Stage 3
Market testing

Description of lifecycle stage

The objective of this stage is to analyse the market and understand the type of organisations able to fulfil the defined high-level requirements. There is likely to be a range of solutions to the defined problem or no existing solutions in the market. Therefore, Stage 3 could be done through a combination of research and/or pre-procurement market tests and engagement.

Market testing activities must be conducted in accordance with procurement regulations and organisational policies. These often allow greater scope of market engagement during pre-procurement planning stage, than after initiation of formal procurement process; hence it is important to plan and conduct market testing accordingly and set out the approach in the procurement strategy.

Considerations for Stage 3

There may be a range of solutions with different characteristics and levels of maturity. Therefore, it is important to:

• Analyse the market to identify possible service providers and assess whether there is a suitable solution ‘off the shelf’ to meet high-level requirements or whether the solution will need to be more of a development project.
• If procurement is necessary for the fulfilment of the objectives, re-engage with the procurement team to update the procurement strategy, recognising the type of implementation approach to be followed. For example, a competitive dialogue approach allows for bidders to develop alternative proposals in response to your outline requirements. The aims are to increase value by encouraging innovation and to maintain competitive pressure in bidding for complex contracts.