Public Procurement: Global Revolution VII

On June 15 and 16, an international conference on Public Procurement  convened at the University of Nottingham in England’s East Midlands. It was a major gathering of international procurement scholars, practitioners and international organizations. The conference -- the seventh in a series – drew panelists and participants from around the world, and covered a wide array of topics in four broad categories: global reform initiatives, current issues in international procurement, the European Union's procurement regime and procurement in practice. Key topics are noted below. Global Reform Initiatives -- Topics included:

• Expanding the GPA’s membership: prospects for concluding work on China’s accession, accessions of New Zealand and Montenegro as models, and relationship between WTO accession and GPA accession commitments

• WTO work on procurement: agenda for the 21^st century and GPA SME work program (EU policies and U.S. set-asides)

• Assessing country procurement systems: OECD, ERBD and USAID

• UNCITRAL: greater use of Model Law

• Models for developing country reforms: encouraging use of GPA, EBRD in Eastern Europe and World Bank’s emphasis on country context

• Future of harmonization and convergence of procurement systems

• Ensuring effective reforms: aid procurement and development of local industry, and U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation

• Reforms at the Multilateral Development Banks: World Bank, Africa Development Bank and Asia Development Bank

Current Issues in the International Arena -- Topics included global defense issues (offsets and China’s defense procurement), European defence issues, sustainability, works and complex procurement in Africa (infrastructure procurement and PPPs), crisis procurement (Ebola outbreak) and buying national in Brazil EU Procurement Regime -- Topics included EU procurement reforms, remedies and enforcement of EU procurement law, access for SMEs under EU and UK rules, procurement outside the directives and concessions Procurement in Practice -- Topics included procurement in the health sector, professionalizing procurement, integrity in procurement (corporate governance and the U.S. approach to compliance), debarment (EU, India, Africa and China), electronic procurement (Brazil, Korea, Portugal, Estonia, Finland and Wales) Jean Heilman Grier June 15, 2015 Related Posts China's 2014 Offer Advances GPA Accession GPA Gains Two New Members Procurement Week 2015 Presentation: U.S. Perspective on Encouraging Countries to Join the GPA PPPs #1: Public-Private Partnerships under the GPA Progress in Expanding GPA Ukraine: Time to Join GPA? US Procurement Preferences for Small and Minority Businesses Work Programs for Unfinished Business in Revision of GPA World Bank Procurement Reform Promotes GPA WTO GPA Update #1 WTO GPA Update #2