Procurement glossary · Procedures and routes to market
Call-off and mini-competition
A call-off is an individual contract awarded under an existing framework. Where the framework requires suppliers on the relevant lot to compete for it, that competition is a mini-competition or further competition. Where the framework permits, a buyer may call off directly against published terms without competing it.
Also called Further competition.
What it means in practice
Winning a place on a framework is not winning work. The framework is a licence to be asked. The call-off is the work, and on most frameworks it is competed among the suppliers on the lot.
Mini-competitions are shorter, narrower and faster than the framework application that preceded them. They assume the capability questions are settled and focus on the specific requirement: approach, team, programme and price. Turnaround is often two to three weeks rather than two to three months.
This is where framework places are won or wasted. Suppliers routinely spend heavily on the framework application, secure the place, and then lack the capacity to respond well to call-offs when they arrive. The right preparation is a reusable evidence library assembled during the framework bid, so a mini-competition starts at sixty per cent rather than zero.
Where suppliers get caught
Celebrating the framework place and then under-resourcing the call-offs. A place on a framework with twenty other suppliers and no capacity to respond inside three weeks produces nothing. The framework win is the beginning of the cost, not the end of it.
Common questions
What is the difference between a framework and a call-off?
The framework is the agreement that establishes terms and the pool of suppliers. The call-off is the actual contract for actual work, awarded under it. You bid for the framework once and then compete for call-offs throughout its term.
How long do you get to respond to a mini-competition?
Commonly two to three weeks, sometimes less. Frameworks compress timescales deliberately, because the capability assessment has already happened. This is why a reusable evidence library matters more than writing capacity.
Related terms
If a tender in front of you turns on this, send us the documents and the deadline and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth bidding. Call 020 3668 5488, or read the rest of the UK procurement glossary.