Guidance Notes

The Review of Public Procurement identified a number of areas on which it was felt that guidance would assist purchasers to achieve best value for money.  The following guidance notes have been approved by the Procurement Board for use throughout the public sector.

Procurement Guidance Note 02/08: Information disclosure for public sector procurement practitioners

(pdf, 346kb)
This guidance note provides public sector procurement practitioners with a framework for standardisation of information disclosure across the procurement community.

Procurement Guidance Note 01/08: Integrating sustainable development into the procurement of food and catering services

(pdf, 200kb)
The purpose of this guidance note is to provide advice and guidance to procurement practitioners on integrating sustainable development and healthy eating objectives into the procurement of food and catering services.

Procurement Guidance Note 01/07: The use of Grant for Procurement

(pdf, 200kb)
This guide provides Departments with guidance on best practice procurement as it relates to grant and grant-in-aid. It will also assist in ensuring that grant funding, used for the procurement of goods, services or works by a grant recipient, is spent in accordance with procurement law and policy where appropriate.

Procurement Guidance Note 04/06: Procurement of Timber and Wood Products

(pdf, 220kb)
This Guidance Note provides Contracting Authorities with advice and guidance on how legal and sustainable timber can be purchased in line with EU procurement rules and public procurement policy.

Procurement Guidance Note 03/06: Use of Rolling Contracts

(pdf, 61kb)
The purpose of this Guidance Note is to advise contracting authorities that the use of rolling contracts is not regarded as best practice and is most unlikely to deliver value for money, it also details the parameters under which it may be considered appropriate to enter into such an arrangement

Procurement Guidance Note 02/06: Procurement of Fair Trade Products

(pdf, 81kb)
This Guidance Note defines fair and ethical trade, details the range of products currently recognised as fair trade products and provides Contracting Authorities with advice and guidance on the action that can be taken, under the EU procurement rules and procurement policy, to achieve fair trade objectives.

Procurement Guidance Note 01/06: OGC Guidance - Liability in Government Contracts

(pdf, 62kb)
This Guidance Note provides guidance to Contracting Authorities on the issues that need to be considered in deciding whether, and to what extent, contractor liability should be limited or excluded in Government contracts.

Guidance Note 01/05: Procurement Value for Money and Efficiency Measurement

(pdf, 270kb)
This Guidance provides Contracting Authorities with methodologies which can be used to both measure achievement against the  Value for Money (VFM) gains from the procurement of goods, services and works and to measure Procurement Efficiency.
VFM Low Value Calculator (Excel, 21kb)
Strategic procurement - Calculating VfM Savings (pdf, 169kb)

Guidance Note 07/04: Strategic Procurement

(pdf, 66kb)
This Guidance Note provides advice in respect of strategic and non-strategic procurement.  It defines strategic procurement and sets out the role that procurement staff should have in relation to strategic procurement.  It also provides direction to contracting authorities on what constitutes a comprehensive procurement strategy and outlines the principles of good practice that should be adopted for all strategic requirements.

Guidance Note 06/04: The Gateway Review Process

(pdf, 100kb)
This Guidance Note describes the OGC Gateway Review Process which is a review of an acquisition programme or procurement project that is carried out at a key decision point by a team of experienced people, independent of the project team.
Note: Guidance Note 06/04 has temporarily been superseded by the NI Gateway Process until the revised Gateway Policy is issued late in 2008.

Guidance Note 04/04: Integration of Environmental Considerations into Public Procurement

(pdf, 276kb)
The purpose of this Guidance Note is to assist contracting authorities to identify the most effective ways of integrating environmental issues within the public procurement process while adhering to the UK Public Procurement Regulations and the EC Treaty. The guidance will be useful to officers directly responsible for public procurement, as well as those who are customers of the procurement function and those responsible for managing environmental impacts.

Guidance Note 03/04: Integration of Social Considerations into Public Procurement

(pdf, 83kb)
Although the procurement rules do not contain specific provision on the pursuit of social policy goals within the framework of public procurement procedures they do not preclude the pursuit of social objectives. This Guidance Note provides an outline of the range of possibilities for integrating social considerations into public procurement in Northern Ireland under the existing procurement rules.

Guidance Note 02/04: Evidencing Best Value for Money

(pdf, 115kb)
This Guidance Note provides direction on criteria for, and methods of, satisfying the 12 principles of procurement policy stated in the Procurement Review.  When the 12 principles are satisfied best value for money is achieved.

Guidance Note 01/04: Procurement Control Limits

(pdf, 49kb)
This Guidance Note sets out the revised ‘Procurement Control Limits’ to be used by NICS Departments and provides advice on the sourcing of suppliers for procurements below £30K.
This document was reviewed in January 2006 and incorporates revisions to be applied with effect from 1 April 2006.

Guidance Note 01/03: Employment Opportunity Scheme - Pilot Scheme

(pdf, 155kb)
This Guidance Note outlines proposals to encourage employers to recruit and train unemployed people, who have been unemployed for at least 3 months, to work on significant contracts with Government Departments, their NDPBs and Public Corporations.

Central Procurement Directorate Management Information Guide

(Word, 632kb)
This Management Information Guide provides Centres of Procurement Expertise (CoPEs), Departments, Agencies, Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) and Public Corporations with details of the management information required to measure, monitor and report on the efficiency and effectiveness of procurement policy and practices across the Northern Ireland (NI) public sector.