Procurement Regulations Research Articles

Public School Food Supply Chain during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of the City of Vitória (Brazil)

Background: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Brazilian public schools closed in 2020. This lockdown stopped the provision of school meals to public school students, most of whom belonged to low-income families facing food insecurity. To guarantee the students’ food security during this period, food items previously provided through school meals were converted into food kits and delivered to the students’ families. Methods: This case study analyzes the logistical impacts of this change in the school food supply chain concerning the legislation, procurement, assembly, and distribution of food kits in the city of Vitória, Brazil. We interviewed suppliers and workers of the Municipal Secretariat of Education and distributed a survey to professionals and beneficiaries. Results: One of the findings was that federal procurement regulations for the acquisition of food for public schools led to difficult choices for school officials during this period. These regulations determined that at least 30% of the budget must be used in local purchases from smallholder family farmers. However, almost all products generated by family farming in the region of Vitória are perishable and require distribution and consumption on the same day, which represents a challenge for the logistic process of assembling and distributing food kits. The solution was the selection of eggs as the primary protein item in the kits. Conclusions: The lessons learned through this study suggest potential actions that would make this supply chain more resilient in future emergencies.

Local procurement in the mining sector: Is Ghana swimming with the tide?

Since 2012, Ghana has been implementing local procurement regulations in the mining sector to broaden and deepen linkages between mining and other sectors of the economy. The regulations have been implemented in collaboration with the mining industry. This paper offers an in-depth analysis of how the local procurement regulations and related initiatives have been implemented so far. Primary data gathered with semi-structured interviews and secondary sources of data indicate a steady improvement in both in-country procurement and local manufacturing of inputs for the mining industry. There are, however, some challenges relating to tariff structure and support (financial and technical) for local suppliers and manufacturers to meet high standards and demands of the mining industry. This calls for a well-thought-out strategy and programme of activities to sustain and improve on progress made.

Influence of Strategic Organizational Practices on the Performance of Electronic Procurement in Tana River County Government, Kenya

Electronic procurement systems have proven themselves within various government organizations as an effective tool for instituting procurement reforms and establishing a fully transparent and open procurement environment. There has been growing interest in adopting of various strategic organizational practices for the purpose of improving the performance of electronic procurement in both private and public sector. The main objective of this study was to assess the influence of Strategic Organizational practices on the performance of electronic procurement in Tana River County Government, Kenya. The specific objectives of this study were; to establish the influence of Information Communication Technology infrastructure on the performance of electronic procurement in Tana River County Government, Kenya; to establish the influence of the employees' Information Technology competency on the performance of electronic procurement in Tana River County Government, Kenya to establish the influence of public procurement regulations on the performance of electronic procurement in Tana River County Government, Kenya and finally to establish the influence of managerial commitment on the performance of electronic procurement in Tana River County Government, Kenya. The study used a descriptive research design to obtain information from the selected respondents on the current status of the phenomena under investigation. The study was carried out in Tana River County in Kenya. The sample size of 116 representing 30% of the total population of 385 drawn from Procurement department staff, Accounts Department Staff, ICT department staff, Administrative Officers, and Prequalified Contractors and Suppliers. The respondents were purposively selected to participate in the study because they were the leading implementers of Strategic Organizational practices. The researcher used a questionnaire as a tool for data collection in the study. These entailed both primary data and secondary data. Preliminary data was collected from the sampled respondents, while Secondary data was collected from textbooks, journals, and magazines. The study included quantitative analysis of the data collected to help identify the gap in knowledge related assessment of the influence of Strategic Organizational practices on electronic procurement performance in Tana River County Government, Kenya. Quantitative analysis was done with the help of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 and was presented through the use of frequency distribution, charts, and tables. The study found that Strategic Organizational practices positively and significantly influenced the performance of Electronic procurement in Tana River County Government, Kenya; ICT infrastructure with (β =0.307, p˂ 0.05); Employees IT Competence with (β =0.582, p˂ 0.05); Public Procurement regulations (β =0.898, p˂ 0.05) and Managerial Commitment (β =0.427, p˂ 0.05).

