"The Public Procurement Gazette" Newsletter Issues

The EAFIP Initiative invites you to join the free Webinar-Workshop “Climate Change: Procure Greener” (28/09/2022)

When ? 6th October 2022 (9:30 – 12:30 CEST) This 3-hour workshop will focus on how Innovation Procurement can help tackle climate change challenges. • How to procure greener? • How will the new EU legislation impact your procurement? • How to implement a procurement strategy for sustainability and innovation? • What criteria can you use to reduce environmental impact? These and other questions will be addressed by experts in the field. Examples of successful initiatives and projects will be showcased. You will have the opportunity to ask questions before and during the webinar. The European Assistance For Innovation Procurement (EAFIP) is an initiative financed by the European Commission (DG CONNECT) for providing local assistance to public procurers for starting new innovation procurement and for promoting good practices and reinforcing the evidence base on completed innovation procurements.

On 27th October 2022 (10:00 – 11:30 CEST) the EAFIP-Initiative offers the webinar “Introduction to Innovation Procurement” (28/09/2022)

Specially addressed to public procurers who start to explore and apply this instrument ! The free 90-minute webinar for European public buyers, suppliers and policy makers will cover the policy and legal foundations of Pre-Commercial Procurement and Public Procurement of Innovative solutions. Examples will be showcased, and participants will get as bonus the introduction to the New EAFIP Toolkit 2.0!! Don’t miss it. The European Assistance For Innovation Procurement (EAFIP) is an initiative financed by the European Commission (DG CONNECT) for providing local assistance to public procurers for starting new innovation procurement and for promoting good practices and reinforcing the evidence base on completed innovation procurements.

A new call for tenders is open ! Contribute to the uptake of strategic public procurement in the Member States (28/09/2022)

Organisation of Workshops in the 27 Member States to launch a dialogue between stakeholders on the use of strategic public procurement as a lever for the development of innovation and sustainability. New deadline to submit a bid 24/10/2022 !

Webinar "Ecolabels in green public procurement – enabling the green transition" (28/09/2022)

This online session of the European Week of Regions and Cities will take place on October 13th at 9:30-11am CET. The session will help you understand how the use of labels, and in particular the EU Ecolabel, can make it easier for public buyers to have a sustainable impact. Success stories on the use of ecolabels in public tenders from EU local authorities will offer some inspiration on how this can be done in practice. Register now!

SPP Helpdesk webinar "Public procurement of Nature-based solutions" (06/10/2022)

The third European Commission’s SPP Helpdesk service webinar of 2022 will take place on October 6th at 11am-12:15pm CET. It will introduce and explain what are Nature-Based Solutions, how they relate to public procurement, and will present the practical experience of three public authorities from the Netherlands, Poland and Italy in purchasing the implementation of these solutions.

Interview AI Procurement Clauses (04/08/2022)

We interview Lydia Prinsen of the City of Amsterdam and Jeroen Naves from Pels Rijcken

Study on the Innovation Partnership procedure (12/07/2022)

The innovation partnership is a procedure that allows to combine research&development, innovation and procurement in one single procedure. Unit C2 of DG GROW carried out a statistical study on this procedure based on TED data. We are happy to share with you the results. During this summer break, take some time to read all about the innovation partnership on our brochure, watch our three webinars dedicated to this procedure on our YouTube channel and read the results of our research.

Bordeaux European Exchanges (13/07/2022)

Bordeaux Métropole and UGAP, the French national central purchasing body, brought together around thirty French and European experts on Tuesday June 28, 2022. to debate at both political and operational levels on the issues of public procurement “committed” to a social and environmental impact. Katharina Knapton-Vierlich, Head of Unit C2 at DG GROW (in charge of public procurement policy) was invited to give the opening speech. More than 1,000 people followed the discussions, face-to-face in Bordeaux and online.

A little break for better outcomes (14/07/2022)

The editorial staff of the Public Procurement Gazette is going on holiday. We hope that our information on Public Procurement has helped you to find your way around. We won't be gone for long because informing you about the public procurement of the future is our job. You will read again from us at the end of September. For the moment, we wish you all a great summer.

