What to expect from an Open Market Consultation (OMC)
An Open Market Consultation (OMC) is a structured public dialogue that may be carried out during the preparatory phase of an innovation procurement project between the public procurer and economic operators. Its purpose is to gather expert input on market capabilities, technological maturity, and potential solutions prior to launching a procurement procedure. It is an open process and is accessible to all interested suppliers.
The OMC also serves to validate the preliminary analyses carried out by the public procurer by confronting them with real market feedback. Through this interaction, the procurer can assess whether the work completed so far remains appropriate or whether adjustments are needed in light of the market’s actual capabilities, readiness, and capacity to deliver. At the same time, the OMC raises awareness among industry stakeholders about the upcoming procurement, fostering broad participation, and ensuring that suppliers fully understand the scope and ambition of the project. The insights collected enable the public procurer to refine and adapt the tender specifications so that the future call is realistic, balanced, and aligned with what the market can effectively offer.
In the specific case of a Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP), the OMC helps determine whether procuring Research & Development (R&D) services is genuinely needed, by clarifying what the innovation pipeline currently offers (including partially developed solutions and their Technology Readiness Level (TRL). Because PCP relies on the competitive procurement of R&D services through successive phases, the OMC becomes an essential tool for confirming whether PCP approach is justified or whether an alternative exists (e.g. a solution with a high TRL) that would allow the procurer to move directly to the Public Procurement of Innovative solutions (PPI) approach, before the formal procurement procedure begins.
Any OMC must be conducted in full compliance with the TFEU principles of equal treatment, non‑discrimination, transparency, and proportionality to ensure that the consultation is carried out in a manner that does not distort competition. The consultation must be open to all potentially interested economic operators across the entire market, ensuring that no supplier, technology, or country of origin is advantaged or excluded. The OMC must avoid any distortion of competition by ensuring that all relevant information shared with some operators is also transparently and non‑discriminatorily shared with all others, that no vendor‑specific or technology‑specific requirements are introduced, and that all participants have an equal opportunity in the subsequent procurement. Transparency requires announcing the consultation in advance (e.g., via a Prior Information Notice (PIN), providing sufficient time for participation, and publishing clear participation rules. After the OMC, the contracting authority should make available the information provided—such as FAQs, summaries, or recordings—and allow suppliers to comment. Although the directives do not prescribe a specific publication format, conducting the OMC in English and announcing it through a PIN in Ted (Tenders Electronic Daily), the electronic supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) is recommended to ensure broad participation.
This consultation is also framed by Articles 40 and 41 of Directive 2014/24/EU for the public sector and Articles 58 and 59 of Directive 2014/25/EU for utilities, which permit preliminary market consultations while imposing safeguards to prevent distortions of competition when suppliers contribute to the preparation of the procurement. These provisions are transposed to the national legislations across Europe. In addition, public procurers must respect EU competition rules, ensuring that no sensitive commercial information is exchanged between competitors and that a clear separation is maintained between the consultation phase and the subsequent procurement procedure.
In practice, the OMC functions as a structured dialogue that enables the public procurer to “adjust the trajectory” of the project: since nothing is yet set in stone, assumptions made internally can be corrected based on real market evidence, for example, by revising the budget allocation after discovering that pre‑OMC estimations were inaccurate. To ensure an effective and compliant process, the consultation should be announced well in advance through a PIN, supported by a clear OMC document describing the objectives of the procurement and the purpose and structure of the consultation. The procedural steps—such as written questionnaires, public sessions, and individual meetings—should be explained transparently from the outset. After the consultation, the public procurer should publish a report summarizing the main insights while safeguarding confidential information and ensuring equal access for all potential bidders. Based on this input, procurers can recalibrate internal assumptions, cost–benefit considerations, and the overall procurement strategy to ensure it is legally sound, technically realistic, and capable of attracting high-quality, competitive bids. Active participation from suppliers is strongly encouraged: they should monitor announcements, register for OMC events, provide meaningful responses to requests for information, attend sessions, and review published materials such as slides, recordings, and reports, as they have a real chance to provide their input (and it being taken as feedback) for the upcoming tender.‑quality, competitive bids. Active participation from suppliers is strongly encouraged: they should monitor announcements, register for OMC events, and provide meaningful responses to
In the specific case of THERESA PCP, suppliers are invited to engage as interactively as possible, particularly by completing the questionnaire and raising any questions or concerns not only during the OMC but also afterwards. It is hereby clarified that participation in the OMC is voluntary and not necessary to participate in the upcoming tender.