| • Seek approval to issue the EoI • Obtain delegated authority to commit |
Seeking Expressions of Interest is a critical step in the procurement process. It signals to the market that the government is serious about entering into a PPP. Cabinet approval (in the case of government departments and Crown agents) therefore needs to be sought.
Bidders can be expected to start incurring significant expenditure in preparing themselves for the bidding process from now on. The reputational risk to the government's PPP program therefore increases significantly if any decision to discontinue the PPP process is made after this point.
The main functions of the stage 2 business case are to:
• establish a best estimate of the likely outcome of the bidding contest
• obtain Cabinet agreement to the commercial principles
• obtain Cabinet agreement to issue the invitation for Expressions of Interest (EoI)
• obtain Cabinet agreement to the tendering process and clarify who has authority to approve the issue of tender documents
• obtain delegated authority from Cabinet for someone (eg, joint ministers, a single minister or a chief executive) to decide the winning tender and execute the contract.