Is public procurement going green? experiences and open issues

Public purchasing authorities are in a leading position for the introduction, promotion and development of green procurement. Indeed, the public sector can influence green procurement both by designing suitable policies and by driving “green” markets through the significant share of public purchases on GDP. The European Commission (EC) has emphasized the importance of cost-efficient GPP and, in compliance with the EU’s Integrated Product Policy (IPC), Member States have been encouraged to devise national action plans. As a result, many countries have already adopted steps in the direction of greening public purchases. The aim of our paper is twofold: first, we focus on the state of the art in terms of the EU and Italian Legislation; then, we highlight open questions related to crucial issues in GPP implementation, with a particular attention to the design of green tenders and awarding criteria to account for environmental quality in public purchasing procedures.Green Public Procurement/Purchasing (GPP), Italy, EU, Legislation and Implementation

Appropriate Financial Instruments for Public-Private Partnership to Boost Cross-Border Infrastructural Development-EU Experience

The member states of the European Union (EU) and the EU institutions have increasingly been using public-private partnerships (PPPs) to accelerate the development of (ambitious) trans-national infrastructure. This paper argues that in the EU (i) private sector partners remain risk-averse; and (ii) risk-pooling across a larger number of tax-payers tends to reduce the cost of risk to zero, making EU funds highly desirable and sought after for public infrastructure development. This paper argues that private equity has not been forthcoming to the extent that had been expected by those propagating this method of finance. In those instances where private non-publicly guaranteed resources have been used, the distribution of risks between public and private partners remained asymmetric, with public governmental bodies carrying the financial risks, which ultimately may become a contingent liability for the country’s public finances. However, EU and European Investment Bank (EIB) public funding is used not simply because the risks are spread more widely, but rather because EU rules and regulations for using such funds lead to better preparation of projects and greater efficiency gains in project implementation and delivery.public-private partnerships; trans-national infrastructure; european union institutions; european union; public infrastructure development

Defining the dimensions of engineering asset procurement: towards an integrated model

Procuring engineering asset management is a critical activity of all types of government, with optimal approaches to procurement still in need of identification. This paper advances a novel approach of exploring the procurement of engineering assets across a number of dimensions: Project rules, organisational interaction rules and complexity. The dimensions of project rules are held to include cost, quality and time. The dimensions of organisational interaction rules are held to be collaboration, competition and control. Complexity is seen as in the project itself, in the interaction between organisations or in the business environment. Taken together these dimensions seem salient for any type of engineering asset, and provide a useful way of conceptualising procurement arrangements of these assets

Collaboration in electronic resource provision in university libraries: SHEDL, a Scottish case study

This case study examines the growth of collaboration among Scottish higher education institutions. Following a summary of the work of the Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL), more detailed information is provided on collaboration in the fields of acquisition, licensing, selection, and purchasing. Some of the UK background is outlined, relating to NESLi2 in particular, in order to illuminate the options within Scotland. The origins of negotiations on electronic resource provision within Scotland are described, drawing on developments in other countries including Ireland and Scandinavia. After initial setbacks, the implementation of the Scottish Higher Education Digital Library (SHEDL) from 2007 to 2009 is detailed. Current benefits arising from SHEDL are explained, and some possible future developments are discussed

Procurement in infrastructure : what does theory tell us ?

Infrastructure has particular challenges in public procurement, because it is highly complex and customized and often requires economic, political and social considerations from a long time horizon. To deliver public infrastructure services to citizens or taxpayers, there are a series of decisions that governments have to make. The paper provides a minimum package of important economic theories that could guide governments to wise decision-making at each stage. Theory suggests that in general it would be a good option to contract out infrastructure to the private sector under high-powered incentive mechanisms, such as fixed-price contracts. However, this holds under certain conditions. Theory also shows that ownership should be aligned with the ultimate responsibility for or objective of infrastructure provision. Public and private ownership have different advantages and can deal with different problems. It is also shown that it would be a better option to integrate more than one public task (for example, investment and operation) into the same ownership, whether public or private, if they exhibit positive externalities.Public Sector Economics&Finance,Debt Markets,Infrastructure Economics,Contract Law,Transport Economics Policy&Planning

Performance-Based Specifications: Exploring When They Work and Why

There is extensive research and attention on innovation and sustainable public procurement (SPP) in the European Union at present, with the 2014 revision of the Procurement Directives, the Innovation Union strategy and other European Union policy initiatives. This report seeks to contribute to this discussion through the investigation of the use of performance based specifications (PBSs) in public procurement in the European Union and the United States. The report outlines the benefits and limitations of the use of PBSs, even in the most "progressive" public procurement environments, such as the Netherlands, particularly around their ability to support sustainable development goals and deliver environmental benefits for a procuring authority, such as energy and resource efficiency. Additionally, this report aims to identify the sectors in which the enabling conditions for the successful use of PBSs in public procurement are in place and to understand what policies and regulations are needed to promote the use of PBSs in public tenders and public procurement framework agreements

CONSTRUCTION PARTNERING: MOVING TOWARDS THE RATIONALISATION FOR A DOMINANT PARADIGM

This paper critically reviews seminal literature on ‘traditional’ and non-market partnering exchanges, in order to identify core congruent issues, drivers and agents of change. It draws out a number of key themes to better understand why the construction industry has remained relatively unchanged; even though successive reports have tried to rectify the industry’s challenges. Acknowledging that there is no one clear definition, strategy or template for the effective implementation of partnering, findings from extant literature highlight eight dominant drivers deemed integral to augmenting project performance and profitability. So, whilst the construction industry invariably conducts its business with a smaller ratio of strategic partnerships than commonly believed, and accepting buyer dominance has predominantly remained, it is advocated that there is an exigent need to disentangle the project partnering initiative through some form of deterministic model. The case for this is presented through a relationship schema that maps the fabric, reliance and drivers for partnering success

A supplier selection strategy within the Malaysian telecommunications industry

The telecommunication industry in Malaysia has grown rapidly over the last 15 years, with effective supply chain management becoming increasing important within the sector. A multitude of providers and part owned Malaysian government companies, vendors and suppliers are involved in generating and creating value-adding products and services within this sector (across wireless, wireline, broadband business and consumer lines of business). This paper describes key challenges facing a major telecoms service provider in Malaysia with regards to drivers involved in the overall procurement and supplier selection with regards to components of performance management, decision-making, selection techniques, quality and cost management, procurement policy and procurement ethics. This paper further focuses on defining and detailing research currently being undertaken to develop a framework for identifying supplier selection drivers that are inherent within the sector and suggests a research approach to investigate and develop strategies for supplier selection for the telecommunications industry in Malaysia