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News article4 July 2024

New training programmes for public procurers in Europe

Two training programmes will be free of charge to participants, include training delivered by international experts, and will contribute to the increased use of public procurement as a strategic tool across Europe.

Funded by the European Commission, June saw two new training programmes launched seeking to increase professional skills and knowledge across Europe in public procurement. These training programmes will be free of charge to participants, include training delivered by international experts, and will contribute to the increased use of public procurement as a strategic tool across Europe.

The two training programmes have different target audiences, one aimed at public procurers working in public authorities with an interest in Innovation Procurement, the other being offered to staff working in Central Purchasing Bodies (CPBs) or similar bodies where CPBs do not yet exists.

PPE+ Europe

The PPE + Europe training programme, the “Strategic procurement training for centralised procurement organisations”, is a four year project with four rounds of training (31 training days in total) that aims to support public buyers get better value for public spending and achieve rapid, efficient, sustainable, and innovative procurement. The initiative is implemented by the Austrian Federal Procurement Agency BBG, ICLEI Europe and EY Romania, on behalf of the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). It is an evolution of the ‘Public Procurement Excellence - PPE’ training programme carried out in recent years which was funded under the European Union’s COSME programme.

The partner managing and delivering the programme has vast experience in public procurement education and will work together with internationally renowned trainers and experts to provide participants practical and theoretical knowledge on strategic public procurement. 

In addition, the programme offers tailored one to one support for participating organisations looking to implement the learnings from the programme in specific consultancy support services.

The programme will cover essential topics across the entire procurement cycle, enabling participants to develop SME-friendly tendering strategies, encourage environmental and social sustainability as well as foster innovative procurement, and is aimed at experienced staff working for large public buyers (CPBs) or staff with policy or regulatory functions in public procurement in EU Member States and SMP participating countries.

For public organisations this is the right moment to seize the opportunity to invest in the professionalisation of their public procurement organisation and staff. Public procurement, representing 14% of the EU GDP, is a critical element of the investment ecosystem. In recognition of an increasingly connected world and the associated challenges such as pandemics and conflict, public authorities must use procurement strategically to ensure better value for public spending and achieve rapid, efficient, sustainable, and innovative procurement.

Applications for the first round (PPE+ Europe 2024) are open until 21 August 2024. Applicants can find more information in the online Community of Practice and should fill in the application form here.

If you have open questions or require more information, please contact: application-ppe-europe@iclei.org

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Procure Innovation EU

The Procure Innovation EU - Training Programme is a four-year initiative supported by the European Commission through DG GROW and EISMEA, aimed at fostering the adoption of innovation procurement.

 The primary goal of the Procure Innovation EU - Training Programme is to enhance innovation procurement by promoting knowledge and experience exchange. This initiative addresses common challenges faced by public organisations in procurement processes, such as risk management and covering both legal and practical aspects of public procurement, resulting in a significant cultural shift towards innovation and increasing innovation procurement throughout Europe.

Designed to offer specialised training on Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI) for public buyers' staff and decision-makers from Contracting Authorities within the European Economic Area (EEA), encouraging contracting authorities to adopt an innovation culture. By participating in this programme, individuals will acquire skills to enhance their technical proficiency in innovation procurement.

The Training Programme is divided into two different levels:

Level 1, for public buyer´s staff of Contracting Authorities from the EEA will have two editions per year, each consisting of a 5-day in-person training session, with all costs fully covered for participants. Staff from public buyers within the EEA are eligible to apply and will be prioritised based on specific selection criteria. This year, the training will be organised in Alicante in October and November:

  • 1st Edition: from the 14th to the 18th of October.

  • 2nd Edition: from the 4th to the 8th of November.

     

  • Level 2, for decision- makers working of Contracting Authorities from the EEA will have 4 editions per year. It consists of a series of thematic online workshops, 1.5 hour duration inspirational talks by experts in the field of innovation procurement, showcasing experiences of different bodies, from different levels of the administration, in Innovation Procurement. The first edition was held on the 22nd of May, 'Implementation of a National PPI Strategy: The Perspective of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities'.

 For any question, please contact: procureinnovationeu@silocompany.com

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Additionally, participants of the training programmes will have access to the latest news, resources and inspiring insights about procurement, events related to the trainings and other related activities, and you will be able to open your network by engaging in discussions with other members and participants of the trainings.