The four types of procedure

Open procedure

The contracting authority issues a public invitation to tender, and all bidders may submit a bid (PPA Art. 18). The tender and the award appear on simap.ch (PPA Art. 48 para. 1).

For you: whoever finds the tender in time and meets the eligibility criteria can bid.

Selective procedure

Here too the tender is public. But bidders first submit a request to participate. The contracting authority selects on the basis of eligibility who may submit a bid, if possible at least three (PPA Art. 19).

For you: the first step is proving eligibility; you only submit a bid after the selection.

Invitation procedure

Without a public tender, the contracting authority decides which bidders it invites to submit a bid and prepares tender documents for this. If possible, it obtains at least three bids (PPA Art. 20 para. 2). The procedure applies to contracts outside the scope of international treaties, according to the thresholds (PPA Art. 20 para. 1).

For you: such contracts are not listed as tenders on simap.ch. Those the contracting authority knows get invited.

Direct award procedure

The contracting authority awards the contract directly, without a tender. It may obtain comparative quotes and negotiate (PPA Art. 21 para. 1). This is allowed below the thresholds for the invitation procedure, and above them only in the cases listed in the law (PPA Art. 21 para. 2).

Confederation, cantons and municipalities

The PPA applies to the Confederation. Cantons and municipalities apply the Intercantonal Agreement on Public Procurement (IAPP 2019), where their canton has joined it. It has the same four types of procedure; the thresholds partly differ.

Which procedure applies depends on the value of the contract and its type: construction, supply or service. The values are in the guide “Thresholds and procedures”.

What this means for you

• You find open and selective procedures on simap.ch and in TEXFY, sorted by service and canton.
• For invitations and direct awards, what counts is that contracting authorities know your business. Published awards show which bodies award contracts in your service.
• Direct awards from the threshold of the open procedure are also published (PPA Art. 48 para. 1).