International legal regulation of government procurement for sustainable development in the framework of the WTO

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is the main interstate controller of international trade, in which a special place is given to the regulation of government procurement. The relevance of the article is due to the necessity to study the further development of the government procurement system and improve the efficiency of the use of public funds in order to provide society with quality goods and services. In accordance with the requirements of the world economy in order to implement of the quality mechanism of rationalization of government procurement WTO member states use the rules of sustainable development. In this regard, this article is aimed at conducting a comprehensive analysis of the theoretical and practical foundations to identify the features in the international legal regulation of sustainability of government procurement within the WTO, to establish the need to reform this industry. In the study of this problem, the methods of generalisation, analysis, synthesis and modelling were used, which make it possible to form the concepts of the development of government procurement and generalized provisions of the directions of reforming international legal regulation in the studied area. The study made it possible to comprehensively analyse the international legal regulation of the foundations of relations arising in the field of government procurement, develop a conceptual framework for the systemic improvement of regulatory legal acts in this area. It has been substantiated that today there is an urgent need for such a reform, the creation of an appropriate legislative framework for this purpose and the wide involvement of international specialists in this activity.

Certain features of legal regulation and current practice of procurement in the form of a request for quotations

Законодательные решения последних лет оптимизировали правоотношений между заказчиком и участниками закупки в рамках запроса котировок. Цифровизация процедуры, а также упрощение порядка её проведения, позволят сделать запрос котировок основным способом определения поставщика.

Правовое обеспечение дальнейшего развития цифровизации закупочной деятельности в сфере энергетики

Large energy companies are also actively introducing new digital technologies in their companies’ activities, which facilitates rapid information exchange, document review, and approval not only within a company but also between a holding’s branches and subsidiaries. The process of digital transformation is very complicated and time-consuming; in fact, this process involves the reorganization of the company’s business model. Procurement digitalization helps to improve the quality of process management and the transparency of decision-making when determining the competitive procurement winner, to adjust the company’s budget, and to facilitate planning processes. The article analyzes the current state of legal regulation of procurement digitalization in companies of the fuel and energy complex, identifies problems and gaps in legal regulation, and formulates proposals on how to develop legal regulation of procurement in the energy sector.

Recent Developments in UK Public Procurement Regulation

Recent Developments in UK Public Procurement Regulation

ILLICIT BUSINESS FORUMS IN SOUTH AFRICA: A SURVEY

Extortion is understood as one party taking from another a patrimonial or non-patrimonial advantage by intentionally and unlawfully subjecting them to pressure which forces them to submit to a bribe. Extortion is not an unfamiliar concept in South Africa. In this article it is contended that extortion has become a major concern in the construction industry. Sites where the installation of critical infrastructure occur and construction sites throughout South Africa are being invaded by what some may call the ‘construction mafia’.1 The South African Forum of Civil Engineering Contractors reports that in 2019 alone over 180 infrastructure and construction projects were affected by acts such as extortion perpetrated by groups who call themselves ‘local business forums’. The business forums often mislead construction companies by demanding 30% of the value of the contract awarded to such companies. They refer to the stipulations in the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act 5 of 2000 (PPPFA) and subsequent Preferential Procurement Regulation, 2017 (PPR) to create the perception that they have a rightful claim to 30 percent of the contract value. If their demands are not met the business forums resort to violence which halts construction site activities. The business forums justify their actions as ‘radical transformation’. This view is supported by some local politicians who actively encourage the activities by the forums or are involved for financial or political gain.

Evaluation of information support of national contract systems for the period of 2015-2018

The result of the study has an integrated nature and may be used for determination of the development of the national contract systems directions and their compliance with international rules of public procurement. To prove the hypothesis, as the basis of the study, the evaluation results of information system (official website, portal) may be adopted as support to the evaluation results of the national contract system information. National contract system is intended for a public procurement regulation. For hypothesis development, benchmarking of official websites of certain countries is carried out. It became the base of national contract systems' rating elaboration on criteria of information openness and transparency in the field of public procurement. Processed rating data use has been taken as a basis of open procurement index (OPI) calculation for a number of countries and OPI rating elaboration. The processed rating data results on certain countries are also used in benchmarking these countries' rating results on corruption perception index (CPI), ICT development index (IDI) and global e-government development index (EGDI).

