Public Procurement

TRAINING LEVEL: Beginner

Training Objectives

In this document you will learn:

• How to approach the public procurement process
• What principles to follow when setting criteria for selecting suppliers of participatory activities to ensure their quality

Table of Contents: 

1. Key rules for public procurement 
2. What services to outsource in participatory processes
3. The public procurement process
4. Establishing criteria for supplier selection

1. KEY RULES FOR PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

1.1 Public procurement in the Czech Republic is defined by:

• Public Procurement Act (Act no. 134/2016 Coll.)
• Internal directives of the contracting authority (city, region, etc.)
• If the contract is financed by a grant, the directives of the grant authorities

1.2 Types of public procurement:

1. DIRECT:

• Contacting a specific supplier
• Suitable for smaller contracts
• Also used in case of:
  • Time constraints
  • When organizing a call for tenders is not possible
  • When you know a supplier with an excellent quality-price ratio
  • When you need a specific product/service that only a specific supplier can provide

2. CLOSED CALL FOR TENDERS:

• Non-public, the contracting authority approaches 3 or more suppliers from their database or research
• It is necessary to regularly conduct market research to find relevant applicants

3. OPEN CALL FOR TENDERS: 

• Public process, where anyone can apply
• Not suitable for smaller, low-costs projects due to the amount of work involved
• The most complex option - requires preparation of materials, ensuring impartial selection, etc.

2. WHAT SERVICES TO OUTSOURCE IN PARTICIPATORY PROCESSES 

• Software for e-participation (Civic Tech)
• Suppliers of specific services:
  • Facilitation of participatory meetings
  • Participatory process design
  • Project management
  • Data analysis
  • Sociological survey
  • Communication (copywriting, creating a project website, etc.)
• Consultants - consulting in the field of participation and Civic Tech
• The entire participatory process:
  • For complex participatory processes with multiple phases that require different types of expertise, we recommend splitting the process into several units and sourcing separate suppliers. Dividing the process based on the expertise required allows you to get a high-quality supplier who specializes in a specific activity. The division may look like, for example: sociological survey / facilitation of participatory meetings / creation of an expert study (e.g. urban study) / project management, etc.

3. THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT PROCESS

1. Creating a public procurement plan based on the identified need 

• Establishing the schedule, the role of the institution / city district and how to set up cooperation with the supplier, the goals, what needs to be outsourced, etc.

2. Market research  

• Clarifying the subject and criteria of the contract
• Selecting suppliers that you will approach in a closed call for tenders or for direct involvement
  • Conducting market research e.g. using search engines such as Google
  • Other sources:
    • Register of contracts
    • Similar contracts in other city districts
    • Database of suppliers (in CZ: https://www.fen.cz/)
    • Public procurement database (in CZ: https://tenderman.cz/)
• Evaluating internal knowledge and experience
• Communicating with suppliers, requesting references
• Obtaining an expert evaluation

3. Selecting the type of public procurement 

4. Concluding the contract 

4. ESTABLISHING CRITERIA FOR SUPPLIER SELECTION

In tenders, correctly set evaluation criteria will allow you to choose suppliers who will provide the best quality of services. For participatory processes, it is most beneficial not to select a supplier based on price as the only decisive criterion, but to include other criteria that allow you to assess their experience, quality and design of the services provided. Here are some tips to consider in the selection process: 

• Include a quality-price ratio (e.g. 60-40) as a deciding criterion.
• To evaluate the quality of each supplier, carefully select the criteria that will allow the most qualified supplier to gain the most points.
  • The criteria must be clearly stated, including a description of how they will be assessed.
  • Examples of  criteria for evaluating the quality of services:
    • References
    • Professional approach (e.g. ask the suppliers to provide a description of how they will proceed in the implementation of the contract including process design of the participation phases, scenario of a participatory activity or event, etc.)
    • For public procurement of sociological surveys, we recommend consulting a sociologist to ensure correct set up.