• Choosing the procedure

    Directive 2014/24/EU defines six separate procedures for the award of contracts: open procedure restricted procedure competitive procedure with negotiation competitive dialogue innovation partnership design contest. While GRPP may be applied in any of these procedures, when open or restricted procedures are used, there is no flexibility to engage with bidders to refine their offers in respect of gender equality or...

  • Defining the subject matter of the contract

    Contracting authorities are free to define the subject matter of their tenders. At the pre-tender stage, you should consider how the purchase may affect women and men differently and address this in the subject matter and/or in a short description in the contract notice . There are two main reasons for incorporating gender aspects within the subject matter of the...

  • Preliminary market consultation

    The purpose of preliminary market consultation is to obtain a clear picture of which products, works and services are available and to inform economic operators about the upcoming tender. Preliminary market consultations can be used to scope out the market capacity to deliver gender-responsive outcomes, as well as to refine the contracting authority objectives. This can be done through informal...

  • Needs assessment

    Depending on the users/beneficiaries of the procurement, needs assessment may be a strictly internal process (e.g. office furniture or equipment is purchased) or may involve external people and organisations (e.g. social housing or a civic centre is constructed or a website/application is made accessible to the public). Needs assessment may be undertaken either formally (e.g. through a questionnaire or structured...

  • Regular collaboration between gender equality bodies/departments and public procurement offices is in place

    The use of GRPP to address gender equality successfully also depends on the extent of regular and informed collaboration between gender equality bodies and contracting authorities. Such collaboration can take the form of consultation, whereby the contracting authority (automatically) involves gender equality bodies when initiating the public procurement cycle. Likewise, gender equality bodies reach out to the public authorities with...

  • Capacity-building programmes, support structures and guidelines promote GRPP

    Legislation and strategies on GRPP are important tools to promote such public procurement and thus help to advance gender equality, but GRPP without adequate support structures remains a largely theoretical undertaking. Relevant support structures include capacity building, training and information materials that explain GRPP, its uses and its impact on gender equality, as well as mentoring/cooperation between public and third...

  • Gender equality action plans or strategies mention public procurement / GRPP as a tool to promote gender equality

    A further aspect of GRPP is the extent to which national gender equality action plans refer to public procurement as a tool to promote gender equality. This can take many forms, but GRPP needs to be specifically mentioned when such strategies refer to gender mainstreaming and/or gender budgeting, for example. Example of gender equality action plans: The fourth action plan...

  • Public procurement strategies cover GRPP or include gender equality as an objective

    GRPP is often subsumed under socially responsible public procurement (SRPP) strategies without being specifically referred to. However, when public procurement strategies include specific gender equality objectives, preferably at all stages of the procurement cycle, GRPP implementation does increase. Examples of public procurement strategies including gender equality as an objective In Spain, Barcelona’s sustainable public procurement objectives plan for 2020–2021 includes...

  • Legal framework cross-references gender equality and public procurement

    Public procurement and the promotion of gender equality are often seen as two separate issues. General provisions on gender mainstreaming and/or gender budgeting make, at best, little or, at worst, no reference to GRPP. Laws that specifically mention the use of GRPP as a tool to promote gender equality not only provide legal certainty on its use (usefulness), but also...

  • Exclusion grounds

    The purpose of grounds for exclusion is to determine whether an operator is allowed to participate in the procurement procedure or to be awarded the contract. Several of the exclusion grounds set out in Article 57 of Directive 2014/24/EU and Article 136 of the financial regulation are relevant to GRPP: mandatory exclusion for people trafficking / child labour; non-payment of...

  • Selection criteria

    Selection criteria may address legal capacity, financial and economic standing, technical ability (including experience) and professional skills and qualifications. Selection criteria should be tailored to the specific contract and should be proportionate to the requirements. However, many authorities apply a generic approach to selection and are reluctant to introduce new criteria. This may limit the extent to which GRPP selection...

  • Technical specifications

    Technical specifications set the mandatory requirements for the goods, services or works being purchased. They may be formulated by referring to standards, they may be performance based or they may use some combination of these approaches. Under the 2014 procurement directives, there is no explicit authorisation for specifications to address social characteristics, unlike award criteria and contract performance clauses. Despite...