SOCIAL CLAUSES AS AN INSTRUMENT SUPPORTING THE SOCIAL ECONOMY SECTOR

Based on the research results, the article presents opinions of the representatives of social economy sector and local authorities on the current use of social clauses indicated in public procurement regulations, which are a tool oriented at increase of participation of the social economy sector in the public procurement market. The research confirms low usage of social clauses mechanism. The main constraints in use of these tools by local authorities include: lack of sufficient knowledge about social benefits arising from providing social services by social economy units and fear of using a legal measure that limits competition of entities operating on the free market. The respondents underline that information about the goals of social economy and the its potential are the basis for activities aimed at increasing interest in using the social clause mechanism.

Measures against Avoidance and Abuse of Public Procurement Regulation & Private Law Aspects of Public Procurement

Measures against Avoidance and Abuse of Public Procurement Regulation & Private Law Aspects of Public Procurement

Misplaced emphasis, misunderstood risk: a cultural history of Public Health Service infectious disease guidelines.

To review and summarize the evolution of the Public Health Service (PHS) guidelines and Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) regulations for the prevention of blood borne virus transmission in solid organ transplant through the lens of popular culture, scientific evolution, patient and practitioner bias and outcomes research. The most recent set of guidelines and regulations were released in 2020 and represent a culmination of decades of opinion, research and debate within the scientific and lay communities. The guidelines were created to address public concern, and the risk of undiagnosed disease transmission in the context of the novel public health crisis of AIDS. We reviewed milestone publications from the scientific and lay press from the first description of AIDS in 1981 to the present to help illustrate the context in which the guidelines were created, the way they changed with subsequent editions, and offer critical consideration of issues with the current set of guidelines and a potential way forward. Further consideration should be given to the way in which the current guidelines identify donors with risk criteria for infectious disease transmission and mandate explanation of donor-specific risk factors to potential recipients, in our era of universal donor screening and recipient surveillance.

Institutional Governance of Innovations: Novel Insights of Leadership in Russian Public Procurement

In the modern conditions of the post-COVID world, the transformation of the world economy in the framework of the transition to the post-industrial paradigm, and the economy of “knowledge”, the national innovation system (NIS) plays a leading role in the formation of competitive sectors of any given country. Within this setting, the performance of the Russian innovation system significantly lags behind other countries and calls for modernisation based on the modern regulatory tools, policies, and world’s leading trends. The direct import of institutions of foreign innovation systems demonstrates its limited effectiveness due to the incompleteness of institutions and mechanisms for regulating the institutional environment of the Russian economy. One of the generally recognised, leading, and the most “universal” instruments for implementing innovation policy by government institutions is the public procurement of innovation. The analysis of international experience shows that the implementation of the innovation policy via innovative public procurement has a highly heterogeneous landscape even in such a “cohesive” jurisdiction as those represented by the European Union (EU) as far as different types of policy dominate in different countries of the world. There is no clear trend towards the only one mainstream regulatory approach. In this context, the Russian experience demonstrates de facto the absence of any centralised, transparent, and effective policy expressed in such pseudo-innovative procurement as refuelling cartridges or car repairs. This paper identifies the existing institutional failures of the Russian NIS on the example of the regulation of innovative domestic procurement. It proposes ways to modernise the current policy based on the institutional and narrative approaches in order to foster its leading position in the international competition. This article shows the gaps in the literature in institutional governance of innovations and innovation procurement in Russia and points at directions for future research based on narrative economics. Outlining the present knowledge as a foundation for future research in institutional governance of innovations, this article holds implications for both academics and practitioners in the field of the innovation policies and public procurement.

Public Procurement Regulation in Africa Bibliography

This bibliography lists all academic materials published in English on matters relating to public procurement law in Africa. It is up to date to 31 December 2021.

