Dividing the contract into lots

Dividing contracts into lots can help to ensure the participation of a wide range of bidders, including SMEs and social enterprises, and potentially including more women-led businesses. It can also facilitate the use of a reservation (see "Reserved contracts"). Division into lots does not in itself promote GRPP unless additional measures such as market engagement, reservations and award criteria are used.

Example of how to divide a contract into lots to ensure gender considerations are taken into account

In the Netherlands, the city of The Hague awarded a framework agreement with four lots; these included technical specifications and award criteria targeting diversity in the workforce, including on the basis of sex and other grounds. The lots were separated in a way that encouraged recruitment of the traditionally under-represented sex, for example women in IT and men in service positions.

How to act

If lots are used to help pilot GRPP on a smaller scale, there should be a clear plan for evaluating the outcomes and scaling up or changing the approach as needed.

If gender considerations are particularly relevant for certain lots, ensure that this is clear in both the contract notice and the tender documents.