Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) Participation in Public Procurement

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) dominate the Single Market contributing to local employment generation and innovative supplies and services development. Yet, SMEs are continuously disproportionately underrepresented in public markets. On average EU member states spend approximately 14% of their gross domestic product (GDP) concluding public supplies, services and works contracts. EU rules aim to promote cross-border trade in the Single Market by removing the barriers faced by suppliers when tendering for public contracts. This research questions whether the inclusion of social criteria and innovative procedures facilitates SME participation in public contracts. The research questions what impact “the division of large contracts into small ‘lots’; the use of community benefit clauses; the use of subcontractor considerations; and the use of pre-commercial procurement (PCP) procedures” has on SME participation. A cross-border comparative case-study approach is adopted to examine the inclusion of social criteria and innovative procedures in four case studies. The case studies scrutinise the inclusion of social criteria in; a €1.7 billion works contract for the construction of a New Children’s Hospital in Ireland, a £27 million catering, cleaning and ancillary services contract conducted by Northern Ireland’s Central Procurement Directorate, and two PCP competitions conducted by Smart Dublin and Smart Belfast. The findings show how; the use of community benefit clauses and the use of lots facilitated a social enterprise in winning a proportion of a £27 million services and supplies contract; the use of subcontractor considerations resulted in the awarding of €500,000 of subcontracts to SMEs on a €1.7 billion contract within six months of contract commencement, and the use of PCP facilitated the participation of nine SMEs in public contracts. The thesis argues that public procurers should not to treat SMEs as a homogenised group and should design appropriate and proportionate policies for different forms of businesses, including social enterprises and innovative start-ups

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) Participation in Public Procurement

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) dominate the Single Market contributing to local employment generation and innovative supplies and services development. Yet, SMEs are continuously disproportionately underrepresented in public markets. On average EU member states spend approximately 14% of their gross domestic product (GDP) concluding public supplies, services and works contracts. EU rules aim to promote cross-border trade in the Single Market by removing the barriers faced by suppliers when tendering for public contracts. This research questions whether the inclusion of social criteria and innovative procedures facilitates SME participation in public contracts. The research questions what impact “the division of large contracts into small ‘lots’; the use of community benefit clauses; the use of subcontractor considerations; and the use of pre-commercial procurement (PCP) procedures” has on SME participation. A cross-border comparative case-study approach is adopted to examine the inclusion of social criteria and innovative procedures in four case studies. The case studies scrutinise the inclusion of social criteria in; a €1.7 billion works contract for the construction of a New Children’s Hospital in Ireland, a £27 million catering, cleaning and ancillary services contract conducted by Northern Ireland’s Central Procurement Directorate, and two PCP competitions conducted by Smart Dublin and Smart Belfast. The findings show how; the use of community benefit clauses and the use of lots facilitated a social enterprise in winning a proportion of a £27 million services and supplies contract; the use of subcontractor considerations resulted in the awarding of €500,000 of subcontracts to SMEs on a €1.7 billion contract within six months of contract commencement, and the use of PCP facilitated the participation of nine SMEs in public contracts. The thesis argues that public procurers should not to treat SMEs as a homogenised group and should design appropriate and proportionate policies for different forms of businesses, including social enterprises and innovative start-ups

Electronic Tendering: Recognising a More Effective Use of Information Communications Technology in the Irish Construction Industry

When undertaking a traditional tender in Ireland, computer applications are heavily relied upon. Documents, from drawings to Bills of Quantities, are created with an array of computer applications. These documents are subsequently exchanged from surveying firms to a number of main contractors and, additionally, from the main contractors to subcontractors. However, even though the documents have originated in an electronicform, the majority of the documents are communicated in a paper format. Therefore, with each new communication between the parties more paperwork is created. This system of communication is inefficient and process gains can be made through the utilization of already existing Information Communication Technologies (ICT) . The thesis initially provides an analysis of the literature relating to the existing traditional tender process in the Irish construction industry. These findings are then compared with techniques being undertaken in other parts of the world, where ICT is implemented to a greater degree in the tender process. An observation study, subsequently, reveals a clearer picture of the tender process to the author. In particular, the tasks a contractor completes when pricing a competitive tender are clarified. The communication methods used by the contractor between both the PQS and subcontractors are also investigated. This investigation shows that a relatively low level of eCommunication is being undertaken by the individuals within the industry. A survey carried out by the author in the summer of 2008, establishes the current level of ICT usage in Irish construction companies with respect to the tendering process. These results show that there is a similar level of eTendering uptake to that of other countries. However, this uptake is significantly discouraged by a number of barriers identified by the author.Finally, the thesis presents an industry led pilot project. This pilot projectclarifies the potential cost savings that the Irish construction industry achieved through the application of integrated ICT tools in the construction tendering proces

