Aspects of Public Procurement Law

Planning processes for building projects the size of the Lüneburg campus development project require the involvement of so-called expert planners. The selection of the relevant engineering offices is subject to clearly defined statutory provisions. All services to be delivered within the scope of the campus development project that cannot be provided by the University itself must be publicly tendered and awarded.

Central building procurement

The central building alone requires the help of a dozen expert planners and engineers. The scope of work, i.e. the tasks to be performed by each expert planner, will be tendered publicly and, in part, on a Europe-wide basis in accordance with the German Fee Regulations for Architects and Engineers (HOAI).

In the case of the Lüneburg campus development project, the following trades were above the threshold value: structural design, building services, open space planning, and project management. In accordance with statutory provisions, these trades were publicly tendered and awarded on a Europe-wide basis. Other trades such as fire protection, facade planning and energy consulting were awarded to the bidder submitting the most cost-effective bid after comparative bids had been obtained and screened. All parties involved in the contract award procedure were coordinated and supervised by the project management division in terms of quality, quantity, costs, and time schedule.

According to the German Regulations regarding the Awarding of Independent Contractor Services (VOF), freelance services must be tendered publicly and Europe-wide starting at a threshold value of EUR 206,000.00 (EUR 193,000.00 from January 1, 2010). In a pre-competitive bidding procedure, prospective bidders will be selected on the basis of clearly defined criteria for the assessment of their suitability, such as reference object, quality, qualification, office size, and ability to perform the work at each stage. After negotiations are finalized, the bidder who is likely to provide the best service will be awarded the contract.

The contract award procedure is as follows:
1. Selection of bidders to be invited to contract negotiations
2. Contract negotiations with bidders
3. If required, second round of contract negotiations with short-listed bidders
4. Final decision and awarding of contract

If the value of the service amounts to less than EUR 206,000.00 (EUR 193,000.00 from January 1, 2010), the VOF shall not apply and the contract can be freely awarded. In this case, however, a screening procedure will be carried out to select suitable expert planners. Before making a final decision, normally at least three bids should have been obtained for the purpose of bid comparison.