DIGIT TM II Cascade mechanism

The cascade mechanism is a process used for selecting consultants for Times and Means. In general, the following rules apply:

• The customer specifies the required services (referred to as "consultancy") and response time for the request. The contractor then submits an offer (several CV for the requested profile) within this time frame based on the customer's specifications.

• The customer initially sends the request to the top-ranked contractor in the cascade, based on the results of the evaluation of the call for tenders in the contract. If this first contractor meets the response time and specification criteria, they will be selected for the consultancy.

• If the first contractor does not meet these criteria, they will be considered unable to provide the requested services. In this case, the customer will send the same request to the second-ranked contractor in the cascade. If this second contractor meets the response time and specification criteria, they will be selected for the consultancy.

• This process continues down the cascade until a contractor is selected or the end of the cascade is reached without a selection being made. In the latter case, the customer may choose to either reopen the competition or redefine the consultancy request.

• During the cascade process, the specifications of the request may not change.