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Tenders and contracts

As a strategic agency for the museums, archives and libraries sector, MLA often has a requirement to commission consultancy services from an external body, which might be another organisation, a consultancy partnership or an individual consultant.

As a small organisation MLA does not operate supplier lists for its tendering requirements, instead MLA aims to use registered and accredited service providers, and therefore has adopted BIP Select Service for pre-qualification. For more information please visit www.bipselect.com.  For further information or queries about MLA's tendering and contractual process, please email grants@mla.gov.uk.

Before commissioning such work, MLA will estimate the likely value of the contract to be awarded, this divides the work into two types of tender:

Invitations to tender above threshold

MLA is required by law to initiate formal tendering processes and to announce them through the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) in cases where the estimated total value of the purchasing requirement over a period of four years is likely to exceed the current EU procurement thresholds as defined in the Public Contracts Regulations 2006.

MLA invites suitable suppliers and service providers to consider expressing interest in the requirements below. It should be noted that the information should be read in conjunction with the relevant Contract Notice published in OJEU. Requirements above EU procurement threshold are advertised on this webpage and in the OJEU via Delta BIP e-procurement solutions.

Invitations to tender below threshold

Before commissioning such work, MLA will estimate the likely value of the contract to be awarded. In cases where the likely value is estimated to be greater than £20,000 (including VAT), MLA will embark on a process of open competitive tender.

In cases where the likely value of a contract is estimated to be less than £20,000, but where MLA feels that there would be an advantage in operating an open tender process, such process will be applied. Work shown in this section of the website may fall into either category.