The problem#
SECOP is huge and complicated. Looking for opportunities or understanding a single contract can take days. There are two platforms with different formats and millions of records.
The solution#
Connect SECOP to Claude with Croma and look into opportunities and contracts the way a company with a bid team would.
Step 1: connect Claude to Croma#
By default Claude has no access to government records. With Croma it queries the official sources and answers with the figure and the date it looked it up.
The full guide, with screenshots, is How to connect Croma to Claude. It takes five minutes and the free plan covers the whole workshop.
To check it worked, open a new chat and type this.
Search SECOP for 2026 processes that mention "diseño arquitectónico" and give me the three largest.If it answers with a table of processes, you are set. The first time Claude uses a source it asks for permission. Accept and let it work.
Step 2: what you can ask#
Every prompt is ready to copy and paste. Swap in your own topic, department, value or year. The results below are from today, October 14, 2026.
By topic and place#
The simplest one: what is being sought in your area and your specialty.
Prompt: what is open in my area
Find 2026 procurement processes in Antioquia that mention "diseño arquitectónico" and have not been awarded yet. Give me a table with entity, subject, estimated value, modality and a link to the process. Separate direct contracting from the ones that compete.You will see 52 processes. 51 are direct contracting or a special regime, and 41 are worth less than COP 50 million, with a median of 29 million. They are mostly individual service contracts: a town hall wants a support architect, an urban development company wants an architect to coordinate designs. Asking it to separate what is awarded directly from what competes saves you half the reading.
By size#
A value floor takes the small ones out of the way.
Prompt: the big tenders
Find 2026 public tenders that have not been awarded yet and exceed COP 5 billion. Give me the five largest with entity, subject, estimated value and deadline.You will see 369 tenders. The largest are the Bogotá passenger rail concession at about COP 11 trillion with a deadline in April 2027, the USPEC prison food service at 2.5 trillion and the Military Health medicines at 1.94 trillion. The largest are rarely yours. Combine the value floor with a topic.
Only the ones still open#
Not awarded does not mean open.
Prompt: drop the ones that already closed
Find 2026 processes that mention "construcción", exceed COP 5 billion and have not been awarded. Keep only the ones with a deadline after today, and give me a table with entity, subject, estimated value and deadline.There are 618 unawarded processes, but among the 100 largest only 5 have a deadline that has not passed yet. Several more are listed as open with no date, because they are agreements and direct contracts. The Pereira wastewater treatment plant, at COP 433 billion, had a deadline of June 16 and is under evaluation. A 44.8 trillion agreement between the disaster risk fund and the Navy also shows up, which is not for competing.
Design and supervision#
Consultants can come in through supervision and studies, not only through construction.
Prompt: the big design and supervision ones
Find 2026 processes that mention "diseño" and "interventoría" and have not been awarded yet. Give me the ten largest with entity, subject, estimated value, modality and deadline. If the same process appears in several phases, merge it into one row.You will see about 450 processes. The largest are an EPM supervision contract for water and sewer networks at COP 34.8 billion, the IDU's integrated supervision of the studies, designs and works of the Calle 13 depot in Bogotá at 27.6 billion, and a supervision contract for the BogotáBio technology development center at 10.5 billion.
What is coming#
Before processes exist, entities publish their annual procurement plan.
Prompt: a city's purchasing plans
Find the 2026 annual procurement plans of entities in Medellín. Give me the five with the largest budget with entity, total budget and plan status. Leave out contact details.You will see 41 plans. The largest are the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation at COP 3 trillion, INDER at 1.1 trillion, EDU at 766 billion and SENA Antioquia at 541 billion, the last one still a draft. This data was last updated on September 7, and a plan changes through versions over the year, so check the date.
From the list to a decision#
Once you have results, ask it to decide with you.
Prompt: prioritize
From the processes you found, tell me the three worth looking at first for an architecture studio of five people. For each one explain why, what it would need to submit and how much time is left.Three habits that make answers reliable#
- Not awarded does not mean open. Always ask for the deadline and the status.
- The same process appears in several phases. Ask it to merge them into one row.
- For the figures that matter, open the process link and confirm them.
Join the community#
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