# Awarding Public Contracts Skilfully and Lawfully within the Procurement Rules

> Court-Proven, Solution-Focused Answers to 7 Thorny Questions: Directly from Top-Flight Policy Makers, Lawyers and Industry Experts

- Format: In-person
- Date: Thursday, 19 October 2023, 10:00AM to 4:00PM (registration from 9:30AM)
- Venue: The Hilton Hotel, 4 Lanyon Place, Belfast, BT1 3LP
- 5 hours CPD
- Rates: Live Attendance £299.00 + VAT per person
- Status: This conference has taken place
- Book: https://whitepaper.co.uk/conferences/procbelfast23

## Programme

- 09:30 Registration and coffee
- 10:00 Chair's Introduction: Awarding public contracts skilfully and lawfully within the procurement rules
  - Chaired by Edward Quigg, Quigg Golden
- 10:10 Evaluation: Where is the wriggle room for evaluators to shift their initial views during moderation or in response to clarifications and presentations while upholding tender process integrity?
  - Answered by Ciara Kennedy-Loest, Hogan Lovells
- 10:50 PME: When engaging in preliminary market engagement, how do you ensure equal treatment, avoid undue supplier influence, and encourage active participation from suppliers, including SMEs and social enterprises?
  - Answered by Kerry Teahan, Carson McDowall
- 11:30 Morning coffee
- 11:50 Variations: What practical steps can you take to de-risk contracts or frameworks that reach or exceed their thresholds, and you are faced with an unwanted variation?
  - Answered by Sarah Hannaford KC
- 12:30 Bunching: What innovative strategies can you employ to effectively control and overcome challenges like bunching, marginal score differentiation, tie-breaks, and avoid confrontations with dissatisfied bidders?
  - Answered by David Hansom, Clyde & Co
- 13:10 Lunch
- 13:50 Social Value: How can you effectively incorporate and evaluate social value objectives in tenders and ensure the fulfilment of bidder commitments, with real-life examples of successful implementation?
  - Answered by Jamie Dunne, Brodies
- 14:30 Feedback: To reduce the risk of a challenge, what information should you divulge on the winning bid's relative advantages in your feedback, and what should you withhold, supported by case law and practical examples?
  - Answered by Bruno Herbots, Herbots Solicitors
- 15:10 New Regs: How do you successfully leverage available flexibilities in the new regulations and so maximize lawful contract agility in future procurements?
  - Answered by William Curry, Arthur Cox
- 15:50 Over-run
- 16:00 Close of conference

## How to book

Choose a rate on the [conference page](https://whitepaper.co.uk/conferences/procbelfast23) and press Book Now. Checkout asks for the booking contact and company address, then each delegate's name and email, then payment: Credit/Debit Card, or Bank Transfer/Cheque to be sent an invoice. Bookings are subject to the [booking policy](https://whitepaper.co.uk/booking-policy).