Page 115 - Procurement guidelines for smart sustainable cities - A U4SSC deliverable

What it means

When writing contracts public officials and stakeholders should:

• design contracts specifically for what they are buying – for example, what is relevant to a digital
and technology contract, may not be relevant to facilities management, marketing or office
supplies;

• use plain language and avoid legal jargon; if they have to use legal wording explain what it
means;
• avoid using negative or controlling terms where possible, for example: “termination”,
“consequences”, “liabilities”, “penalties”, “dispute”, and so on; and

• check the document with a lawyer to eliminate any risks.

Public officials and stakeholders should also:

• ensure that language is inclusive and accessible to a diverse range of users; for example, those
with special needs – check with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) before finalising the
text;

• give clear guidance on when emergency conditions apply, that is an exceptional situation
beyond the control of the buyer or supplier known as force majeure; and

• use visual aids such as flowcharts and timelines to provide a summary and clarify what is stated
in the text:

Framework agreements

If public officials and stakeholders regularly commission a certain type of service; for example,
software development, they should consider setting up a framework agreement.

Framework agreements allow suppliers to sign up in advance to supply specific services for a
limited period. Buyers and suppliers still need to sign a contract (a “call-off contract”) each time
a service is bought, but these contracts are much shorter and faster to produce than traditional
contracts.

Open contracting

All contracts should be published so that they are:

• accessible to the public (ideally via the Internet);
• published in full, except for legitimately sensitive information; and

• in a digital, machine-readable format.

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