offer is the most advantageous offer in terms of technical quality, price and availability of experts

37. Competitive Negotiated Procedure
Conditionality:
To be used only when the use of the Framework Contract is unsuccessful or inappropriate
More time consuming than the use of the Framework Procedure
A minimum of three service providers must be contacted.
The service providers are given at least 30 days to submit their technical and financial offers in separate envelopes

38. Competitive Negotiated Procedure
Evaluation of offers follows the same procedure as for an international restricted tender
At least three compliant offers MUST be received (or the procedure must be cancelled)
N.B. Although not mentioned in the PRAG it is recommended, from experience, that the proposed service providers are first approached to ascertain their interest in submitting a bid

39. Single Tender One offer only necessary
The procedure is not covered in the PRAG - the identified service provider must submit a brief technical proposal and a financial offer.
These documents can be sent and received by fax and the evaluation can be carried out in an informal manner, providing the confidentiality of the proceedings and the impartiality of the evaluators are respected.
Note: The same procedure applies to supply and works contracts

40. General Comments
The Framework Contract should be used whenever possible for projects between €5,000 and €200,000
The procurement thresholds must be respected and projects must not be split artificially to circumvent these thresholds.
Technical assistance and related activities must be grouped where appropriate in large tenders and contracts.

41. Services: indicative tender and contracting times
Value (€)
Less than € 5,000
Between € 5,000 and € 200,000
Between € 5,000 and € 200,000
More than € 200,000
Procedure
Single tender
Competitive Negotiated
Framework
International Restricted
Action
Estimated time
Contract forecast :
to EC for translation
publication (OJ/Internet)
n/a 15 30
Procurement notice:
Short listing & shortlist report 5
Tender Dossier approval 10
Submission of bids 14 50
Evaluation of bids, interviews (if any) & preparation of Evaluation Report 1 3 12
Approval of Evaluation Report
Notification to successful Tenderer & receipt of required documents
Signature/endorsement of Contract:
by PAO (signature)
by ECD (endorsement)
by Contractor (signature) 2
Total estimated time - calendar days
months
1.5
107
3.5 44
229 +7
PRAG REQUIREMENT / ECD APPROVAL/ CONTRACTING AUTHORITY

42. Supply Contracts
WHAT: a contract concluded between the Contracting Authority and a Supplier concerning the design, manufacture, delivery, assembly or commissioning of goods together with any related tasks (e.g. maintenance, repairs, installation, training and after-sales service)
WHO: - Contracting Authority
- Supplier
SUPPLIES
< € 5,000
Single tender
 € 5,000 but
 € 30,000
Competitive Negotiated procedure
 € 30,000
but
 € 150,000
Local open tender procedure
> € 150,000
International open tender procedure

43. Organisation of International Open Tender
publication of a Contract Forecast and Procurement Notice on Internet, in OJEC and local media as appropriate
drafting and approval of the Tender Dossier
compilation of a register of the companies that have requested the Tender Dossier or have picked it up
reply to queries of Tenderers
receiving, registering and storing tender bids

44. Organisation of International Open Tender
organisation and chairing of tender evaluation sessions, including:
Preparatory Meeting
Public Tender Opening Session
Technical Evaluation
Financial Evaluation
drafting of the Evaluation Report
preparation and signature of the Contract
notification to Tenderers
publicising the award of the Contract

45. Local Open Tender
The contract forecast and the procurement notice are published only in the Beneficiary Country.
The European Commission publishes details of the publication, reference, country, Contracting Authority and type of contract on the Internet
The subsequent, tendering, evaluation and contract award follows the same procedure as for an International Open Supply Tender.

46. Competitive Negotiated Procedure
A minimum of three suppliers must be contacted.
As at least three compliant offers must be received (or the procedure must be cancelled)
It is recommended that the proposed suppliers are first approached to ascertain their interest in submitting a bid.
Evaluation of offers follows the same procedure as for an international open supply tender.

