Supplier evaluation and selection
Conflict declarations for event procurement
A committee member has a friend who runs one of the three shortlisted suppliers, and nobody is sure whether to say something.
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The short answer
Ask everyone who scores or approves a supplier to complete a short declaration before they see the proposals: any financial, family, business or personal relationship with a bidding supplier. Record the declarations, decide in writing how each is handled, and keep the record with the decision.
A declaration is a disclosure, not an accusation. It lets the organisation decide, openly, how to protect the fairness of the choice.
Why declare before scoring
The point is timing. If a relationship is raised after scores are in, the whole result is open to doubt. If it is raised before, the organisation can adjust who scores and keep the choice defensible.
Your organisation's own policy, constitution or funder requirements may already say what must be declared and how it is handled. Check them first and ask your legal adviser if anything is unclear.
What to ask people to declare
Adapt this list to your organisation. It is a question set for a declaration form, not a legal definition.
| Relationship type | Example question |
|---|---|
| Financial | Do you or a close family member hold shares, loans or other financial interests in a bidding supplier? |
| Employment or role | Do you or a close family member work for, advise or sit on the board of a bidding supplier? |
| Business | Does your own organisation currently trade with a bidding supplier outside this event? |
| Personal | Do you have a close personal relationship with anyone at a bidding supplier? |
| Benefits | Have you received gifts, hospitality or offers from a bidding supplier during this process? |
| Other | Is there anything else that someone could reasonably see as affecting your independence? |
Process
- Decide who must sign: scorers, approvers, and anyone who sees pricing.
- Send the declaration form with the proposals, and ask for it back before scoring starts.
- Collect forms centrally and check each against the supplier shortlist.
- Where something is declared, ask the committee chair or governance lead to decide in writing: no action, step back from that supplier, or step back from the decision.
- Log the declarations and decisions in the decision log and refresh the declaration if the shortlist changes.
Handling the situation
- Keep the discussion with the person calm and factual.
- Do not let someone with a declared relationship score or lobby for that supplier.
- Record decisions in writing, including decisions that no action is needed.
- Repeat the declaration when new people join the evaluation.
Worked example · Fictional example
A committee of five choosing a conference venue operator
Fictional organisation and figures, for illustration only.
Persatuan Fiktif Pengamal Logistik is shortlisting three suppliers for its annual conference. Five people will score. Before proposals are shared, each completes a one-page declaration.
One scorer declares that a cousin is a director of Supplier B. The chair decides in writing that this scorer will not score or discuss Supplier B, and will score the other two. A second scorer declares that her own employer has done unrelated business with Supplier C, and the chair records that this needs no action and notes why. The log shows both declarations, both decisions and the date.
Use this yourself
Supplier procurement declaration form and log
Copy this form for each scorer or approver, then copy each outcome into the log entry line at the end.
- Name, role in this procurement, date:
- Suppliers on the shortlist (list them):
- Financial interest in any listed supplier (you or close family): yes or no. Details:
- Employment, advisory or board role with any listed supplier: yes or no. Details:
- Current business dealings between your organisation and any listed supplier: yes or no. Details:
- Close personal relationship with anyone at a listed supplier: yes or no. Details:
- Gifts, hospitality or offers received during this process: yes or no. Details:
- Anything else that could reasonably be seen as affecting independence:
- I will update this declaration if my circumstances or the shortlist change. Signature and date:
- Log entry: declared by, supplier concerned, decision (no action, step back from supplier, step back from decision), decided by, date:
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- A small committee knows its own members and can run the form quickly.
- Your organisation already has a conflict policy to follow.
- The shortlist is short and the stakes are modest.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- There are many scorers or several committees with unclear authority.
- A funder or board requires a documented, auditable process.
- A late disclosure has already put a decision in doubt.
Want the declaration process set up for your supplier choice?
A conference project lead can prepare the form, collect and log the declarations, and bring each disclosure to your chair or governance lead for a written decision. What counts as a conflict under your own rules is for your governance and legal advisers.
Questions organisers ask
Do I need declarations for a small event?
A short form costs little and protects the fairness of the choice. Even a small committee benefits from having it on record.
What if nobody has anything to declare?
Keep the signed forms anyway. A record that everyone declared nothing is itself useful evidence of a clean process.
Who decides how a conflict is handled?
The chair, a governance lead or the body your rules name. Not the person with the relationship.
Is a declaration enough on its own?
It is one step. Pair it with structured scoring in the supplier scoring matrix and a record of how decisions were reached.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.