Procurement of an IT supplier is, in projects financed from public funds, the most common place where a financial correction arises. The reason tends to be a description of the subject matter of the contract that refers to a specific product or contains conditions that only a single company meets. With technology, a neutral description is difficult, since the contracting authority often knows only one solution. The recommended approach is to describe the required outcome and functions instead of the product name, add qualitative evaluation criteria alongside price, and add a measurable way of verifying them. Equal care must be taken with references and with splitting the contract – artificial splitting aimed at avoiding a higher-value procedure is a breach that an audit reliably detects and penalises with a deduction. For larger contracts, it is worth publishing the description for public comment before the announcement, which reveals wording that favours a single supplier.
See also: Splitting of a Contract, Market research.
