Selection criteria are concerned with the capability and capacity of an economic operator to deliver the concerned contract. They do not focus on how an economic operator proposes to perform the contract; this is assessed at the award stage.
The key point in ensuring that contact opportunities are accessible is to ensure that the selection criteria are proportionate to the requirement. For example, where turnover is used as grounds for selection, in most cases, the minimum turnover required must not exceed twice the estimated contract value. Where a requirement has been broken into lots, selection criteria should be set with respect to each individual lot.
It will not always be appropriate to assess community benefits at this stage on the procurement process. Contracting authorities must give consideration to whether previous experience of delivering a particular type of community benefit is required to be able to deliver the proposed contract. We wish to encourage as many suppliers as possible to use community benefits clauses, so care is required in establishing relevant experience.
Where it is deemed appropriate to assess community benefits at the selection stage, this must be done through the format of the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD). The ESPD consists of a fixed set of questions that allows bidders to self-declare whether they meet the exclusion and selection criteria. Contracting authorities must incorporate statements into their contract notice or prior information notice (PIN) to help with the interpretation of the standardised questions in the ESPD.
If you are looking for experience of having delivered community benefits in the past, then this could be worked into the experience related sections of the ESPD (parts 4C 1 and 1.2 ask candidates to provide relevant examples of contracts carried out in the past, “as specified in the Contract Notice”). The following is an example of a statement to include in the specification to test a bidder’s previous experience of creating opportunities for SMEs, social enterprises and supported businesses.
‘In answering question 4C.1, please include examples of your experience of incorporating social benefits into previous contracts, including details of any specific steps taken in the design of services to involve SMEs, social enterprises and/or supported businesses.’
