Sixteen terms, marked by nation and regime. Then why each matters.

Assessment summary (current, Act regime)

The buyer’s account of tender scoring issued around the award decision. First read as next-gate data; second as the trigger for standstill thinking.

Why it matters for bid/no-bid: the cheapest qualification data the process produces, if requested and recorded.

Call-off (current)

Mini-competition among framework or dynamic-market members for actual work. Each carries its own scope, timing, and gate.

Why it matters for bid/no-bid: membership never converts a call-off into a yes. Gate each one.

Conditions of participation (current, Act regime)

Proportionate legal, financial, and technical capacity conditions, separate from exclusion grounds and award criteria, timed to the buyer’s request.

Why it matters for bid/no-bid: unmeetable at the buyer’s date means a capacity fail in week one.

Competitive flexible procedure (current, Act regime)

Buyer-designed multi-stage procedure: dialogue, negotiation, and down-selection as the notice sets. Budget each stage with stop conditions.

Why it matters for bid/no-bid: staged spend means staged gates; surviving dialogue is not commitment to final tender.

Contracts Finder (legacy and below-threshold route)

Notice route persisting for legacy and below-threshold work. Current status varies by notice; confirm per tender rather than asserting its role.

Why it matters for bid/no-bid: checking one board and calling it coverage misses work, and misreads regime.

Debarment (current, central list)

Published central listing following ministerial decision, with defined scope and duration. Distinct from per-procurement exclusion decided by the buyer.

Why it matters for bid/no-bid: list membership ends the conversation before it starts; check early where risk exists.

Dynamic market (current, Act regime)

Arrangement admitting qualifying suppliers on an ongoing basis, with per-call-off competition. Openness of entry is not softness of competition.

Why it matters for bid/no-bid: lateness costs less here; readiness matters more.

Find a Tender (current, central platform face)

Public face of the central digital platform for Act-regime notices, with a supplier information service behind one registration.

Why it matters for bid/no-bid: the board is the start of the gate, not the end of one.

Framework (current, with legacy vintages)

Closed-membership arrangement with call-off competition among members; open frameworks reopen at intervals. Legacy formations run under legacy terms.

Why it matters for bid/no-bid: confirm the vintage; the formation date decides the rule set.

MAT: Most Advantageous Tender (current, Act regime)

The award basis scoring the tender on published advantage (quality, price, social value in their weights) with supplier selection kept separate. No single prescribed formula.

Why it matters for bid/no-bid: weights decide resourcing; extract before pricing.

MEAT: Most Economically Advantageous Tender (legacy)

The legacy award basis under the directives-era regulations. Survives in older packs, frameworks, and supplier vocabulary, dated on sight.

Why it matters for bid/no-bid: MEAT language signals legacy regime; gate on legacy terms, but confirm.

No-bid (practice)

The recorded, dated decision not to pursue. Conforming, on time, and legitimate in any regime.

Why it matters for bid/no-bid: it is the product. A firm that cannot show one does not have a gate.

PSQ: Procurement Specific Questionnaire (current)

The buyer-timed participation evidence vehicle: core supplier information plus procurement-specific conditions, answered per timetable.

Why it matters for bid/no-bid: evidence timed to the buyer’s request; stale records fail gates unrelated to quality.

PSR: Provider Selection Regime (England, healthcare scope)

The regime for specified healthcare services arranged by NHS bodies, not every NHS purchase. Non-clinical buying generally follows procurement rules.

Why it matters for bid/no-bid: classify before gating; the logo is not the regime.

Social value model (current and forthcoming)

The banded weighting model for social value: 10 percent (£1m–£5m) or 20 percent (£5m+) of non-price criteria where it applies. Version and band confirmed per tender; never a flat universal rate.

Why it matters for bid/no-bid: a fifth of non-price score without deliverable commitments is a strategy fail.

Standstill (current, where it applies)

Eight-working-day pause before contract entry for covered Act-regime awards, with exceptions. Counting rules and triggers confirmed per award.

Why it matters for bid/no-bid: the window for remedy thinking, counsel the same week, not after.

Keep reading

Elsewhere in this guide.