The Public Procurement Office hosted a two-day webinar "Contract award criteria – new legal solutions applicable since January 1, 2024", to guide clients and bidders in public procurement on updated contract award criteria. Participants gained insights on new legal requirements and learned about model tender documents designed to base contract awards on factors beyond price alone.
The webinar addressed two main topics. The first focused on new legal provisions effective from January 1, following amendments to the Law on Public Procurement. These updates introduce guidelines for contract awards in public procurement procedures to enhance selection transparency, fairness, and overall quality in public tenders.
The second topic highlighted model tender documentation for five specific types of services where price alone cannot determine the best offer. For services: consultancy, translation, development of IT programme, architecture, and engineering, contracting authorities must now consider additional criteria directly tied to the nature of the service. These model documents aim to standardize procurement practices and offer clear guidance to ensure that the best bidder is selected through a cost-effectiveness approach, prioritizing the best price-quality ratio. The new tender documentation models are now available on the Public Procurement Office’s website.
The webinar attracted approximately 700 public procurement officers from various organizations, and abroad, who received insights on these updates from Public Procurement Office representatives.
This webinar is part of a series of activities organized by the Public Procurement Office supported by the project " "EU for Public Finance Management in Serbia", funded by the European Union and implemented by UNDP, in partnership with the Center for Excellence in Finance (CEF) and the Ministry of Finance of Slovakia.