From Literature Evidence to Method Selection: A Two-Layer MCDA Framework for Project Alternative Evaluation in Public Procurement

Multi-criteria decision-aiding (MCDA) methods are increasingly used in public procurement to compare project alternatives when evaluation depends on technical, environmental, social, and economic criteria. Yet method selection is often treated as a purely analytical matter, whereas in regulated procurement it is also constrained by requirements of transparency, ex ante definability, auditability, and effective competition. Building on prior review evidence on MCDA applica-tions in public procurement, this paper proposes a two-layer framework for method selection. The first layer assesses normative compatibility, filtering out methods whose inferential structure is difficult to predefine, explain, or verify within award procedures. The second layer assesses methodological adequacy in relation to the decision problem, considering weighting needs, compensatory logic, uncertainty, criteria interdependence, and robustness of the final ranking. The framework is then translated into an operational selection matrix linking recurrent procurement settings to coherent method families and modular configurations. The contribution is both conceptual and practical: it shows that MCDA method choice in public procurement is not method-neutral, but a design decision at the intersection of decision theory, procurement regulation, and evaluation practice.