What is a General Procurement Notice, and what to do with it

A General Procurement Notice (GPN) is an early announcement. A development bank or another funder tells the market that a project is planned and that purchases will follow. It is not a tender. You cannot bid on it, and it does not promise when, or whether, a tender will appear. What it gives you is time to prepare.

Where you will see them

The EBRD publishes General Procurement Notices for its projects in Ukraine in its public procurement notices list. The World Bank also lists projects while they are still in preparation, before they are approved and before procurement starts. On this site, both appear on the Upcoming projects page, with links to the official notice or project page.

What a notice usually tells you

• The project and its number. This lets you find the full project description on the funder's website.
• The type of purchases expected, for example works, goods or consultancy, and sometimes the sector.
• Who will run the tenders. This is usually the borrower or client, such as a city, a utility or a ministry, and it is often not the funder itself.
• The date of the notice, which shows how fresh the information is.

How to use it, step by step

1. Open the project page. Funders publish a project summary with the loan or grant size, what it will finance and a contact at the client. Read it for scope and for the funder's own financing conditions.
2. Work out which packages could be yours. A project that covers heating equipment, for example, may split into several supply and installation contracts. Note which ones fit what you make or do.
3. Find out who will decide. Contracts are usually won by a contractor or supplier selected by the client's tender, and many foreign manufacturers reach the project by supplying that contractor. See Can a foreign company bid on Prozorro tenders? for that route.
4. Prepare your paperwork now. Technical data sheets, test and conformity documents and company records in English take time to collect. Do this before the tender opens, when the deadline is short.
5. Watch for the tender. When it opens it will appear in the funder's notices and, for Ukrainian buyers, in Prozorro. Set a keyword or tender-issuer alert on our alerts page, or check Tenders regularly.

What to keep in mind

• Timing and scope can change, and some planned projects are delayed or dropped.
• Eligibility rules depend on the funder and on each tender. Read the funder's procurement rules and the tender documents before you plan around a project.
• Check your company, owners and partners against applicable sanctions lists, as in our compliance checklist.

General information, not legal advice. Rely on the official notice and the funder's documents, and take advice from qualified local advisers.