Include Macbeth in the MCDA Models Suggested by Italian Legislation for the Selection of the Most Economically Advantageous Tender in Contracts for Public Works. Comparison and Application of MCDA Model to a Case Study

Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts, (2004/18/EC), provides that in Member States the commissioning body may base the choice of contractor on two award criteria: - the lowest price, where only the economic aspect is evaluated; - the most economically advantageous tender, where a number of factors are evaluated. In Italy, the 2004/18/EC directive has been adopted by the Code of Public Contracts for works, services and supplies, Legislative Decree No 163 of 2006 and subsequent amendments (Legislative Decree No 163/2006) and its implementing decree, Presidential Decree No 207 of 2010 (P.D. 207/2010), which, in accordance with European case law, indicate complete equivalence between the two award criteria. In accordance with the 2004/18/EC directive, Italian legislation provides that, between the two award criteria, the commissioning body must choose the most appropriate one depending on the nature of the contract. This decision by the commissioning body must be made by applying the criteria and objectives, and by ensuring compliance with the principles of transparency, nondiscrimination and competition. In order to rank the different tenders for the award of public works contracts using the criterion of the most economically advantageous tender, Legislative Decree No 163/2006 and P.D. No 207/2010 require the use of a Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) model. Five MCDA models are suggested: - Weighted Sum Model (WSM, Einhorn and McCoach, 1977); - Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP, Saaty, 1977); - ELimination Et Choix Traduisant la REalité (ELECTRE, Roy, 1968); - EVAluation of MIXed criteria (EVAMIX, Voogd, 1982); - Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (Topsis, Hwang and Yoon, 1981). But the possibility of using any of the methods to be found in scientific literature is also indicated. The aim of the text is to propose the application of a new MCDA model: the Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation TecHnique (MACBETH, Bana e Costa, Vansnick, 1994) has not yet been applied in the approximate evaluative field, in verifying either similarities/differences with other MCDA methods suggested by Italian legislation, or with reference to a case study, the advantages/disadvantages arising from the operational application of different MCDA methods considered.