47. Rules of Origin
ALL goods must originate in the MS or the countries and territories of the regions covered by the Regulation governing the programme under which the Contract is being financed.
Evidence to this effect is asked for in the Instructions to Tenderers who must provide a signed Declaration with the tender bid
The successful tenderer must provide an original Certificate of Origin accompanying the invoice for the Advance Payment, or with the invoice for the Interim Payment upon Provisional Acceptance
Absence of a Certificate of Origin will result in non payment

48. How to Establish Origin
Origin = country where the product has been obtained or was produced
Main Criteria:
a product cannot originate in a country in which no production process has taken place
the country of origin is not necessarily the country from which the goods have been shipped
the country of origin is deemed to be the country in which the goods have undergone their last, economically justified and substantial transformation

49. Supplies: Indicative tender and contracting times
Value (€)
Less than € 5,000
Between € 5,000 and € 30,000
Between € 30,000 and € 150,000
More than € 150,000
Procedure
Single tender
Competitive Negotiated
Local Open
International Open
Action
Estimated time
Contract forecast:
to EC for translation
publication (OJ/Internet)
n/a 15 30
Procurement notice:
Tender Dossier approval 5 10
Submission of bids 60
Evaluation of bids and preparation of Evaluation Report 2
Approval of Evaluation Report
Notification to successful Tenderer and receipt of required documents
Signature/endorsement of Contract:
by PAO (signature)
by ECD (endorsement)
by Contractor (signature)
Total estimated time - calendar days
months 49
+1.5
122 +4
127
217 +7
PRAG REQUIREMENT / ECD APPROVAL/ CONTRACTING AUTHORITY

50. Works Contracts
WHAT: a contract concluded between a Contracting Authority and a Contractor for the execution of works (e.g. decommissioning of a nuclear power plant) or the building of a structure (e.g. highway)
WHO: - Contracting Authority
- Contractor
- Supervising Engineer (separate services contract)
WORKS
≤ € 5,000
Single tender
 € 5,000 but
 € 300,000
Competitive Negotiated procedure
 € 300,000 but
 € 5,000,000
Local open tender procedure
≥ € 5,000,000
International open tender procedure
Restricted
tender procedure (exceptional cases)

51. Organisation of an International Open Tender
publication of a Contract Forecast and Procurement Notice on Internet, in OJEC and local media as appropriate
drafting and approval of the Tender Dossier
compilation of a register of the companies that have requested the Tender Dossier or who have picked it
reply to questions from Tenderers
receiving, registering and storing tender bids

52. Organisation of an International Open Tender
organisation of tender evaluation sessions, including:
Preparatory Meeting
Public Tender Opening Session
Technical Evaluation
Financial Evaluation
the minimum number of voting members is 5
drafting of the Evaluation Report
preparation and signature of Contract
notification to Tenderers
publicising the award of the Contract

53. Local Open Tender
Main differences compared to an international open procedure are:
Procurement Notice only published locally in the Beneficiary Country (the EC only publishes references on the Internet)
Local advertisement may be used for publication in the local media
Minimum period between publication and deadline for receipt of bids = 60 calendar days
The minimum number of voting members in the Evaluation Committee is 3

54. Competitive Negotiated Procedure
Main differences compared to an international open procedure are:
no publication of Procurement Notice/local advertisement
a minimum of three would-be Tenderers are contacted.
at least three compliant offers must be received
minimum period between dispatch of Tender Dossier and deadline for receipt of bids = 30 calendar days
It is recommended that the proposed suppliers are first approached to ascertain their interest in submitting a bid.

55. Works: Indicative tender and contracting times
Value (€)
Less than € 5,000
Between € 5,000 and
€ 300,000
Between € 300,000 and € 5,000,000
More than
€ 5,000,000
Procedure
Single tender
Competitive Negotiated
Local Open
International Open
Action
Estimated time
Calendar days
Contract forecast:
to EC for translation
publication (OJ/Internet)
n/a 15 30
Procurement notice:
Tender Dossier approval 5 10 20
Submission of bids 60 90
Evaluation of bids and preparation of Evaluation Report 3
Approval of Evaluation Report
Notification to successful Tenderer and receipt of required documents
Signature/endorsement of Contract:
by PAO (signature)
by ECD (endorsement)
by Contractor (signature) 2
Total estimated time - calendar days
months 65 +2
133
4.5
190 +6
280 +9
PRAG REQUIREMENT / ECD APPROVAL/ CONTRACTING AUTHORITY