Framework agreement
A framework is an arrangement setting the terms for future contracts between a contracting authority and one or more suppliers. Being appointed can create access to later competitions, but normally does not promise any call-off work or spend.
Reviewed
What a framework does
A framework sets the provisions under which future contracts for goods, services or works will be awarded. The Procurement Act 2023 calls this a framework; the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 usually call it a framework agreement. The framework should identify its users, scope, lots, term, value and the method for awarding call-off contracts. A framework may be single-supplier or multi-supplier and may permit competition or an objective mechanism for selecting a supplier.
An appointment is not the same as winning a call-off. The official Act guidance says most frameworks do not commit an authority to place any call-off, unless the framework expressly does so. Open frameworks under the Act are a scheme of successive frameworks that can admit new suppliers when reopened, subject to their published rules.
What to check before bidding
Assess the likely value and route to work, rather than treating a place on the framework as guaranteed revenue. Check which authorities may use it, whether you can bid for particular lots, whether call-offs will use a mini-competition, and whether the framework permits bespoke participation conditions. Review the maximum term, pricing mechanism, core terms and performance obligations.
For example, a technology framework may list six suppliers for cloud services. A council still has to follow the framework's selection process for each call-off, and the six suppliers may compete again. Keep your framework offer current and monitor call-off notices; framework membership does not remove the need to submit a good call-off tender.