What does competitive call for participation mean?
The competitive call for participation is the first phase of a two-stage procurement procedure and serves to select suitable applicants for the following bidding phase. In this phase, contracting authorities check the suitability of the interested companies against criteria set in advance. Only the applicants who are found suitable and selected are then invited to submit a bid.
The competitive call for participation is used in several procedure types: in the restricted procedure, in the negotiated procedure with a competitive call for participation, in the competitive dialogue and in the innovation partnership. What they all have in common is that the contracting authority sets out the suitability criteria and the selection criteria transparently in the contract notice. Typical suitability criteria include professional qualification, economic and financial standing, and technical and professional ability, proven for example through references, revenue figures and staff capacity.
Applicants are selected based on the selection criteria stated in the contract notice. The contracting authority can limit the number of applicants but must keep to a minimum number. In the restricted procedure, the minimum is five. In the negotiated procedure and the competitive dialogue, it is three. If the number of suitable applicants exceeds the maximum set by the contracting authority, the selection is made by ranking against the selection criteria.
Relevance for bidders
For bidders, the competitive call for participation is an important hurdle that decides whether they get further access to the procedure. Careful preparation of the request to participate is therefore key. Bidders should analyze the required suitability and selection criteria closely and tailor their application to these criteria.
Choosing and presenting suitable reference projects is especially important. They should be as comparable as possible to the contract being tendered and reflect the stated requirements such as project size, industry and scope of services. Bidders should also check whether relying on the capacities of other entities (Eignungsleihe) or forming a bidding consortium makes sense to make up for missing capacity or references of their own.
Legal framework
The competitive call for participation is governed for the various procedure types by Sections 16 to 19 VgV (Public Procurement Ordinance). The suitability criteria and how to prove them are set out in Sections 44 to 49 VgV. Section 51 VgV governs the selection decision. For construction work, the corresponding provisions are in VOB/A-EU. EU Procurement Directive 2014/24/EU governs the competitive call for participation in Articles 28, 29 and 30. The principles of equal treatment and transparency under Section 97 GWB (German Act against Restraints of Competition) also apply to the selection of applicants in the competitive call for participation.