How unsolicited proposals are assessed
Launch library · evergreen read
An unsolicited proposal is an offer submitted by a supplier without the organisation having run any competitive process at all, often pitching a genuinely novel idea the buyer had not previously considered. Because there was no original competition, these proposals need a distinct assessment path to avoid quietly bypassing normal procurement discipline.
Sound assessment frameworks typically require the proposal to demonstrate genuine uniqueness, meaning it cannot reasonably be delivered by any other supplier, before allowing it to proceed without a wider competitive tender. Where a proposal could plausibly be delivered by multiple suppliers, most frameworks require the opportunity to still be opened up to the market.
Even where a proposal is accepted directly, most frameworks still require independent value assessment and clear documentation of exactly why competition was not run, since skipping this step leaves the process vulnerable to the same criticism any other undocumented sole-source arrangement would rightly attract from an auditor or reviewer.