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

Enhancing transparency through the use of standardised procurement templates

In light of severe economic deterioration and dramatically reduced public financial budgets, a standardised suite of public procurement templates were introduced in Ireland to achieve administrative savings and to streamline procurement processes. This paper aims to provide a commentary on the ability or lack thereof to enhance transparency at each stage of a procurement procedure

Sustainable public procurement in practice: Case study evidence from Ireland

It is this sustainable procurement concept that serves as the focus for an exploratory case study of a local government authority in Ireland and its attempts to match procurement processes to corporate objectives. In so doing it helps to address the paucity of research on local government procurement in an Irish context. It is reported that maximising value for money and regulatory compliance need not come at the expense of facilitating small indigenous suppliers, supporting local supply chains, improving environmental outcomes and delivering a better public service. Moreover, the findings show that procurement can play a critical role in giving effect to the corporate objectives of local government authorities. The structure of the paper is as follows. Firstly, an analysis of recent policy as it relates to public sector procurement in Ireland is overviewed. The next section charts the expanding role of public procurement as reflected in both academic and policy developments. Findings from the small but growing literature on sustainable public procurement are then discussed. Thereafter, the research methodology will be outlined and the research findings described

Mapping public procurement in Ireland

This study reports on the results of a nationwide survey of public procurement in Ireland, carried out against a backdrop of central government reform initiatives. The survey was designed to address a knowledge deficit among academics, policy makers and practitioners on the form and functioning of public procurement in Ireland. Thus, a mapping of public procurement was undertaken in 2011 in conjunction with the National Procurement Service (NPS) of Ireland. The population of suppliers and public sector procurers registered on Ireland’s national e-procurement portal was requested to participate in this exercise by completing an online questionnaire. This yielded an extensive dataset relevant to understanding the Irish public procurement market. That data was obtained from both suppliers and public sector procurers allows for comparisons to be made across a range of variables, which is a novel addition to research in the public procurement field. The significance of the research and its findings go beyond Ireland. Contemporary issues of international concern, such as the marketplace impacts of migration to e-procurement, initiatives to create a “level playing field” for small and medium-sized (SMEs) enterprises, and the effects of European Union directives, are analysed and their importance discussed. In the next section the policy environment as it pertains to public procurement in Ireland is described. The design of the research is explained in section three and the survey findings are detailed in section four. These findings are subject to further examination and contextualisation in section five

The Role of the Joint Procurement Agreement during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Assessing Its Usefulness and Discussing Its Potential to Support a European Health Union

In 2014, the European Joint Procurement Agreement (JPA) was introduced as an innovative instrument to organise the procurement of vaccines and medications in preparation for pandemics. An overriding purpose of the JPA is to secure equitable and cost-effective access to medical supplies for participating EU Member States during serious health crises. This article aims to understand the current use of the JPA in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Post analysis of the recent use of the JPA, the article will discuss how the regional procurement mechanism can be strengthened to support the development of a European Health Union. In particular, the article will firstly question if the recent four JPA procurement actions facilitated equitable access to medical supplies and services. Secondly, it will ask if the centralised procurement actions preserved the integrity of the Internal Market. The importance and originality of this study are that it addresses an instrument, the JPA, which has been largely overlooked by legal scholars, and it explores how the provisions for the joint procurement of medical countermeasures as included in Article 5 of Decision 1082/2013/EU on serious cross-border threats to health could be extended to support the functioning of a European Health Union

Mapping public procurement in Ireland

This study reports on the results of a nationwide survey of public procurement in Ireland, carried out against a backdrop of central government reform initiatives. The survey was designed to address a knowledge deficit among academics, policy makers and practitioners on the form and functioning of public procurement in Ireland. Thus, a mapping of public procurement was undertaken in 2011 in conjunction with the National Procurement Service (NPS) of Ireland. The population of suppliers and public sector procurers registered on Ireland’s national e-procurement portal was requested to participate in this exercise by completing an online questionnaire. This yielded an extensive dataset relevant to understanding the Irish public procurement market. That data was obtained from both suppliers and public sector procurers allows for comparisons to be made across a range of variables, which is a novel addition to research in the public procurement field. The significance of the research and its findings go beyond Ireland. Contemporary issues of international concern, such as the marketplace impacts of migration to e-procurement, initiatives to create a ‘level playing field’ for small and medium sized (SMEs) enterprises, and the effects of European Union directives, are analysed and their importance discussed. In the next section the policy environment as it pertains to public procurement in Ireland is described. The design of the research is explained in section three and the survey findings are detailed in section four. These findings are subject to further examination and contextualisation in section five

Sleep apnea cardiovascular clinical trials - current status and steps forward: the International Collaboration of Sleep Apnea Cardiovascular Trialists

Sleep apnea is a common chronic disease that is associated with coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure and mortality, although the ability of sleep apnea treatment to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality has not been demonstrated. In contrast to patients seeking treatment in sleep disorders centers, as many as half of individuals with moderate to severe sleep apnea in the general population do not report excessive sleepiness; however, if treatment of sleep apnea were shown to reduce cardiovascular disease risk, this would provide a strong rationale for treatment of sleep apnea even in the absence of daytime sleepiness. This article summarizes the status of clinical trials evaluating the potential cardiovascular benefits of sleep apnea treatment and discusses the challenges of conducting such trials, and introduces the International Collaboration of Sleep Apnea Cardiovascular Trialists (INCOSACT), a clinical research collaboration formed to foster cardiovascular sleep research.Australian National Health and Medical Research Counci

A feasibility study of the impact of a communication-skills course, 'Empowered Conversations', for care partners of people living with dementia

Objectives To examine the feasibility, acceptability and impact of an experiential course for family care partners of people living with dementia, Empowered Conversations (EC). This study aimed to assess the impact of participation in an EC course on care partner stress levels, communication and mentalization (a form of relational-based empathy). Method This study uses an uncontrolled pre–post-follow-up design. Follow-up was at 4-months after the initial EC session where baseline data were collected. One hundred and fifty-nine care partners were recruited. EC is a training course that has been designed to improve care partner communication, well-being and relationships. It is based on an integrative framework that targets the specific psychological, relationship and communication needs of carers. This framework informs targeted strategies and interactive exercises that facilitate carers to consider the goals and emotions of those they are caring for, alongside their own goals and emotions, and to use this to maximize good communication. Results Stress was significantly reduced across the three time points. Communication significantly improved across time. There were no significant changes in reflective functioning (mentalization). Discussion This study provides preliminary evidence that a communication-skills training course for care partners of people living with dementia is an acceptable and feasible intervention and has an impact both post-intervention and at follow-up. These findings require validation in a rigorous, randomized study