Page 129 - Procurement guidelines for smart sustainable cities - A U4SSC deliverable

• the public know that their organization is awarding contracts fairly and appropriately; and
• unsuccessful suppliers can improve any future applications they make.

What it means

Public officials and stakeholders should allow time between notifying all suppliers of their decision
and awarding the contract (often referred to as the “standstill period”). This will enable suppliers
to ask questions and to provide feedback before a contract is formally signed.

Public officials and stakeholders should not negotiate with the winning supplier on core parts of
the contract such as their requirements. This changes the nature of the work they advertised and
gives the winning supplier an unfair advantage. Providing feedback to unsuccessful suppliers will
help ensure that they are better able to compete for contract opportunities in the future.

When giving feedback to unsuccessful suppliers public officials and stakeholders should:

• explain how they performed against the evaluation criteria;

• explain how they performed against the successful supplier; and
• answer any concerns or questions.

Do not give unsuccessful suppliers information about how they performed in comparison to other
unsuccessful suppliers.

Public officials and stakeholders should be clear with the winning supplier about:

• the agreed start and expiry dates of the work;
• the total contract values;

• how and when the supplier will be paid; and

• deliverables; for example, what needs to be done and by when.

Public officials and stakeholders may also need to include details on:

• anything a new supplier will need from their existing supplier;

• any staff training, they need as part of the handover of work; and

• who will own any intellectual property created during delivery.

For larger projects public officials and stakeholders should consider:

• breaking the work into smaller sections or “Statements of Work”; and
• being able to exit the contract after each section is completed.

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