Anchor Institutions

Major institutions that are embedded in the community. ‘Anchors” are unlikely to move from their local community; they have capital invested in their local area; their purpose as an organisation is broadly aligned with that of their community or the goals of their community.

Best and Final Offer (BAFO):

A process to improve the quality of tenders that are potentially acceptable but have some deficiencies. Short listed tenderers are asked to revise their proposals in specific areas, which then become their best and final offer and the basis for further evaluation.

Conditions for Participation:

The minimum conditions you must meet to participate in a procurement process or for your submission to be considered.

Conflict of interest:

A situation where an individual’s private interests may benefit from their public actions. Conflicts of interest, either at a personal or organisational level, can arise where there is a reasonable expectation of direct or indirect benefit or loss for an individual employee (or agent of the organisation) with a particular personal interest that could be influenced, or appear to be influenced, in favour of that interest, in the performance of their duties. The benefit or loss may be financial or non-financial.

Contract Management Plan:

A plan containing all the pertinent information about how the contract is to be managed and which identifies and addresses all relevant issues through the life of the contract.

Contract Variation:

An addition or alteration to the terms of contract that is mutually agreed to by both parties to the contract.

Debrief:

The process of advising unsuccessful respondents on a “no commitment” basis, of potential improvements to their bids which, if made, may help to make them more competitive for future tenders.

Direct Purchase:

The procurement of goods and/or services by placing an order with the supplier of choice, without seeking other bids.

Due Diligence:

The process of reviewing and analysing in detail the capacity of a bidding organisation to meet contract performance requirements. This may include a detailed assessment of the organisation’s financial stability, legal risks, technical capacity and infrastructure.

EPCM:

Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management

Evaluation Criteria:

The criteria used to evaluate the compliance and/or relative ranking of tender responses.

Expression of Interest (EOI):

The process of seeking the interest of suppliers capable of undertaking specific works or services to provide information on that capability or a detailed proposal to undertake work. It is usually the first stage of a tender process and can be used to assess market capability and seek market input into the preparation of subsequent specifications in tender documents. An EOI may be used to:

– Identify the best potential tenderers in a particular market – Restrict the number of potential tenderers to those that meet certain pre-requisites- Address security/confidentiality issues by limiting risks with respondents without providing sensitive information.

GIPA:

Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act). The objective of the GIPA Act is to make government information more accessible to the public. Public access to the government information system is overseen by the Information and Privacy Commission. See: http://www.service.nsw.gov.au/gipa

Intellectual Property (IP):

Inventions, original designs, and practical applications of ideas protected by law through copyright, patents, registered designs, and trademarks. Also includes trade secrets, proprietary know-how and other confidential information protected against unlawful disclosure by law and through additional contractual obligations, such as confidentiality agreements, contracts and conditions of tendering.

PCard:

Procurement card.

Pre-Qualification Scheme:

A panel of suppliers that have been pre-qualified following a registration and assessment process. The process validates that the suppliers meet certain criteria and agree to comply with business policies or procedures. Suppliers engaged under a scheme are not contracted and would need to agree to the criteria and terms specific to each individual engagement.

Procurement:

Process involving all activities following the decision to acquire or dispose of goods or services. Distinct from “purchasing”, procurement involves the activities related to establishing fundamental requirements, sourcing activities such as market research and vendor evaluation, and the negotiation of contracts. It can also include the purchasing activities required to order and receive goods.

Purchasing:

Is the process of ordering and receiving goods and services and is a sub-set of the wider procurement process. Purchasing refers to the process involved in ordering goods such as request, approval, creation of a Purchase Order, and the receipting of goods.

Request for Proposal (RFP):

This is a form of Expression of Interest to obtain preliminary proposals that may be used as a basis for short-listing tenderers. Tenderers are initially invited on their proposals against the relevant evaluation criteria, and a number of those that best meet the criteria may then be short listed and then invited to provide detailed proposals. RFPs may be used to:

– Test the competitiveness of possible new suppliers – Obtain detailed information on costs and cost drivers – Identify lower cost alternatives – Build a database of suppliers and their capabilities

Request for Quotation (RFQ):

A Request for Quotation invites suppliers into a bidding process to bid on specific products and/or services. RFQ’s often include the specifications of the items/services to ensure that all the suppliers’ bids are directly comparable.

Request for Tender (RFT):

A published notice inviting businesses, who satisfy the conditions for participation, to submit a detailed tender to provide goods / services in accordance with requirements of the RFT.

Technical Specification:

A detailed description setting the functional, performance, material and other specific technical requirements for a proposed good or service.

Tender:

Includes a price, bid, offer, quotation, consultant proposal or expression of interest lodged in response to an invitation or Request For Tender.

Weighing:

Assigning a higher priority to suppliers and contractors in the evaluation process of tenders.

Written Quotation:

A process of inviting bids in writing to supply goods and/or services involving simple documentation and a limited number of potential suppliers.