The Ombudsman considers that, if an expert who carried out preparatory research or work relating to a public contract is subsequently employed by a firm participating in the tender for that contract, this could give that firm an advantage when formulating its bid. The relevant expert may have additional information or experience from carrying out such preparatory work that would not be available to other tenderers. This could also lead to a conflict of interest to the extent that, even unintentionally, he/she might influence the conditions imposed upon the contract in a manner favorable to him/her. This in itself could distort competition.