What is competitive dialogue in tenders?

Ok, there goes the text with more human flavor:

Competitive dialogue ... sounds like a couple therapy, right? But nothing to do. It is a move that public entities use when they need to buy something (either services, works, whatever) and have no idea how things should be. That is, they are so lost with the technical details or with the legal/financial roll of the project, that they need help to clarify.

And how does this work? Well, nothing, the administration invites several companies (the bidders, so that we are taking jargon) to sit down to chat. Literally. It is not just sending papers and already, but that real conversations open where each company can release their ideas, propose different solutions and see if they fit with what the public entity seeks.

The grace of all this is to ensure that there is legitimate competence among the participants, and that in the end the administration takes the best in the market. And hey, sometimes private ones surprise with fresh ideas or solutions that had not even gone through the heads. Win-Win, go.

Now, be careful: this is not a negotiation. Here it is not about haggling the price of peanuts in the market. They can discuss proposals, yes, but they cannot change clauses or contract conditions halfway. Everything has to stay clean and transparent, without friends or deals under the table.

Just in case, the entire process is more regulated than a pharmacy, with rules of the European Union and other bureaucracy. There are rules to choose those who participate, for how the talks are made, how it decides who wins ... Anyway, the full pack so that nobody gets ready.

For companies, getting into a competitive dialogue is a golden opportunity to show off: if you have an idea that can revolutionize the matter or save pasta, this is the site. Of course, you have to know the rules in the heart, prepare a proposal that pete it and be ready to defend it with desire (and without triquiñuelas).

If we summarize it: the competitive dialogue is that moment when the public sector realizes that it needs help and let the private ones lend a hand with cool ideas, but always competing on equal terms. For companies, it is the ideal showcase ... if they know how to move and comply with the standards of the game. Easy? Not always. Interesting? Definitely.