Foreign Subsidies regulation (12/07/2022)

In the late evening of 30 June 2022, the last day of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the text of the Regulation on foreign subsidies was agreed in the second and final political trialogue. With much effort from all sides, it took only 14 months since the adoption of the Commission proposal.

1ST PAN-EUROPEAN HOSPITAL & HEALTHCARE PROCUREMENT SUMMIT (20/09/2022)

The Health Proc Summit 2022 takes place on 20-21 September at the Brussels Square Conference Centre. This exciting event is an ideal opportunity for hospital and healthcare procurement professionals to network, collaborate, share best practises and learn from prominent thought leaders in the European healthcare procurement field including hospitals, suppliers, start-ups, innovators, and policy makers.

New European Innovation Agenda - The role of Innovation Procurement (12/07/2022)

What is the role of Innovation Procurement in the New European Innovation Agenda? The Commission will support the formation of an innovation procurement specialist advisory service. This will act as an intermediary between public procurers and innovative suppliers. The Commission will also support the creation of living labs and incubators for example, to connect innovators and public administrators to provide innovative solutions in areas of public need. 

EU's policy on public procurement of AI - Survey (12/07/2022)

Help shape EU's policy on public procurement of AI, by filling in this survey. The Coordinated Plan on artificial intelligence, reviewed in 2021 presents an overview of the European Commission and Member States joint actions to make the European public sector a trailblazer for using AI. In this context, public procurement is selected as a case study area that can provide evidence and operational recommendations on the uptake of AI by the public sector. The first step of such study was taken with the launch of an online survey. The survey will remain open until 29 July 2022.

Webinar on Project management in the context of public procurement rules and cost increases (12/07/2022)

On 12 July 2022, DG REGIO and DG GROW organised a webinar on the impact of price hikes and distortions in supply chains on public contracts and EU-funded projects following the war in Ukraine. The webinar covered various aspects related to: 1) the challenges for public procurement in the construction sector; 2) the modification of contracts in the light of the Public Procurement Directives; 3) programme and project management of EU-funded projects under the cohesion policy. The webinar explained what opportunities and possibilities exist under the EU rules to deal with the current situation.

16th PIANOo-congres 2022: to make the difference with each other (23/06/2022)

Through the European network Procure2Innovate, BME and PIANOo share knowledge about public procurement of innovation with other competence centers. This network was set up four years ago and funded by the European Commission through the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. This item contains a short five minute interview with Dr. Helena Melnikov, the CEO of BME. BME acts as the coordinator of the project Procure2Innovate.

Council Conclusions on the Development of Sustainable Public Procurement (28/06/2022)

On 10 June 2022, the Council approved its conclusions on Sustainable Public Procurement. Find out what they are in the attached document.

Guide on procurement of sustainable infrastructure - Final stakeholder event - 30 June (30/06/2022)

In this final event we will present the Guidance, offer stakeholders the opportunity to provide their final feedback, and present and exchange on existing practices, challenges, and lessons learnt that could be added to enrich the Guidance.

WEBINAR – Evaluation and testing: tools and methodologies (14/07/2022)

On July 14th from 10:00 to 11:30, the EAFIP-Initiative offers a free 90-minute webinar on good practices regarding evaluation and testing tools and methodologies in the context of Innovation Procurement. Experiences will be shared by professionals from among others the EU Environmental Technology Verification (ETV), the Dutch Ministry of Justice and KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

#WEBUYSOCIALEU - A BITE OF SOCIAL PROCUREMENT – DECENT WORK - 16 June 2022 (28/06/2022)

Do you want to learn how you can ensure that workers are treated fairly when performing a public procurement contract? Watch the video recording of our last lunchtime talk! We discussed with Eva Milsted Enoksen from the City of Copenhagen how to fight social dumping in public procurement, how to set fair conditions for workers executing a public procurement contract and how to monitor them.

The theory of strategic options: How to price the value of Innovation in an Innovation Partnership - Prof. G. Azzone (27/06/2022)

On the 31st of March Prof. Azzone gave a masterclass on the study he produced on behalf of the unit responsible for Public Procurement policy within DG GROW.

Coopetitive pricing for innovation value: How to price the value of innovation in an innovation partnership: Prof. P. Portier (27/06/2022)

On the 7th of June, Prof. P. Portier gave a masterclass on the study he produced on behalf of the unit responsible for Public Procurement policy within DG GROW.

