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Handbook for tHe Inter-amerIcan network on Government Procurement
1. bASIC PrInCIPLeS Of tenderIng
Public tendering, the evaluation of tenders and the award of contracts
are processes strictly regulated by law. these laws are designed
to protect both the procurer and the contractor. they also protect
taxpayers by preventing fraud, waste, corruption and local protectionism.
Procuring authorities must usually issue a public notice for tenders that
exceed a speciied value.
the principles of fairness, compe- tition and transparency remain true
for SPP as for traditional public procurement. Indeed governments
that have good, fair and transparent procurement processes are already
well on the way to implementing SPP.
Governments are becoming more sophisticated in the integration of
environmental and social sustain- ability criteria into procurement
processes. However, even tenders that do not explicitly use these
criteria can still have sustainable outcomes by ensuring that the
following principles are respected:
Value-for-money across the lifecycle
as mentioned in the introduction, value-for-money is often narrowly
interpreted as the lowest purchasing price and is often the basis on which
tenders are awarded and conces- sion contracts negotiated. SPP, on
the other hand, challenges public procurers to go farther and optimise
value-for-money, not simply at the point of purchase, but over the life-
cycle of the asset they purchase. the principle that taxpayers’ money
must be used efectively and ei- ciently for the medium to long-term
should supersede the pursuit of the lowest initial purchasing price. a
lifecycle value-for-money approach favours green goods, services and
infrastructure that are eiciently operated and maintained, and those
that reduce—or even eliminate— end of life disposal costs.
CASe Study:
VALue-fOr-MOney under PeruVIAn
PubLIC PrOCure- Ment LAw
In 2014, Peru made value-for- money the central objective of
public procurement. article 1 of the new law requires that
procurement be timely, balance price and quality, fulill public
objectives and improve the lives of Peruvians.
the law explicitly builds the principles of environmental
and social sustainability into the design and development of
public procurement processes.
Transparency access to information on public
tendering processes ensures fair competition and ultimately
increases value-for-money across the asset lifecycle. only when
procurement processes—laws, regulations, procedures and
decisions—are transparent can suppliers compete on sustainability.
transparent public procurement is a prerequisite for SPP.
CASe Study:
CItIzen OVerSIght COMMItteeS In
dOMInICAn rePubLIC
In June 2014, as part of an efort to improve transparency and
ight public sector corruption, the government of the dominican
republic enacted decree 188-14 to deine and regulate citizens´
participation in and control of public procurement. It created
citizens oversight committees, which are independent bodies
consisting of citizens and civil society representatives. the com-
mittees monitor the procurement activities of government agencies.
each of the 24 committees cre- ated under Public Procurement
Law 340-06 monitors the pro- curement processes of a speciic
agency. the monitoring process begins with the needs analysis in
the annual procurement plan and ends with the procurement of the
appropriate products, services or infrastructure.
Public agencies must provide any information requested by
the corresponding oversight committee.
Non-discrimination and fairness
any procurement process—espe- cially for government—must treat
participants equally. fairness in the treatment of bidders ensures true
competition and value-for-money across the asset lifecycle.
Proportionality the procuring authority must
clearly connect sustainability con- siderations to the objective of the
tender.
Handbook for tHe Inter-amerIcan network on Government Procurement
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2. LegAL And POLICy SPACe fOr SPP In LAC
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