Competitive bidding is the process of soliciting proposals from multiple vendors or contractors to secure the best price, quality, and terms for goods, services, or construction. Public procurement rules typically require competitive bidding above certain dollar thresholds to ensure taxpayers get value for money and all qualified vendors have fair opportunity to compete. Bidding processes range from simple quotations for smaller purchases to formal tenders and requests for proposals for major contracts. Evaluation may consider price alone or multiple factors including quality, experience, and approach. Competitive bidding promotes transparency and accountability in public spending while potentially reducing costs through competition.