European Tenders

Using tender procedures as tools and their influence on the work

process

Public procurement: a necessity or a blessing

The volumes in the Images for the Future project are so large that public procurement (EU tenders)

was inevitable.The awarded volume for preservation and digitization was unprecedented and set Dutch

archives ahead of any other archive worldwide.

European Tenders 2007-2012

Sound and Vision: 9 EYE: 3

National Archives: 2

One combined tender regarding photo digitization with different lots

Sound and VisionVideo Digibeta

Film Preservation Perfo-AcetateFilm Preservation AcetateFilm Preservation Nitrate

Film Digitization SDFilm Digitization HD

Digitization of Photographic Materials*Photo Digitisation Color

Education Media Platform

EYEFilm Preservation

Film Digitizing & EncodingDigitization of Photographic Materials*

National ArchivesDigitization of Photographic Materials*

*Combined Tender

Principles & approach

1. Be as specific as possible

1. Deal with as much as possible ‘headache’ in the project upfront, write down as much as possible

specifications2. This forces you to think through the whole project

and define risks on beforehand

2. Combine work

1. Combine audiovisual carriers and create large batches of similar material, this drives

down the costs. The larger the lots, the better

3. Prepare work

1. The more specific a contractor can offer it’s services, the better. Prepare as much work as

possible on beforehand, so the contractor won’t include this in the offering (e.g. describe

the internal process until delivery, quality control, preparation work such as packaging)

Lessons learned

1. Lowest price forces detailed specification & transparency

1. The necessity of being as specific as possible forces the organization to describe the process as

detailed as possible before even starting. But somewhere in the project you’ll have to write these

plans anyway. 2. The selection process is very transparent and

less prone to legal claims3. There are enough selection criteria to arrive at

the preferred vendor

2. Lowest price offers more value for money

- Lowest price works best with repeatable and more standard processes. But it forces you think out your

process in more generic and standard ways. The less ‘typical’ you are with your specifications, the

less you pay.- The amount of work on beforehand is

considerable, and you need to take the time to finetune the process after the bid has taken place

and to confirm the checklists