16.1 Communication during the bidding process

Communication with bidders occurs at a number of stages throughout the project and needs to be appropriately planned and managed. Commonly the key points of communication are:

• market soundings with the broader marketplace held during project development;

• market briefing held to inform the market when the EOI is released;

• tender communication during the EOI and bid phase that comprise written Q&A procedures;

• tender communication during the bid phase that involves an interactive tender process; and

• debriefing of unsuccessful parties once contract execution or financial close is achieved.

PPP projects may require a greater opportunity for bidders to seek clarification and advice than is necessary on some other projects. In these circumstances, three considerations arise:

• ensuring that information provided by a bidder does not become available to any other bidder, whether directly or by inference;

• ensuring that no bidder receives an unfair advantage as a result of elaboration given in response to a question; and

• ensuring that related probity practices are sufficiently well designed so they do not unnecessarily restrict achievement of value for money.