Dictionary of Procurement Terms

An announcement made by an entity concerning a solicitation or other information of general public interest. A public notice is typically posted on an entity website or communicated via other general news media, such as newspapers or trade journals.

A course or principle of action, based on law and enacted by a government, entity, business, or individual.

The designated legal authority to advise, plan, obtain, deliver, and evaluate a government’s expenditures on goods and services that are used to fulfill stated objectives, obligations, and activities in pursuit of desired policy outcomes.

An integrated public procurement planning model that consists of four stages: planning, formalization, implementation, and evaluation.

All property, other than money, belonging to a public entity.

The part of the economy that is government-controlled (e.g., public entities, enterprises, and programs).

In-house governmental departments and private companies that compete to provide government services; occurs when a government agency targets a service for possible outsourcing and allows the in-house operation currently providing the service to compete against the private sector and submit a proposal to provide the service. May be referred to as Managed Competition.

A broad term used to describe public facility and infrastructure contracts that minimally include components of design and build (e.g., construction, renovation, rehabilitation) into one single contract. Components of financing, operations, maintenance, or management may be included within this single contract. A P3 contract allocates risks to the party (the government or the contractor) best able to manage the risks and may assign a higher level of responsibility for means and methods to the partner. See also: Concession Model.

Non-compensatory damages that are awarded in a civil case to punish the defendant for willful or gross misconduct.

A register of all requisitions received and all purchase orders issued, containing information such as requisition number, purchase order number, bid number, supplier name, commodity code or description of the material or service, and the value of the order. Generally contained in a legacy database.