Covid-19 – the impetus for public service innovation. Advancing the shift towards social procurement

Abstract

With the present and future being shaped by the Coronavirus disease and worldwide responses to it, critical insights are essential. The Covid-19 pandemic has profoundly influenced the lives of most people on the plane as well as the global market, some experts believing it has caused the worst economic decline since the Great Depression. The pandemic found States unprepared to face the challenges brought by it, it has exposed the vulnerabilities of individuals, societies and economies. A few months after the sparking of the first wave of Covid-19 it was possible to assess the earliest public intervention and to foresee how the virus is going to impact economic and social systems. Given the significant increase in public expenditure since the beginning of the pandemic, this Article will articulate and explore the role of public procurement in anticipating the risk of market failure, despite the complicated environment. Likewise, focus will be drawn upon the EU soft law instruments designed to respond to economic and public health issues, through the prism of solidarity. The Article will then focus on the analysis of the Italian response to the pandemic through public purchasing techniques.