central framework agreement

A central framework agreement is a framework agreement established and managed by a central purchasing body on behalf of multiple contracting authorities. Unlike a standard framework agreement, it is centrally administered and typically mandatory for the authorities it covers.

How does a central framework agreement work?

Under Article 37 of EU Directive 2014/24/EU, central purchasing bodies can conclude framework agreements that other contracting authorities are entitled or required to use. The central purchasing body runs the procurement procedure, awards the agreement and manages its lifecycle, while the individual contracting authorities place orders through call-offs or mini-competitions.

Member States can make the use of a central purchasing body's framework agreements mandatory. In Norway, the Government Agency for Financial Management (DFO) operates the Central Government Purchasing Centre (Statens innkjopssenter), which manages central framework agreements on behalf of approximately 190 civilian state agencies. These agencies must use the agreements whenever they cover the agency's needs.

Key features

• Mandatory participation: Covered contracting authorities must use the central framework agreement instead of running their own parallel procurement for the same need
• Simplified compliance: Authorities purchasing through a central framework agreement are deemed to have complied with procurement regulations for the parts handled by the central purchasing body
• Shared responsibility: While the central purchasing body handles the competition phase, each contracting authority remains responsible for its own call-offs and mini-competitions
• Volume benefits: Aggregated demand leads to better pricing, higher sustainability standards and more professional contract management

The agreements are typically structured with multiple suppliers to preserve market competition. Tools like Cobrief can help suppliers discover and monitor central framework agreement competitions as they are published.

Central framework agreements are a powerful mechanism for consolidating public procurement. They combine the scale benefits of centralised buying with a structured process that maintains competition and ensures accountability for each participating authority.