UK Public Sector Procurement Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the 31 most-used terms in UK public sector procurement and bid writing — from framework agreements and DPSs through to social value, the Procurement Act 2023 and MEAT. Each term includes how it affects your bid in practice.
Procurement mechanisms
How UK public sector buys: frameworks, DPSs, call-offs and the formal procurement procedures.
Framework Agreement
A pre-agreed contract between one or more buyers and a panel of suppliers, used as the source of call-off c…
Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS)
An electronic procurement vehicle that remains open to new suppliers throughout its lifetime, used for comm…
Call-Off Contract
An individual contract awarded under a parent framework agreement or DPS, ordered by a buyer from an approv…
Mini-Competition
A short competitive process run among suppliers on a framework or DPS to award a specific call-off contract.
Open Procedure
A single-stage UK public sector procurement procedure where any interested supplier can submit a bid respon…
Restricted Procedure
A two-stage UK public sector procurement: suppliers first pass a Selection Questionnaire, then shortlisted …
Lot
A self-contained subdivision of a tender, allowing bidders to compete for only the parts of a contract they…
Documents and stages
The documents and stages of a UK public sector procurement, from PIN through ITT to award.
Invitation to Tender (ITT)
The formal document a UK public sector buyer issues inviting suppliers to submit a tender response, contain…
Selection Questionnaire (SQ)
A standardised UK public sector questionnaire used to assess supplier eligibility, financial standing and t…
Request for Proposal (RFP)
A formal document inviting suppliers to propose a solution to a defined business need — common terminology …
Request for Information (RFI)
A pre-procurement document asking suppliers for general information about their capability, used to shape r…
Request for Quotation (RFQ)
A request for a price quote against a defined specification — used for simpler, lower-value procurements wh…
Prior Information Notice (PIN)
A pre-procurement notice published by a UK public sector buyer signalling intent to procure, often used to …
Portals and bodies
The UK government portals and bodies that publish, manage and aggregate public sector opportunities.
Find a Tender Service (FTS)
The UK government's official portal for public-sector contract opportunities above the procurement threshol…
Contracts Finder
The UK government's free portal for English public-sector contract opportunities below the formal procureme…
Crown Commercial Service (CCS)
The UK government's central commercial body, running frameworks and aggregated procurements that route a su…
G-Cloud
Crown Commercial Service's flagship framework for cloud services, used by UK public sector to procure softw…
Digital Outcomes and Specialists (DOS)
Crown Commercial Service's framework for digital project delivery — teams, specialists and digital outcomes…
OJEU / TED
The EU's historical procurement portal (Official Journal of the European Union / Tenders Electronic Daily),…
Evaluation and award
How buyers evaluate bids, the standstill period, and how suppliers decide which opportunities to pursue.
Award Criteria
The published criteria a UK public sector buyer uses to evaluate and score bid responses, weighted between …
Standstill Period
A mandatory 10 working-day pause between award decision and contract signature, during which unsuccessful b…
Bid / No-Bid
The structured decision to commit (or not) to writing a bid response for a specific opportunity, based on w…
Policy and compliance
The legal and policy framework — Procurement Act 2023, social value, carbon plans, MEAT, PPNs.
Procurement Act 2023
The UK's post-Brexit reform of public sector procurement law, in force from 24 February 2025 — replaces PCR…
Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015)
The pre-Procurement Act 2023 UK procurement rules, still applicable to procurements started before 24 Febru…
Social Value
The additional economic, social and environmental benefits a supplier brings beyond the core contract, weig…
Procurement Policy Note (PPN)
UK Cabinet Office guidance documents setting mandatory or recommended practices for UK public sector procur…
Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP)
A published supplier statement of carbon footprint and reduction commitments — required by PPN 06/21 for UK…
Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)
The UK public sector evaluation principle that contracts are awarded on overall value (quality + price + wi…
Roles and eligibility
Supplier roles, SME status and the thresholds that determine which procurement rules apply.
SME Bidder
A small or medium enterprise bidder — UK public sector procurement actively encourages SME participation, w…
Above-Threshold
A UK public sector contract whose estimated value is above the financial threshold for formal procurement p…
Below-Threshold
A UK public sector contract whose estimated value is below the financial threshold for formal procurement p…
See also: long-form procurement guides, per-buyer guides for 170+ UK public sector buyers, or BidWriter comparisons.