Competitive dialogue process

A particular type of tender process where there is a specific phase, named the “dialogue phase”, in which the contract and Request for Proposal (RFP) are discussed or dialogued between the authority and the candidates (on a one-on-one basis), or prospective bidders (previously pre-selected or shortlisted on the basis of a Request for Qualifications – RFQ).
The purpose of this is to refine the contract and RFP before the bid is requested (or the final bid when some previous bids have been called during the dialogue, usually on a non-binding basis).