Design Contest in Procurement Law

The design contest in procurement law is a procedure for obtaining plans in architecture and engineering with an independent jury.

Definition: A contest in the procurement law sense is a design contest in which the contracting authority obtains, through a regulated procedure, plans or designs – in particular in the fields of architecture, town planning, engineering and data processing – which are assessed by an independent jury and awarded prizes or premiums.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: Art. 78 et seq. Directive 2014/24/EU, § 186 et seq. BVergG 2018, §§ 69 et seq. VgV

What is a design contest in procurement law?

The design contest is a special procedural form in procurement law specifically aimed at the procurement of creative and planning services: instead of price competition, an ideas competition takes place in which the quality of the plans and designs submitted is paramount. Typical fields of application are architectural contests (building designs, town planning, landscape architecture) as well as contests in engineering or for creative services.

In contrast to classical procurement procedures, the design contest places quality and creativity of the design at the heart of the evaluation, not price. Through the contest, the contracting authority receives a selection of competing designs from which the jury chooses the best.

Significance and function

The design contest promotes innovation and quality in the planning of public projects: it opens participation to a wide range of planning firms and, through the independent assessment by a jury, ensures an expert decision.

Types of procedure

Design contests may be conducted as open contests (all interested parties may participate) or as restricted contests (only selected participants are invited). The latter may be combined with a preceding competitive bidding stage.

The jury

The jury is the central element of the design contest: it assesses the entries against criteria announced in advance and decides on the award of prizes and premiums. Requirements for the jury:

It must consist of independent persons free from any conflict of interest.
An appropriate proportion of the members must hold the same professional qualification as the participants (e.g. architects in an architectural contest).
The jury operates free from instructions and decides autonomously.

The jury's decision is in principle binding on the contracting authority unless the authority can demonstrate that the decision is plainly untenable.

Prizes and premiums

Participants whose entries are recognised receive prizes or premiums. The contracting authority sets the total amount and distribution of the prizes in advance in the contest notice. The prize fund is essential information for potential participants, as participation in a contest involves considerable effort.

Relationship to the procurement procedure

The design contest may be used as a stand-alone procedure or as a preliminary stage to a subsequent procurement procedure. Often, a negotiated procedure with the prize winner or the top-ranked participants follows the design contest in order to award the planning contract. The contracting authority is not, however, automatically obliged to entrust the contest winner with the subsequent contract – but must state this clearly in the contest notice.

Thresholds

The design contest is subject to the rules of Directive 2014/24/EU from the EU procurement thresholds. The relevant threshold is calculated on the basis of the total value of prizes, premiums and any subsequent contracts.

Legal basis

The design contest is regulated at European and national level.

EU: Art. 78–82 Directive 2014/24/EU (design contests, jury, contest notice)
Austria: §§ 186–203 BVergG 2018 (contest procedures, jury, prizes)
Germany: §§ 69–79 VgV (design contests, jury, contest notice)

Related terms

FAQ

Must the contracting authority award the follow-up contract to the winner of a design contest? No, there is no automatic obligation. However, if the contracting authority intends to award a follow-up contract, it must announce this in the contest notice. In practice, prize winners and recognised participants are frequently invited to a subsequent negotiated procedure. The contracting authority may not ignore the results of the contest.

Can small architectural practices also participate in design contests? Yes. Open design contests are generally accessible to all qualified interested parties, irrespective of company size. In restricted contests, a pre-selection takes place, but the eligibility requirements must be appropriate and non-discriminatory. The anonymity of submissions (anonymity principle) further protects smaller practices against possible favouritism towards established names.

Are the jury's decisions appealable? Decisions of the jury may in principle be reviewed if formal procedural errors or breaches of procurement law are alleged. However, the contracting authority must respect the substantive assessment of the designs by the expert jury; substantive review by review bodies takes place only to a limited extent.

Last updated: January 2026 All information without warranty. For legally binding advice, please consult a law firm specialising in procurement law.