These regulations shall apply as a complement to the provisions of the Government Tenders and Procurement Law and its Executive Regulations and other provisions. These regulations shall not be interpreted or applied in a manner that contradicts any provision contained in the Law or the Regulation. Furthermore, the absence of a specific provision in these regulations shall not exempt the entity or the contractor from complying with any requirements or provisions established by law.

• 1-1 Role of the Expenditure and Projects Efficiency Authority

• The Expenditure and Projects Efficiency Authority has been granted, through the Government Tenders and Procurement Law issued by Royal Decree No. (M/128) dated 1440/11/13 AH, its executive regulations issued by the Minister of Finance Decision No. (1242) dated 1441/3/21 AH, amended by Ministerial Decision No. (1090) dated 1445/9/21 AH, and the Royal Orders, a pivotal role in reviewing tenders and procurements. This review, according to Articles (14) and (15) of the Law, includes several key aspects as follows:

  • 1- According to paragraph (3) of Article (14) of the Government Tenders and Procurement Law, reviewing feasibility studies and estimated costs submitted to it by the government agency for the procurements and works it presents, as well as the tender documents and related pre-qualification documents - if any - and providing opinions thereon within 15 working days.
  • 2- According to paragraph (3) of Article (15) of the Government Tenders and Procurement Law, the government agency must, before presenting its projects or works or before conducting pre-qualification, submit the feasibility study, estimated cost, tender documents, pre-qualification documents, and the procedures it has taken to the authority responsible for unified procurement for review within 15 working days. If the unified procurement authority does not respond within this period, approval is deemed granted, and the government agency must comply with the amendments requested by the unified procurement authority.
  • 3- Reviewing capacity and demand studies for all projects, whether new or existing, in implementation of Royal Decree No. (13003) dated 1438/3/18 AH, approving Memorandum No. (167) dated 1439/2/12 AH, which includes in its second clause the application of the integrated supply and demand plan as one of the basic requirements for approving and implementing any project, including existing projects.
  • 4- Reviewing tender works to ensure their compliance with the appropriations allocated to them according to Royal Order No. (M/46) dated 1441/4/12 AH, which stipulates in clause (Third) that expenditures shall be disbursed according to the state general budget and its instructions, and the appropriation shall not be used for purposes other than those allocated.
  • 5- Reviewing localization provisions in operation and maintenance contracts in public agencies issued by the decision of the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development No. (83958) dated 1441/4/27 AH, and all orders, laws, and instructions issued in this regard by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.
  • 6- Verifying the existence of necessary approvals for establishing data centers, which require the approval of the National Digital Transformation Committee, based on Royal Decree No. (93) dated 1441/1/2 AH.
  • 7- Reviewing compliance with the requirements and conditions of the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority issued on 1440/7/5 AH.

• 1-2 Objectives of the Regulations

• Based on the role of the Expenditure and Projects Efficiency Authority, these regulations aim to adopt an organized tool and mechanism for dealing with marketing services procurements. The regulations seek to enable both the Authority and the government agency to achieve optimal spending efficiency by identifying the motivations behind requests and ensuring that actual needs are met in the best possible manner.

• These regulations apply as complementary to the provisions of the Government Tenders and Procurement Law, its executive regulations, and other provisions. These regulations shall not be interpreted or applied in a manner that contradicts any provision contained in the Law or the regulations. Furthermore, the absence of a specific provision in these regulations does not exempt the agency or contractor from complying with any requirements or provisions established by law.

4-1 Unification of the Claim

The government agency must unify the marketing service needs by collecting all the marketing service requirements related to the marketing campaign to contribute to achieving public spending efficiency, improving resource management by simplifying procurement processes, and benefiting from economies of scale.

4-2 Separation of Marketing Services

When the government agency prepares the competition documents and writes the scope of work, the agency must verify that the required tasks are related only to marketing services, and that the scope of work does not include other services not directly related to the implementation of marketing services such as: consulting services, event management, supply, and others, unless these services are directly linked to the execution of marketing service tasks, in which case the agency must clarify this linkage.

• 5-1 Technical Specifications

• The government agency must use the following technical specifications to define the scope of work in a manner consistent with the project's requirements and objectives, ensuring that each level includes at least the following contents:

  • 1- Planning and Management:

    • A- Type and frequency of project status reports.

  • 2- Developing the Marketing Campaign Strategy:

    • A- Type of strategic marketing campaign documents to be prepared and their main components.
    • B- Determining the number and specifications of the work team required to implement and develop strategic tasks, where the government agency must identify and link the tasks to be performed by the required work team, clarifying the specializations, number of hours in accordance with the project size and duration.

  • 3- Creative Production:

    • A- Creative production of digital content with the following minimum specifications: type of content, duration of content, quantity of content.
    • B- Creative production of non-digital content with the following minimum specifications: type of content, content requirements such as size and measurements.

  • 4- Media Distribution:

    • A- Distribution of digital content media with the following specifications: type of media channel, type of content distributed through the media channel, frequency of content repetition on the media channel, and targeted marketing metrics such as impressions, views, and engagement.
    • B- Distribution of non-digital content media with the following specifications: type of media channel, type of content distributed through the media channel.

  • 5- Evaluation of Marketing Campaign Results:

    • A- The government agency must specify the essential components included in the report within the scope of work.
    • B- Determining the type of metrics to be used to evaluate the final results.

• 7-1 Evaluation of Bids

• In accordance with the regulations for preparing bid evaluation criteria approved by the Minister of Finance’s Resolution No. (3011) dated 18/8/1442 AH, the government agency must structure the evaluation criteria for marketing services in the two stages below to ensure a balanced evaluation of both technical and financial aspects:

  • A- Technical Evaluation: At this stage, the score is calculated based on a set of several key technical criteria, such as:

    • A- The previous experience of the marketing service provider similar to the size and scope of the project, supported by samples of their previous work.
    • B- The resumes of the work team and their qualifications.
    • C- The quality of the technical proposal, the suitability of the creative concept, and the implementation methodology for the required scope of work.

  • Bidders who achieve a score higher than the predetermined minimum in the technical evaluation will proceed to the next stage for financial evaluation. This ensures that only suppliers who meet the minimum technical criteria of the contract are considered.

  • B- Financial Evaluation: Once the technical evaluation is completed, suppliers who have passed the minimum technical threshold are evaluated based on their financial offers.

  • The contract is awarded to the supplier with the highest combined score (in both technical and financial evaluations), with weighting preference given to both the technical and financial criteria. This ensures that the supplier provides the best overall value, considering both the quality of their services and the competitiveness of their prices.

• 8-1 Contract Duration

• The service delivery program must specify the contract duration and the timeline for the entire marketing service period or the entire marketing campaign period, including all stages of planning, implementation, and the time required to evaluate the results of the marketing campaign. This ensures that the supplier's obligations extend beyond the campaign launch, covering the stages of analysis and the preparation of reports required to measure the effectiveness of the marketing campaign.

• 8-2 Pricing Mechanism

• When preparing the bill of quantities for marketing services, the government agency must structure the following project specifications separately based on the phase to ensure accurate and transparent price offers from bidders:

  • A- Creative Production: The prices for creative production must be specified for each piece of content created, ensuring clarity in the cost structure based on the size and type of content required for the marketing campaign.
  • B- Media Distribution: Content distribution should be priced according to relevant marketing service metrics, such as impressions, number of views, or number of shares.
  • C- Planning, Management, Development of the Marketing Campaign Strategy, and Evaluation of the Marketing Campaign Results: The government agency must determine prices based on the hourly cost and the number of hours required for human resources to work on delivering these outputs.