The following information was created to assist procurement officers in considering cancelling or implementing a framework agreement. As mentioned above, a buyer can refine the basic terms of the framework agreement when concluding a tender contract. All important information and details of the contract are given in the specifications. You may be wondering where you can find framework agreements or tender opportunities for your company. There is no shortage of websites that offer tendering opportunities and cross-sectoral leads. Ideally, you should look for an industry-specific website that offers all the unique opportunities, both public and private. The world of procurement has a lot of confusing terminologies, and you may have come across the term mini-competition. You may be wondering what it is and what it means when it is noted in your tender documents. When using framework agreements and, where necessary, organisations should review each call to ensure that all relevant procurement documents have been updated to reflect the new legislation. Example of a framework agreement in which mini-competitions must always be organised: when a buyer evaluates a mini-competition with MEAT, a supplier`s responses are evaluated in terms of quality and price.
The exact criteria they use for the evaluation are listed in the specification. A framework agreement will generally give a buyer more flexibility with regard to the goods or services contracted in the framework, both in terms of the volume and details of the goods and services concerned. A multi-vendor framework allows a contracting authority to choose from a range of suppliers for its requirements to ensure that each purchase represents the best value. A buyer will publish an ITT for the mini-contest of the recovery contract. Although they cannot change the basic terms or specifications of the original framework agreement, they can change: yes, provided that it is a typical recovery and that the aim is not to distort competition. Appeal contracts may be continued after the expiry of the respective framework agreement. In the «new» EU directive, from which the 2015 regulations originate, it says in the 62. Explicitly considering: «While contracts based on a framework agreement must be awarded before the end of the duration of the framework agreement itself, the duration of individual contracts based on a framework agreement does not necessarily have to coincide with the duration of that framework agreement, but may be shorter or longer as appropriate. In particular, it should be possible to determine the duration of individual contracts on the basis of a framework agreement, taking into account factors such as the time required for their execution where the maintenance of equipment with an expected useful life of more than four years or the full training of staff in the performance of the contract is necessary. However, there is a general prohibition on the misuse or distortion of competition of framework agreements and this should be taken into account when determining the duration of a tender contract. No. Suppliers are generally not guaranteed work under a framework agreement and it is useful for a contracting authority to confirm this in the relevant tender documents.
However, contracting authorities should ensure that suppliers are treated equally in an evaluation framework in a mini-competition procedure. Organizations must ensure that current and future framework agreements (including those concluded before the legislation came into force) are compatible with the GDPR. All relevant procurement documents must refer to the new legislation. Some framework agreements require us to conduct a competition between several contractual partners before ordering. Detailed guidelines for the organisation of a mini-competition should be made available to the holder of the framework agreement. However, there are specific rules that apply to all mini-contests. When rejecting a framework agreement, it should be noted that there is no possibility of applying selection criteria. The selection criteria have been applied in the definition of the framework agreement and cannot be repeated during the appeal phase. If an aspect of the execution of the order has not been included in the framework agreement but is relevant to the nature of the custody contract, organizations should consider how best to address this issue in the custody agreement. Organizations should consider whether the conditions set out in the framework allow for the establishment of additional criteria. For example, if fair labour practices have not been included in the framework agreement, but there is an award criterion to combat «sustainability», it is possible to include more specific criteria in this broader heading to deal with fair labour practices.
Mini-competitions should normally be based on the same conditions as those required for the award of the framework. However, the Public Contract (Scotland) Regulations 2015 allow criteria to be applied to mini-competitions if necessary: through mini-competitions, buyers are likely to achieve additional cost savings. Indeed, the pricing is not defined or is set at a minimum level. Therefore, it is important to remember this when evaluating your services or work. Don`t forget to evaluate your service or product competitively. Try not to underlist your competitors too much, as this can also cause buyers to question your legitimacy. Mini-contests based on the best value for money allow buyers to refine their requirements. They may have refined their requirements during the original framework agreement. However, a mini-contest allows them to refine it even further from the basic terms of the contract. Some framework agreements require us to always hold mini-competitions, while others require us to hold mini-competitions only when a purchase exceeds a certain value. Check the terms of the specific agreement to find out when a mini-contest should take place. If in doubt, please contact the purchasing office.
When concluding a framework agreement, the contracting authority should include in the contract documents as many conditions as possible that apply to tendering contracts in order to ensure that suppliers are aware of their risks related to the tender conditions. However, if it is not possible to determine the conditions applicable to an appeal, these conditions may be determined at the time of recovery using a mini-selection procedure. For more information on the requirements for running a mini-contest, see our note on using frameworks in the Document Toolbox tab above. A mini-competition saves time when buying a good or service. If a supplier is already in a framework, they do not need to resubmit a full offer. This saves suppliers and buyers time because a buyer doesn`t have to re-evaluate a full offer. For more considerations and an example of a typical mini-competition procedure, see the Guide to the Use of Framework Agreements. This depends on whether your organisation or «class» is clearly identified as a contracting authority authorised to use it through the call for tenders. If you use a framework that you are not allowed to use, this may constitute an unlawful «direct award» of a public contract and entail the risk of an application for a declaration of invalidity on the grounds that the contract should have been put out to tender separately. Competitions between several contracting parties are called «mini-competitions».
Mini-competitions must be organised with the support of the Seksjon procurement office for innkjøp. During the tendering process, this term may appear frequently. A buyer will organize a mini-contest to refine their requirements while retaining the benefits offered under the cooperation agreement. SPPN 3/2017 provides detailed information on speculative framework agreements. A number of organisations claim to offer statutory framework agreements to Scottish contracting authorities. In some cases, it is clear that these framework agreements were awarded without prior consultation with these organizations and may have been concluded without any real understanding of the actual requirements of the organization. This can have a legal and inexpensive impact on public authorities. For the purposes of this SPPN, these are speculative framework agreements. Mini-contests can create a variety of opportunities and increased competition from suppliers.
This allows buyers to re-evaluate suppliers on the frame and select their preferred option. It is possible to conclude a framework agreement with a single supplier. Multi-vendor frameworks are also possible; A multi-supplier framework established under the Government Procurement Regulations, 2015 requires only two suppliers (whereas previously at least three were required under the Government Procurement Regulations, 2006). .