The Public Buyers Community Platform aims to strengthen cooperation on public procurement between public authorities and suppliers, and between them and the European Commission. To that end, it supports the unhindered exchange of the knowledge and tools needed for public procurement. The platform offers a safe digital space for collaborative work among public buyers and interaction with suppliers. In addition to the General community, it hosts the activities of specialised Communities of Practice.
Core values
Roles and responsibilities
The responsibilities of each role are displayed in separated sections.
- Public actors, suppliers and other stakeholders interested to know more about public procurement practices in the EU are welcome to join the platform.
- Members are free to join an open Community of Practice.
- Members may join a closed community provided they meet its entry requirements and comply with its rules.
- Members must respect the Public Buyers Community Platform play rules as well as the specific rules of any Community of Practice they join.
- The European Commission together with the Community Leader can establish a Community of Practice based on an agreed Community Roadmap.
- The Community Leader will stimulate the discussion, coordinate and support the community.
- The Community Leader can set up a Core Group of members within a CoP.
- Together with the European Commission and the Core Group, the Community Leader is responsible for achieving the objectives set in the CoP Roadmap, and ensure it is on track.
- The Community Leader will attend the quarterly coordination meetings set up by the European Commission or appoint a representative if the Community Leader is unable to attend.
- The Core Group of members, together with the Community Leader, defines community rules and plays a leading role in setting and achieving community goals.
- The CG identifies topics of interest and works on deliverables to address and solve procurement issues.
- CG members collaborate to set the agenda, organise and allocate tasks (CoP Roadmap).
- The European Commission funds, facilitates and coordinates the Public Buyers Community Platform.
- The European Commission establishes each CoP on the platform and appoints the Community Leader.
- The Public Buyers Community Platform is managed through Directorate C of DG GROW, Unit C2 Public Procurement.
- Contractors of the European Commission and networking organisations can contribute content to the platform and can be appointed Community Leaders.
- The General Moderator of the platform is the GROW C2 Public Procurement unit. Each Community of Practice is moderated under the responsibility of the Community Leader.
- The European Commission calls a coordination meeting on a quarterly basis. The coordination meeting will include the platform’s Community Leaders and the technical operator.
The governance of the Public Buyers Community Platform is based on the EC’s playbook for communities of practice. You can find more information about the playbook here.
Copyright and privacy
Information that is classified as public is visible to all members of the Public Buyers Community Platform. Members should aim to make their uploaded items and content publicly accessible unless copyright or other legal restrictions apply. Information that is classified as confidential is only visible to members of closed communities of practice.
Members are responsible for ensuring intellectual property rights of any content they share on the platform.
Please use a Creative Commons license when sharing your own content in the community if it is copyright protected.
Unless otherwise specified, the Creative Commons Attribution and Share-Alike license terms apply to content shared in the community.
The Public Buyers Community Platform is an online collaborative hub on which to share professional information and exchange ideas on the topic of public procurement. Members are recommended to keep discussions focused on the CoP’s topic and avoid unnecessary sharing of personal data.
Commercial acquisition
The consequenses of conducting commercial acquisition are described below.
The Public Buyers Community Platform is a collaborative space that encourages learning and interaction for those interested in public procurement in the EU. Conducting commercial acquisition activities is not allowed on the platform. Any attempts to use it to do so will be considered as misbehaviour and may result in removal from the platform.
Addressing inappropriate conduct
- 1. Let us know
Members can report content or behaviour that violates any of the Public Buyers Community Platform play rules to the General Moderator (GROW-INNOVATIONPROCUREMENT@ec.europa.eu) or to the Community Leader if it is taking place in a specific Community of Practice.
- 2. Addressing the issue
In case the General Moderator or a Community Leader suspects misbehaviour, they will invite the member for a dialogue (rebuttal). If the General Moderator or the Community Leader detects a violation of the play rules, the member will receive a verbal warning to modify their behaviour.
- 3. Removal of membership
Serious rule violations or repeated misconduct following a verbal warning may lead to the removal of a member from the platform. This decision, to be communicated in written form, is at the discretion of the General Moderator and based on the gravity of the violation or damage to the Public Buyers Community Platform and/or CoP.