JCBPP In Practice > Good practices

For all public procurement procedures

The determination of the subject matter of the contract requires close cooperation between the department responsible for the public procurement process and the department technically relevant to the subject of the contract

Experience shows that the description of the subject matter of the contract is the key factor in the preparation of the public procurement procedure

If the subject matter is defined only in general terms, it may have severe consequences, for example:

there may not be submitted bids and solutions to meet the needs of the CA
tenders might not be comparable in terms of price, qualitative and technical
do not alone ensure efficiency and effectiveness is not ensured.

The too detailed or specific description may lead to a narrowing of the range of technical solutions available on the economic market, respectively number of economic operators in the market that are able to submit a tender

The appropriate department should have professional and other information and knowledge related to the subject matter of the contract itself

performance, functional, technical, qualitative and other requirements for the subject of the contract
conditions for determining the price, warranty, contractual perfromance
knowledge of the relevant market, solutions available on the market, as well as related legislation

All aspects of performance must be identified in the description, in particular:

technical specifications (these may be various characteristics relating to performance, design, dimensions, materials, functionalities, etc., conditions of use (eg indoors, outdoors, in normal climatic conditions, in extreme climatic conditions, frequent use, etc.). These technical specifications should, if possible, be defined as minimum or maximum requirements or intervals in which the required solutions are to move,
requirements of technical resp. other standards, if such standards apply to the subject of the contract, etc.,
conditions of delivery performance – e.g. ensuring assembly, installation, service interventions, revisions, user training, etc.,
warranty conditions and length of the warranty,
time limits for delivery, provision, execution,
experts and staff responsible for delivery, e.g. the implementation of the requested service, assembly, installation, review actions by authorized persons, especially when its subject matter and related legislation requires it, etc.,
other requirements relating to the subject of the contract.

It is necessary to take into account technical development in the relevant market and to define the technical specifications and performance conditions

Functional specifications should be preferred over technical specifications because they focus on long-term needs

If the CA does not have sufficient knowledge of the market and solutions available, it can conduct a Preliminary Market Consultation

In tender phase

Frequent communication among partners because such projects need a lot of cooperation and communication

Thorough training in assessment preparation should be held to get a common process and avoid lengthy discussions

Nominate a lead procurer that already has longstanding relationship with all members of the Buyers’ Group proved a successful approach

Agreeing on the assessment process and decision can be sometimes tricky, and it may be overcomed by setting up an external evaluation panel in addition to the technical evaluation committee

In post-tender phase/Contract Performance Phase

The moment of entering into force of the contract may vary from country to country and there may be different requirements regarding language or publication procedures that must be considered since the beginning

Delivery or deliveries to a party or parties other than the main buyer might need attention in the Collaboration agreement

The Collaboration agreement between parties must define some aspects such as

The application of penalties’ regime
Modifications or termination of the contract and closing of the contract as well as the system of cooperation in the case of any claim or dispute either by or against a contractor, as well as any reporting and auditing duties
Establish basic rules for dealing with unforeseeable situations in the performance stage
Who is liable for checking the performance, submitting or responding to any claims, and initiating or responding to any disputes