Dictionary of Procurement Terms

1. Official approval or permission. 2. A punitive action by a government.

The part of a budget that is not spent.

A characteristic that describes an entity's, organization's, model's, system's, or function's ability to change in size or scale during a period of increased demand to meet that demand.

The gap between resources and demand.

A contract that consolidates agency requirements by pre-establishing a bid opening date and requiring using agencies to submit requirements by a specified time. Also called schedule purchase.

Also referred to as a “timetable” or “timeline.” It identifies the projected milestones in the procurement process from the beginning of the procurement to its finalization.

A written description of an entity’s needs and desired outcomes for a procurement developed at the beginning of the procurement cycle. The scope of work is the basis for any resulting solicitation; it helps ensure that the product or service meets the stated outcome and establishes the parameters of the resulting contract.