Article 74. Competitive dialogue.

1. In the competitive dialogue, any economic operator may request to participate in response to a tender notice, or a call for tenders, by providing the information requested by the contracting authority. 2. The minimum deadline for receiving requests to participate is of thirty days from the date of transmission of the tender notice pursuant to article 84. 3. The contracting authorities shall indicate in the tender notice or in the call for tender notice or in an attached descriptive document the needs they intend to pursue, the requirements to be met, the award criterion, the indicative duration of the procedure as well as any prizes or payments for the participants in the dialogue. The contract is awarded solely on the basis of the criterion of the offer with the best quality/price ratio in accordance with Article 108. 4. Before starting the dialogue, the contracting authorities may organize a consultation with the economic operators selected on the basis of the documentation based on the tender and on the methods of carrying out the dialogue. In the thirty days following the conclusion of the consultation, the selected participants may withdraw from the dialogue. 5. The competitive dialogue concerns all aspects of the contract and is aimed at identifying and defining the most suitable means to satisfy the needs of the contracting authority. Where foreseen in the tender notice or in the descriptive document and in application of the award criterion provided therein, the competitive dialogue can take place in successive phases to reduce the number of solutions emerging during the dialogue phase. The competitive dialogue continues until the contracting authority identifies the solution or solutions suitable to satisfy its needs. Once the dialogue has been declared concluded and the remaining participants have been informed, the contracting authority invites each of them to present the final offer on the basis of the solution or solutions presented and specified in the dialogue phase. The offer contains all the elements required and necessary for the execution of the project. The offers presented may be, upon request of the contracting authority, clarified, specified and perfected. The clarifications, clarifications and completion of the information cannot have the effect of modifying the essential aspects of the offer or contract, including the requirements and needs indicated in the tender notice, in the call for competition or in the descriptive document, if the variations risk distorting competition or having a discriminatory effect. 6. The contracting authorities evaluate the offers received on the basis of the award criteria set in the tender notice, in the call for competition or in the document descriptive. 7. The contracting authority may conduct further negotiations with the economic operator who appears to have submitted the offer with the best quality/price ratio to confirm the financial commitments or other contents of the offer through the completion of the clauses of the contract, provided that this does not result in a substantial modification of fundamental elements of the offer or public contract, including the needs and requirements defined in the tender notice or in the descriptive document, and that there is no risk of distorting competition or creating discrimination. EFFECTIVE: July 1, 2023