Comments on "Regulations and Procurement Surgery in DCD Liver Transplantation: Expert Consensus Guidance From the International Liver Transplantation Society".

To the Editor: We read with great interest the article by Hessheimer et al titled “Regulations and Procurement Surgery in DCD Liver Transplantation: Expert Consensus Guidance From the International Liver Transplantation Society.”1 The authors summarize relevant literature and provide guidelines for donation after circulatory death (DCD) liver transplant procurement on behalf of the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS). Our research group recently emphasized the variations in DCD organ procurement policies in the United States with a national organ procurement organization (OPO) survey.2 We discovered tremendous disparities across regions that frequently diverged from American Society for Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) recommendations for DCD procurement and the latest consensus in the literature. It is paramount to optimize graft utilization and outcomes to meet the high demand for transplantable organs and growing waitlist. We commend the authors for their important contributions. We highlight the role of asystolic wait time in DCD liver procurement that was not addressed in the work and provide observations on DCD liver transplant (LT) and machine perfusion (MP) from the United States. Our OPO survey underscored the variations in the mandatory asystolic observation period. Despite current ASTS recommendation of a 2-min waiting time, there is little standardization across institutions that vary between 2 and 5 min. Similarly, other publications have demonstrated the lack of standardization in the declaration of circulatory death.3 Additional guidance by the ILTS on these topics would optimize DCD liver procurement process to further reduce warm ischemic times and ultimately improve patient outcomes. Currently, 11 high-volume transplant centers perform nearly half (46.3%) of all DCD LT in the United States.4 However, recent changes to the allocation policies will result in wider sharing of DCD organs and increase distribution to lower volume centers. This will undoubtedly place greater emphasis on procedures to maintain outcomes, such as broader use of hypothermic machine perfusion and normothermic machine perfusion in LT. Machine perfusion with LT has shown promising results in the United States. One investigation discovered no difference in patient survival in ex vivo MP despite substantially longer CIT.5 MP has the potential to significantly improve DCD liver procurement and reduce discard rates. In 2019 alone, 1945 potential DCD livers were not transplanted including 306 grafts, which were discarded after recovery. The trend of increasing DCD LT in the United States has been accompanied with 30% discard rate compared with 7.1% for DBD LT.5 Furthermore, one center reported that only 47.9% of DCD liver offers resulted in a successful procurement, compared with 92.3% for DBD.6 Nasralla et al demonstrated 50% reduction in graft injury, discard, and postreperfusion injury rates in an normothermic machine perfusion clinical trial.7 A publication by the Groningen group on dual hypothermic oxygenated MP highlighted lower rates of nonanastomotic biliary strictures, postreperfusion syndrome, and early graft dysfunction compared with static cold storage in DCD LT.8 MP could remarkably impact the American LT waitlist by increasing potential DCD livers that are transplanted. We congratulate Hessheimer et al on their valuable contributions. We are pleased to see the growing support for procurement procedures such as withdrawal of life support treatment in the operating room and premortem heparin administration. Despite strong surgeon preference for both of these, our survey revealed that 26 OPO did not have specific regulations on the location of withdrawal of life support treatment and 3 OPO prohibited heparin use.2,3 We hope that the ILTS recommendations lead to updates in DCD procurement protocol and regulations to comply with the latest evidence in the literature. We hope to see more analyses of liver perfusion solutions and the various additives. We anticipate similar best practice guidance by the ASTS for normothermic and hypothermic regional perfusion in liver transplantation in the near future. Reduction in variable DCD liver recovery will be tremendously impactful in increasing the utilization of DCD livers and reducing graft discard rates.