ERAWATCH COUNTRY REPORTS 2011: Ireland

The main objective of the ERAWATCH Annual Country Reports is to characterise and assess the performance of national research systems and related policies in a structured manner that is comparable across countries. EW Country Reports 2011 identify the structural challenges faced by national innovation systems. They further analyse and assess the ability of the policy mix in place to consistently and efficiently tackle these challenges. The annex of the reports gives an overview of the latest national policy efforts towards the enhancement of European Research Area and further assess their efficiency to achieve the targets. These reports were originally produced in November - December 2011, focusing on policy developments over the previous twelve months. The reports were produced by the ERAWATCH Network under contract to JRC-IPTS. The analytical framework and the structure of the reports have been developed by the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies of the Joint Research Centre (JRC-IPTS) and Directorate General for Research and Innovation with contributions from ERAWATCH Network Asbl.JRC.J.2-Knowledge for Growt

An evaluation of sustainable construction practices in the Zambian construction industry

Abstract: The rapid deterioration of the ecosystem as evidenced in the various occurrences around the world has captured the attention of leaders globally. This has prompted the various sectors around the world to initiate actions to mitigate the gradual extinction of the planet through the implementation of sustainable development principles and Zambia should not be left out. Thus, in order to keep pace with this paradigm shift, this study sought to evaluate the sustainable construction practices (SCPs) in the Zambian construction industry (ZCI). This study adopted a quantitative approach. A questionnaire survey was conducted on construction professionals (architects, quantity surveyors, civil engineers, construction managers, construction project managers, project managers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, land surveyors and town planners). Out of the 150 questionnaires sent out, 122 were received back representing an 81% response rate. The data received from the questionnaires was analysed using descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis...M.Tech. (Construction Management

Implementation of e-procurement by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development and its impact on the development of small and medium construction firms

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Building (Project Management) to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Construction Economics and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017E-procurement has been implemented globally with the aim of optimising efficiency and effectiveness within procurement processes of organisations and has become one of the preferred systems for the acquisition of goods, works and services. In recent years, e-procurement processes have been widely adopted and their application has been the norm in many organisations’ procurement processes. However, while e-procurement presents some significant opportunities, a set of challenges has emerged with the implementation of e-procurement. For example, in the South African context, small and medium construction firms (SMCFs) that do not have access to technological infrastructure are often not able to participate fully in the e-procurement transactions. In that regard, the implementation of e-procurement by the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (GDID), a public sector organisation within the Republic of South Africa (RSA) and its impact on the development of SMCFs was investigated in this study. This was done to ascertain the extent of e-procurement implementation and the experiences of SMCFs, benefits and challenges associated with this in the study area. In order to address the research question, the research design adopted involved a detailed examination of the e-procurement methodologies used by the GDID in its procurement for infrastructure projects. This was done through the utilisation of questionnaires. 10 GDID officials chosen through the utilisation of a combination of the stratified random and purposive sampling methods, participated on the research. Secondly, to ascertain the impact of e-procurement implementation on the development of SMCFs, 250 SMCFs within the GDID supplier database were emailed questionnaires to obtain information regarding their experience, benefits realised and the inhibiting factors associated with their participation in e-procurement. The 250 SMCFs were selected through purposive sampling method were selected on the basis that they participated in the procurement of infrastructure projects implemented by GDID in the previous three financial years which are 2014/15; 2015/16 and 2016/17. Twenty-seven of the 250 SMCFs responded. The e-procurement methodologies used by the GDID were found to be e-notification, partial e-tendering, e-contract award, e-contract management and e-maintenance, repairs and operations (e-MRO). There was no single integrated e-procurement system used for carrying out all the e-procurement activities. E-notifications were done through the notification of tender opportunities for infrastructure projects through the Government Tender Bulletin, Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) website, Department of National Treasury e-tenders’ portal and the Lead-2-Business website. Partial e-tendering is carried out through the Department of National Treasury e-tenders portal. E-contract award was done through sending of award letters to service providers as email attachments. E-contract management is done through the utilisation of Oracles’ Primavera P6 and Unifier software and Microsoft Project and emails for normal formal communication and circulation of instructions and project reports. E-MRO was done through the emaintenance software developed by GDID. It was also found that only around 33.3% of the 27 SMCFs that responded were able to fully engage with all the 5 major eprocurement methodologies, excluding e-MRO implemented by the GDID. The remaining SMCFs still relied on the utilisation of a combination of both electronic and paper based systems. The main impact of e-procurement on the development of SMCFs was found to be both positive and negative. On the positive side, it increased profitability through cost saving benefits and reduction in time required for transactions, increased their market access (as they are able to view more tender opportunities), made transactions faster, increased production rate on site (through reduction in the time spent on tendering, thus releasing more time for managing projects on site), and safer storage and back-up of information for reference purposes and benchmarking of other projects, as well as, for dispute resolution. The main disadvantages were found to be high capital cost of procuring and installing Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) infrastructure, the lack of resources, unreliable power supply, security risk and the lack of infrastructure and the non-compatibility of different software packages and application (interoperability challenge). The study confirms that the use of e-procurement by the GDID is still evolving and is yet to be fully implemented in a way that guarantees its full potential and benefits. It also confirms that e-procurement impacts both positively and negatively on the development of SMCFs, and that the systems need to be carefully designed and applied in order to ensure the growth, inclusiveness, sustainability and development of SMCFs in South Africa.MT201