What are Types of Tenders?
Types of tenders (Ausschreibungsarten) encompass the different procedural formats through which public contracts can be awarded under German and EU procurement law. The choice of procedure determines the level of competition, the degree of interaction between contracting authority and bidders, and the applicable procedural rules.
Above the EU thresholds, the main procedure types are the open procedure (offenes Verfahren), restricted procedure (nicht-offenes Verfahren), negotiated procedure with prior publication (Verhandlungsverfahren mit Teilnahmewettbewerb), competitive dialogue (wettbewerblicher Dialog), and innovation partnership (Innovationspartnerschaft). The open procedure is the default and most commonly used, allowing any interested economic operator to submit a bid. The restricted procedure and negotiated procedure involve a preliminary selection phase where candidates must first qualify before being invited to submit bids or enter negotiations.
Below the EU thresholds, German law provides its own set of procedures: the public tender (oeffentliche Ausschreibung), restricted tender (beschraenkte Ausschreibung), negotiated award (Verhandlungsvergabe), and direct award (Direktvergabe). These parallel the above-threshold procedures but with generally less stringent procedural requirements.
Why It Matters for Bidders
The type of tender directly impacts a bidder's strategy. In an open procedure, any company can compete, making it essential to submit a compelling and compliant bid. In restricted or negotiated procedures, the initial application phase is critical, as only prequalified candidates advance. Understanding the procedure type helps bidders decide whether to invest resources in a particular opportunity.
Negotiated procedures and competitive dialogues offer bidders the advantage of being able to refine their proposals through direct interaction with the contracting authority. However, these procedures are only available under specific conditions defined by law, and bidders should understand why a particular procedure was chosen to assess the competitive dynamics.
Legal Framework
Above the EU thresholds, the procedure types are defined in Sections 119 to 122 GWB and further detailed in the VgV (Sections 14 to 18). Below the thresholds, the UVgO governs procedure types. For construction works, the VOB/A sets out analogous procedures. EU Directive 2014/24/EU Articles 26 to 31 establish the European framework.