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The problematic aspects of awarding of public procurement from the perspective of the municipality. The aim of this thesis is a presentation of certain problems associated with awarding of public procurement by public authority - the municipality. This thesis is divided into three parts. The first part provides a general introduction to the topic. This part defines the basic terms and principles associated with public procurement, attention is also focused on a definition of local government units. At the beginning of the second part a legal framework of public procurement and a brief view of the future legislativ is presented. The most important section of this part describes bodies of the municipality and their competences associated with awarding of public procurement. Thereafter it deals with mistakes and shortcomings which may arise during the tender process from the part of municipalities. In this part specific situations coming from the practical experience of municipalities are described and analysed, including a list of potential impacts on municipalities. Attention is also paid to current jurisdiction and decision making practices of the Office for Protection of Competition. The final part of this thesis summarizes the conclusions drawn in the previous chapters.

L’étude des diverses causes de la complexité du droit de la commande publique permet de déterminer le niveau minimal inéluctable de complexité à conserver, la complexité restante s’avérant inutile et devant donc être supprimée, ou du moins, aménagée. Plus particulièrement, les causes de la complexité de ce droit proviennent objectivement de la difficile rationalisation de ce dernier. Elles sont quantitatives ou qualitatives. Mais toute cette complexité s’explique surtout subjectivement car ses causes résultent du difficile règlement des conflits d’intérêts par ce droit. En effet, tout d’abord, les objectifs de ce droit sont débattus. Ensuite, la société donne différents points de vue sur ce droit. Enfin, on relève une efficacité amoindrie du droit au juge en matière de commande publique, ce qui nuit aux requérants. Il convient alors d’analyser les multiples voies et moyens de simplification du droit de la commande publique afin de trouver le niveau maximal inéluctable de simplification. Dès lors, le reste de la simplification s’avère inutile, infaisable. Ces voies et moyens doivent servir à mieux rationaliser ce droit selon deux approches, l’une quantitative et l’autre qualitative. Cependant, toute cette simplification du droit de la commande publique doit être effectuée surtout d’un point de vue subjectif. Plus précisément, les voies et moyens de cette simplification doivent permettre de mieux régler les conflits d’intérêts. En effet, on peut clarifier les objectifs du droit de la commande publique, réglementer de façon mesurée les divers points de vue de la société sur ce droit et renforcer l’efficacité du droit au juge pour les requérants. / The study of the various causes of the complexity of public procurement law determine the minimum unavoidable level of complexity to keep, the remaining complexity is useless and must therefore be abolished, or at least, modified. More specifically, the causes of the complexity of this law objectively come to the difficult rationalization of the latter. They are quantitative or qualitative. But all this complexity is mainly because subjectively its causes result from the difficult settlement of conflicts of interest by that law. Indeed, first, the objectives of this law are discussed. Then, the society gives different points of view on this law. Finally, we note a diminished effectiveness of the right to a judge in matters of public procurement, which affects the applicants. It is then necessary to analyze the multiple ways and means of simplification of public procurement law in order to find the maximum unavoidable level of simplification. Therefore, the rest of the simplification is unnecessary, infeasible. These ways and means should be used to better rationalize this law according to two approaches, one quantitative and the other qualitative. However, any simplification of public procurement law must be made primarily from a subjective point of view. More specifically, ways and means of this simplification must allow to better resolve conflicts of interest. Indeed, one can clarify the objectives of public procurement law, regulate in a measured way the diverse points of view of society on this law and strengthen the effectiveness of the right to a judge for the applicants.

There has been increased interest internationally in using public procurement as an innovation policy. China too has employed innovation oriented public procurement (IOPP) to implement its ‘indigenous innovation’ strategy. This thesis explores China’s IOPP policy processes, evaluates the appropriateness of these policies, and explains key issues identified. Literature strands on innovation, policy, public procurement, and IOPP are drawn upon to analyse IOPP and related policies. IOPP processes are conceptualized as dynamics shaped by the institutions, actors and interactions of innovation and public procurement systems. IOPP policies are framed as horizontal mixes of cross-domain interventions, and vertical mixes of goals, rationales, instruments, designed implementation structures, actual implementation processes, and outcomes. A criterion for evaluating policy appropriateness is coherence between the various dimensions. Macro-level policies impact on micro-level processes which in turn provide evidence of implementation. A multi-level case study methodology is adopted to link up macro/national, meso/regional and micro/local levels of policy design, articulation and implementation. Implementation is characterized through three IOPP policy channels, a channel being a characteristic group of policies to promote IOPP. Channel 1 employed ‘innovation catalogues’, which was unexpectedly terminated in 2011 in response to concerns from other countries over China’s perceived protectionist tendency. Channel 1 was found to be a centralized mechanism to implement general IOPP across all regions, sectors and levels of governance. As a one-size-fits-all approach requiring cross-domain, cross-level coordination, it failed to achieve coherence with the institutional fragmentation of China’s innovation and procurement systems. The other two channels were implicit, strategic IOPP approaches i.e. commercialization projects for ‘major technological equipment’ with a rationale of pre-commercial procurement (Channel 2), and demonstration programmes for emerging technologies with a rationale of creating lead markets (Channel 3). These two channels realized better coherence with China’s systems as both were targeted at specific sectors and levels. Cross-case analysis suggests that micro-level IOPP processes were more frequently shaped by local contexts of stakeholders, interactions and informal institutions rather than IOPP policies. Interventionist local governments and proactive suppliers played stronger roles than procurers in initiating IOPP. IOPP cycles followed diverse and informal pathways not always competition-based, which might have breached de jure procurement regulations but China’s weak formal institutions allowed this flexibility. Informal institutions sometimes mitigated flaws of formal ones and facilitated IOPP, but could easily play competing roles (notably regional protectionism) that hinder policy implementation. This thesis contributes to IOPP knowledge by: offering a conceptual approach to IOPP policy analysis concerning implementation and appropriateness evaluation; uncovering China’s IOPP dynamics based on which the understanding of IOPP as a research subject is deepened. Policy implications include lessons for catching-up countries emphasizing institutional capacity and government capability, and more general issues highlighting policy differentiation and complementarity, and intermediation.

This study applies a theoretical framework from institutional organization theory (Scott, 2001) to examine the problem of managing government contracting, conceptualized as the "smart buyer problem" by Kettl (1993). Kettl argued that, while embracing the market-based promises of contracting, governments have failed to develop the capacity to address even the most fundamental contracting questions, such as what to buy, who to buy from and what was bought? He suggests that the problem is partly attributable to bureaucratic barriers to information sharing in government agencies that prevent them from becoming learning organizations. This study explores the proposition that institutional characteristics within acquisition organizations may contribute to this problem. Governments do not behave as a single buyer with clearly defined buying objectives. Multiple organizations, each shaped by institutional factors, lay claim to processes relating to Kettl's smart buyer questions. As key organizational participants become aligned with their own regulative, normative, and socio-cognitive institutional "pillars," smart buying behavior may become confounded by institutional factors and constraining organizational structures. For this study, an organizational field consisting of the program office, contracting office, and budget office was selected as the level of analysis. A qualitative multi-approach methodology was developed to analyze data from public sources, including government policy documents, audit reports, and other published information related to five individual cases. Data from autoethnographic accounts, interviews, content analyses, and the case studies helped frame the institutional characteristics of these offices. The study confirmed that the three offices are key participants in acquisition programs, although their roles are not always formally recognized. Strong evidence was found that they each possess unique institutional characteristics. These differences could be creating conditions of divergence and misalignment with the acquisition objectives, raising the possibility of conflicting institutional demands, competing challenges for legitimacy, and institutional change. Policy initiatives to formally recognize the roles and responsibilities of these offices and the use of working-level oversight boards, project teams, and interagency contracting may help mitigate these institutional differences. The study points to the importance of recognizing participants' institutional characteristics when planning and managing an acquisition program. / Ph. D.

This thesis analyses the neoliberal reforms in the public procurement field by comparing the Northern and Southern examples, with a particular focus on the enactment of the Turkish Public Procurement Law and the establishment of Turkish Public Procurement Agency in 2001. This thesis argues that despite the depoliticisation claims of neoliberal ideology the reforms in the public procurement field have gone through a highly politicised process in both North and South. The reforms launched in the procurement field have been constructed around different languages. The language of reform has intended to delegitimize any business-state cooperation. This type of language of reform in themSouth, particularly in Turkey, has turned into a strategy to open the state procurement market to the Western foreign firms on equal footing with the national ones. Coming under the pressure of different coalition groups of national and foreign capital owners, the Turkish government of has intervened in the decisions of the Public Procurement Authority, which has been formed as an independent regulatory agency and in the Public Procurement Law, which was initially enacted to guarantee transparency. This thesis has reviewed the processes of the enactment and amendment of the Public Procurement. Eventually it states that the highly technical language of reform in the procurement field is highly political, and aims to redistribute resources between different capital groups.

Growing concerns regarding sustainability have led the construction sector to adopt various policy instruments for reducing the impacts caused by construction activities. One such policy instrument includes impact assessment, which enables the construction sector to evaluate the environmental consequences of proposed developments at project (environmental impact assessment) and strategic (strategic environmental assessment) level. In recent years, the construction sector has also adopted green public procurement, which is a process whereby contracting authorities aim to procure services and products that meet environmental requirements. In certain contexts, green public procurement has extended to sustainable public procurement, which involves the incorporation of both environmental and social considerations in the procurement of services and products. Promoting sustainability in the constructor sector is a significant challenge. This challenge is primarily due to the requirement of high levels of cooperation among project stakeholders, on the one hand, and a lack of coordination between project planning and implementation on the other hand. Therefore, procurement plays a significant role as it establishes the tone for the interaction between contracting authorities and contractors. The overall aim of this thesis is to bolster the knowledge of promoting sustainability in the construction sector, with the specific aim of analysing the ways in which policy instruments such as environmental impact assessment and green public procurement can be reinforced to improve the coordination between planning and the implementation of sustainability considerations. This thesis conceptualises an inter-link between impact assessment and green public procurement, and identifies the opportunities to develop the inter-link. It is appropriate to plan for green public procurement at the pre-decision phase of an environmental impact assessment. The inter-link can be strengthened by involving contractors in planning for green and sustainable public procurement. One way to involve contractors is with the aid of competitive dialogue procedure, which is a procurement procedure that allows contracting authorities to hold discussions with contractors regarding the authority’s requirements. This study strengthens the conceptualisation that competitive dialogue procedure can facilitate green and sustainable public procurement. The various elements in a competitive dialogue procedure can enable the contracting authorities to ensure the consistency between the weight for environmental considerations in contract award criteria and the relevant preferences. This thesis also discusses key concerns for progress towards sustainable public procurement, which includes among others the incorporation of sustainability values in procurement decisions. In addition, this study identified certain discourses on future trends for green and sustainable public procurement. The discourses provide an opportunity for reflection, and thereby indicate that analytical support is required to develop criteria in a way that enables the evaluation of sustainable public procurement against the background of sustainability and justice regarding natural capital. Innovation must be promoted with a focus on sustainability values. Moreover, green or sustainable public procurement must be discussed between contracting authorities and contractors in light of its contribution to sustainability. / <p>QC 20140509</p>

The selected issues of public procurement in the Czech Republic Abstract The aim of this diploma thesis is to identify selected issues occurring in the public procurement in the Czech Republic. The submitted diploma thesis presents some reasons for the wrongful procedure of the contracting entities which cause difficulties to the subjects of Act No. 134/2016 Sb., the Public Procurement Act. Problematic aspects are judged by the 3E principles, which define the cause of the adoption of this Act. The purpose of the public procurement legislation in force is to specify sufficient rules to ensure proper spending of public funds. Definitions of the selected problems are followed by an outline of possible solutions. The introductory chapter summarizes the milestones in the development of public procurement legislation which began in the time of Austria-Hungary. It includes the essence and reasons for the adoption of legislation and points out certain problematic sections of the rules that led to their change later. The chapter also includes the basic characteristics of the Act currently in force which was adopted in 2016 in order to reflect the valid European Union directives and the determined problems of the previous Act. The second chapter describes the status of public procurement in the system of law. Public...

Bakgrund och problemdiskussion: Den offentliga upphandlingen kan med väl genomtänkta krav på varor och tjänster bli en stark drivkraft och en föregångare för hållbar utveckling. Trots en svag och oklar lagstiftning inom området finns det idag stora möjligheter att ställa krav både på socialt ansvarstagande och miljöhänsyn i samband med offentliga upphandlingar. Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka hur Värnamo kommun gör för att inkludera hållbarhet med inriktning på miljö i sina avtal med utvalda livsmedelsleverantörer. Vidare undersöks hur Värnamo kommun säkerställer att upphandlade varor och tjänster lever upp till avtalad kvalitet samt hur det faktiska tillvägagångssättet stämmer överens med den teori som finns. Metod: Uppsatsen är av kvalitativ art och har utförts genom en fallstudie. Utgångspunkten är ett positivistiskt synsätt och uppsatsen använder sig av ett deduktivt angreppssätt. Slutsats: I Värnamo kommun finns det en tillsatt kompetensgrupp som arbetar enbart med upphandling av livsmedel, denna grupp har kunskap och kännedom om hur marknaden och upphandlingsprocessen ser ut. Vid upphandling läggs i princip allt fokus kring avtalet, både när det gäller vilka krav som ställs och vad som ska följas upp. Trots att det inte är enkelt för offentliga verksamheter att göra inköp och kvalitetssäkringar enligt teorin finns det delar av teorin som redan idag uppfylls och det finns också en bas för vidare utveckling. Kvalitetssäkring sker i störst utsträckning innan avtalet signeras, vilket ur en tidsaspekt är en liten del av processen. Enligt teorin skall kvalitetssäkring ske kontinuerligt flera gånger per år. Det blir tydligt att teorin lämpar sig bättre för privat sektor eftersom det inom den offentliga sektorn finns mindre incitament för att hjälpas åt att utvecklas då nästa upphandling kan innebära att samarbetet ha nått vägs ände. / Background: Public procurement can with well thought through demands on goods and services become a strong driving force for sustainable development. Even with a weak and uncertain legislation within the field there are grand opportunities to demand both social responsibility and environmental accountability in public procurement. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how Värnamo municipality do to include sustainability with focus on the environment in their agreements with chosen grocery suppliers. Further it is investigated how Värnamo municipality make sure their procured goods and services are to terms with agreed standard, and if the actual approach is in line with theory on the subject. Method: The essay is of qualitative nature and has been performed in the way of a case study. The standpoint of the essay is a positivistic point of view and is performed with a deductive approach. Conclusion: In Värnamo municipality there is an appointed group with special competence that is working solely with the procurement of groceries, this group have knowledge about how the market and the procurement process works. In the time of procurement nearly all the focus is in the documented agreements, both regarding demands put and what is to be followed up. Even though it is not simple for a government controlled business to make procurements and quality assurances according to theory there are parts of theory that today are fulfilled and there is a foundation for further development. Quality assurance is by the most part done before the agreement is signed, which compared to the entire process is a small portion. According to theory quality assurance should happen multiple times yearly. It is apparent that theory is better suited for the private sector since in the public sector there are fewer incentives to help the other party improve where the next procurement can mean the cooperation has come to an end.

This thesis analyses current practice in publication of information on public procurement according to official standards in Czech Republic and European Union. It proposes new conceptual domain model, and uses it to propose optimal format for publication and exchange of data on public procurement. Further a set of rules is proposed to check quality of published information, and a tool is implemented to perform their practical control. The tool is tested on all 10 500 Czech working APIs, their measured quality is described and evaluated. The tool has been published and is used by actual procurement issuers. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)