Unsuccessful processes¶
In the case of procurement, a contracting process can be defined as a procurement procedure. There is a one-to-one correspondence between the first stage of a procurement procedure (tender) and a contracting process.
In OCDS, at a conceptual level, a contracting process is intended to match each concrete attempt to start a procedure that leads to one or more contracts. Attempts can include: an invitation to tender (in open procedure); an invitation to request to participate; a competition for a concession; a direct award, etc.
In OCDS, the ocid is the unique identifier for a contracting process. As the initiation of the procurement process is the tender, normally the identifier for a tender can be used as the ocid.
In most jurisdictions, if a procedure is cancelled or unsuccessful, and a new procedure is started to procure the same items, the two procedures are considered two different contracting processes. This is in keeping with the OCDS definition of a contracting process.
But in other jurisdictions, such as Paraguay, planning is considered as initiating the process. In these jurisdictions when a tender fails and a new tender is started, the two tenders are considered part of the same contracting process. This differs from the OCDS definition of a contracting process.
In OCDS, it is relevant and desirable to disclose information about planning, but the contracting process is not interpreted as "starting" with planning. In OCDS, the planning process is something that comes before the initiation of a contracting process. The initiation of the procedure is not the planning process, because at least one of the following is true of a planning process: it is not a concrete attempt to award one or more contracts like a request for tender, etc.; it is not a concrete opportunity for potential suppliers to participate in; it does not describe the competitive conditions.
However a jurisdiction treats unsuccessful tenders and subsequent tenders, in OCDS they are considered separate but related contracting processes.
This relationship can be modelled using the relatedProcess array at the release level, with the ‘unsuccessfulProcess’ relationship type.
Example: Modelling unsuccessful tenders in Paraguay¶
The Sistema de Información de las Contrataciones Públicas (SICP) discloses information about contracting processes for all public entities in Paraguay. SICP is managed by the National Directorate of Public Procurement (DNCP in Spanish).
The first data disclosed is about the planning process. Planning data includes an estimate of what an entity is going to buy, when and for how much. SICP assigns an ocid when the planning data is first disclosed, before the tender stage. In this example, the ocid is 'ocds-03ad3f-331547'.
Next, the contracting process is disclosed, using a new ocid, 'ocds-03ad3f-331547-1'. The relatedProcess block links the planning process and the contracting process, with the relationship set to 'planning'.
The tender was unsuccessful, so the tender status is set to ‘unsuccessful’.
The buyer issues another tender to buy the same item, following from the same planning process.
Paraguay considers the two tenders part of the same contracting process. But, in OCDS the two tenders are separate contracting processes.
To construct an ocid for the second contracting process, Paraguay adds a consecutive number to the ocid of the first process. In this example the new ocid is 'ocds-03ad3f-331547-2'
Paraguay could also have used the identifier for the second tender as the ocid for the second contracting process.
The relatedProcess block links to the unsuccessful contracting process with the relationship set to ‘unsuccessfulProcess’, and to the initial planning process with the relationship set to ‘planning’.