The award procedures provided for in The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 are:
- Open
- Restricted
- Competitive procedure with negotiation
- Competitive dialogue
- Innovation Partnership
- Negotiated procedure without prior publication
- Accelerated Restricted/Negotiated
Contracting authorities have a free choice between the open and restricted procedures. The competitive dialogue procedure and the competitive procedure with negotiation are available were certain criteria are met, including where the contract is complex or cannot be purchased ‘off the shelf’. The negotiated procedure without prior publication may only be used in the limited circumstances described in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Please see the choice of procedure section for more information.
Also, there are three alternative types of procurement arrangement permitted as well as standard, one-off contracts: