Chile

Chile Compra, Chile’s agency for administering public purchases, analyses the data extracted from its electronic platform, including the number of bids, purchases through framework agreements, and non-competitive procedures. This information is then compared to figures from previous years in order to estimate amounts spent, savings and the correct application of standards related to the types of procedures.

  Estonia

Estonia has launched the Estonian e-procurement system, used by the state and local governments to enhance transparency.

Ireland

In 2009, Ireland established the National Procurement Service (NPS) in order to reform the public procurement function. The principal objective of the NPS is to achieve best value for money in the procurement of supplies and services. It takes a strategic approach to procurement through aggregating purchases across government departments, agencies and the non-commercial state sector in order to reduce the prices paid for goods and services; providing procurement training and advice to the public sector; and promoting simplification and standardization of the tendering process. Based on market analysis, the NPS identified the top 50 categories of procurement expenditure to target for intervention.

Spain

At the regional level, Galicia, Spain has developed a web platform for public procurement procedures for all public entities, including municipalities. The goal is to integrate all public entities and private companies in a one-stop shop for public procurement. Collaborative procurement across levels of government as well as at the regional level can also help improve procurement capacity (e.g. purchasing alliances, networks, framework agreements as well as central purchasing bodies).

Portugal

To increase productivity, Portugal has restructured its purchasing function and consolidated purchases to achieve economies of scale. The National Agency for Public Procurement, established in 2007, has managed in recent years to professionalise the procurement function and achieve efficiency gains through the use of aggregation vehicles for the central administration (framework agreements) and investment in a state-of-the art e-procurement platform. One of the challenges facing the Government is to ensure that similar capacity is developed at the sub-national level. Portugal is increasingly using procurement as a policy lever to pursue policy objectives, such as SME development, innovation, and environmental protection. This is being done, for example, by dividing government contracts into small lots.