The Polish Public Procurement Office (UZP) has published UZP President guidelines on awarding public contracts for supply of computers. This is a document of technical nature, containing practical tips on drafting documentation in tenders for supply of various types of computers (desk-top computers, portable computers, all-in-one computers, etc.). The document does not form part of the current legal regime, and only specifies best practices. It has been approved by the Council of Ministers Committee for Digital Affairs and by the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau. The document is available here.

Body:

The document is the product of work that lasted more than one year, which began at the end of 2019. UZP President Hubert Nowak asked other bodies to play a part in drawing up the guidelines, such as the Polish Chamber of Information Technology and Telecommunications (PIIT). One of the two representatives of the PIIT was TKP attorney-at-law Tomasz Krzyżanowski.

The document produced is intended to be an aid for contracting authorities when awarding tenders for computers, especially when the tender description is being drawn up. The document contains definitions of computer devices such as a desktop computer, all-in-one computer, and portable computer, as well as the crucial elements of the tender description, for example use of equipment for office purposes, benchmarking, prohibited clauses, a sample  of a description of computer equipment requirements, norms and certificates, examples of criteria for recognizing equivalence of certain certificates and norms, and device security (permitted requirements regarding device security).

Public contracting authorities are encouraged in particular to review and apply the guidelines in their daily work. Also, work is ongoing to expand the document to include guidelines on digital signage, mobile devices, and printing devices.