The organisation of closed workshops in the 27 Member States to develop a dialogue on the use of strategic public procurement (green, social and innovation)

The organisation of closed workshops in the 27 Member States is a project of the European Commission that is currently being implemented by a consortium of PricewaterhouseCoopers and ICLEI. The aim of this project is to develop a dialogue between the European Commission and the Member States on the use of strategic public procurement to achieve green, social and innovation policy objectives. 

In order to successfully implement all project's key objectives and tasks, cooperation of stakeholders from each Member States is essential. The project received a highly active engagement from the stakeholders thus far, proving the stakeholders' awareness of the importance of the project and a continuous need for further emphasis on the topics of green, socially responsible and innovation public procurement. Until now, workshops were successfully implemented in Belgium, Czechia, Cyprus, Greece and Malta and there is an upcoming workshop in Portugal in November, while the dialogue with Estonia and Croatia is currently being planned. 

Procurement is a powerful tool for spending public money in an efficient manner. It can also contribute to a more sustainable economy. However, green, socially responsible and innovation public procurement continues to be underutilised in Europe.

With this project the European Commission aims to develop a dialogue on the use of strategic public procurement with the following objectives:

1. Understand the current state of strategic use of public procurement within each of 27 Member States and identify existing barriers and potential solutions
2. Cooperate with local key stakeholders to prepare a roadmap towards the development of strategic public procurement
3. Develop communication paths between the European Commission and Member States regarding strategic procurement

The above-mentioned objectives will be accomplished through 3 key tasks that will underpin the preparation of “Roadmaps” towards individual national strategic procurement strategies for all 27 Member States:

1. The preparation and implementation of workshops in all 27 Member States on the topic of strategic public procurement in order to gather relevant stakeholders and facilitate their work toward a draft national roadmap.
2. Organise follow-up meetings in a virtual environment for each 27 Member States with a focus on evaluating the progress thus far, finalising the roadmaps and taking ownership of the activities envisaged.
3. Organisation of a closed event with the European Commission, Member States, and other stakeholders to share, inspire and collaborate on the prepared roadmaps.