Estimating and negotiating approaches: How to price the value of innovation in an innovation partnership: Prof R. Servajean-Hilst (27/06/2022)

On the 21st of June, Prof R. Servajean-Hilst gave a masterclass on the study he produced on behalf of the unit responsible for Public Procurement policy within DG GROW.

LAST CALL! - #WeBuySocialEU lunchtime talk on work conditions (16/06/2022)

Do you want to learn how you can ensure that workers are treated fairly when performing a public procurement contract? Then don't miss our next lunchtime talk on June 16 at 12pm! We will discuss with Eva Milsted Enoksen from the City of Copenhagen how to fight social dumping in public procurement, how to set fair conditions for workers executing a public procurement contract and how to monitor them.

Webinar on Risk Management: Slides and Recordings available (05/05/2022)

The Strategic Procurement Team and our partners would like to thank you for your interest and your participation in our webinar on “Risk Management”, which was held on 28 of April 2022. Missed it? Download the presentations and rewatch on Youtube! The following points were discussed: 1) How to risk in innovation procurement, it is worth it 2) The governance structure the City of Amsterdam has put in place to manage its risks, balancing (financial) risk and public value to be pursued 3) Key findings from the KIRI project assigned by the government of Finland on risk management in innovation procurement

A newsletter for better purchasing is a newsletter for a better Europe (19/05/2022)

We are thrilled to launch “The Public Procurement Gazette”. As the unit of the European Commission responsible for public procurement policy (DG GROW C.2), we will regularly cover news, events and funding opportunities. This space will be the main channel of communication between the ecosystem of public buyers across Europe and us. The symbol of the newsletter is Hermes, the messenger of the Greek gods: we will bring buyers the latest research and initiatives. These can help to make public purchases smarter, faster and more affordable, for better outcomes.

#WeBuySocialEU lunchtime talks (05/05/2022)

Have you missed them? Do you want to know more about gender-responsive procurement or accessibility requirements? Watch or rewatch our lunchtime talks.

WEBINAR Procurement of AI Chapter 2 : Slides, AI-clauses and video recording available (18/05/2022)

On May 17th DG GROW C2 organised a follow up webinar on the public procurement of AI together with DG CNECT. We discussed the latest developments on the EU legal framework on Artificial Intelligence, where innovation procurement meets Artificial Intelligence and how you can participate in the development of EU standard clauses for buying AI. This news item contains all slides and the link to rewatch the webinar . If you want to help us to develop standard contractual clauses for buying AI, you can sign up through the available connecting you to the living-in.eu website. The link to the paper : https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/un649/

European Commission's public consultation on Sustainable food systems (05/05/2022)

This legislative initiative will lay down rules on minimum criteria for sustainable procurement of food.

Sanctions on Russia and Public Procurement (23/05/2022)

The consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine are far-reaching and manifold. The European Union responded in strong terms by adopting sanctions on multiple levels, also in the field of public procurement. With our new Q&A we give 35 specific, practical explanations on when, how & what contracts with Russian involvement EU public procurement buyers should exclude. This FAQs are subject to a process of ongoing improvement.

Save the dates: contribute to our guidance on procurement of sustainable infrastructure! (30/05/2022)

Click to register for our workshop on May 30th. We will continue gathering your feedback on the content of the upcoming Commission guidance on the procurement of sustainable infrastructure. Save the date for June 30th: we will host a final event to present the guide.

SPP Helpdesk webinar - How to use the innovation partnership in the social domain (21/06/2022)

We will discuss innovation partnerships with a social impact and how they can be used to facilitate access to procurement opportunities for social businesses.

Save the date! #WeBuySocialEU lunchtime talk on working conditions (16/06/2022)

We will discuss how to use labour clauses and work conditions requirements in public procurement and how to follow up on them.

2nd European Innovation Procurement Awards (11/05/2022)

The second edition of European Innovation Procurement Awards (EUIPA) is open for submissions until 22 June. The European Commission will recognise best Innovation Procurement practices in three categories – strategy, societal challenges and leadership. The winner of each category will be awarded with EUR 75 000 and a runner up with EUR 25 000.