Government Procurement: The formal process through which official government agencies obtain goods and services, including construction services or public works. It also includes all functions that pertain to the obtaining of any goods, services, or construction, including description of requirements, selection and solicitation of sources, evaluation of offers, preparation and award of contract, dispute and claim resolution and all phases of contract administration. In GATT language, government procurement means the process by which a government obtains the use of or acquires goods or services, or any combination thereof, for government purposes and not with a view to commercial sale or resale, or use in the production or supply of goods or services for commercial sale or resale.

Contractual/Procurement Methods: Government procurement takes place through different types of methods or tendering. There are three main types of tendering: open (or unlimited) procurement, selective procurement (restricted to pre-selected categories of suppliers, invited to bid) and limited (or negotiated) procurement, including individual, sole-source, single- source or direct tendering.

Bidding Documents: The set of documents issued by a government agency that establish the object of the bidding (the technical plans & specifications), specify proposed contract conditions and establish the bidding procedure to be followed. In a broader sense, this is the group of documents that determines the contractual conditions to be established between the supplier or contractor and the agency.

Bid: An offer or proposal for goods and/or services submitted in response to a government agency's invitation.

Public Bid Openings: A formal date, time, and location where and when sealed bids requested by a agency will be opened, announced, and available for review by the public.