The Role of Administrative Law and Economics in Tempering Discretion and Balancing Conflicting Objectives in Public Procurement Decision Making

The mandate of government is characterised by significant interdependence, complementarity and overlap between economic and social policy objectives. The pursuit of both economic and social objectives, therefore, is often necessary and inevitable in any system of public procurement regulation. The coexistence of economic and social objectives in a system of public procurement regulation, however, often results in conflicts and dilemmas. The conflicts and dilemmas occur when government bureaucrats make economically efficient but socially undesirable decisions or socially desirable but economically inefficient decisions. Moreover, public procurement laws often give government bureaucrats discretion to decide whether, the extent and the ends for which they can use procurement as a tool of economic or social policy. Although discretion is inevitable in any system of public procurement regulation, and public administration in general, it is also highly amenable to abuse. The disciplines of administrative law and economics offer useful conceptual tools that could be used to achieve an optimal balance or resolve conflicts between economic and social objectives in public procurement decision making. The disciplines of administrative law and economics offer useful conceptual tools for resolving the problem of discretion and its correlation with the incidence of corruption, favouritism and other forms of malfeasance in public procurement decision making. The two disciplines espouse a rule-based approach to public procurement regulation and decision making, characterised by circumscribed discretion and commitment to the values of competition, transparency and accountability

Assessment of the Influence of Selected Procurement Practices on the Performance of Devolved Government Units in Kenya: A Case of Machakos County Government

In the devolved units in Kenya, despite the formulation of strategic plans, majority of the counties remain underdeveloped with the employees remaining reluctant thus citizens’ demand for better services remain un met. The devolved systems of governments in Kenya have also been experiencing major challenges in the execution of procurement practices. Counties continue to be criticized for corruption cases, stalled projects, under-development and massive wastage of public resources. All these aspects have been strongly linked to weak procurement management practices which raises concern. The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of contract management practices and procurement policies practices, on performance of Machakos County government. The methodology was descriptive research design that guided the study. The study was carried out in County government offices. The target population and unit of observations was 77 employees in procurement department in Machakos County comprising of senior managers and procurement employees, head of other departments as well budget committee members who were selected using a purposeful sampling approach. Data for the study was collected using questionnaires which were self-administered. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential analysis using SPSS version 24. Tables and figures were used in presenting the data. The study found out that Contract Monitoring and, Procurement policies had a positive influence on the performance of Machakos County. The study also concluded that for Machakos County to perform, the procurement department must be able to properly implement, monitor and evaluate these practices. The study recommends that the management of the county to improve on the level of compliance with procurement regulations compliance.

Micro Small-Level Enterprises (MSES) and Cooperatives in Presidential Regulation Number 12 of 2021

Presidential Regulation Number 12 of 2021 concerning amendment the Presidential Regulation Number 16 of 2018 (Presidential Regulation 12/2021) was the government efforts for micro small-level enterprises (MSEs) and cooperatives to be involved in the public procurement of goods and services. However, it still needs to be anticipated because there are always irregularities that usually occur, namely corruption. This research aims to determine how the amendment of the public procurement regulation in the Presidential Regulation 12/2021 especially for MSEs and cooperatives, and also how to assess the Presidential Regulation 12/2021 can reduce the potential for corruption in the process of public procurement. This research uses a normative method with a comparative approach and a statutory approach. The results of this research indicate the Presidential Regulation 12/2021 are the elimination of medium-level enterprises, the government's obligation to allocate a minimum budget of 40%, and also increase the budget ceiling for MSEs and cooperatives up to IDR 15 billion. E-Procurement for MSEs and cooperatives still has the potential for corruption, but with the new policy in the form of competency certification, and if there is an increase in regulations from the National Procurement Board (LKPP) in terms of provider qualifications, procurement can produce quality and efficient products. 
 Keywords: Cooperatives, Potential of Corruption, Presidential Regulation 12/2021, Government’s Procurement Goods and Services, Small-Level Enterprises (MSEs)

Analysis of Procurement Process Compliance and Procurement Performance. A Case of Districts in the Northern Province, Rwanda (2018-2019)

The study examined the relationship between procurement process compliance and procurement performance of public procuring entities in Rwanda. The objective of the study was to assess the effects of procurement planning on procurement performance; to assess the effects of procurement sourcing and contract management on procurement performance and to assess the effects of procurement transparency on procurement performance of public procuring entities in Rwanda. A descriptive survey research design was adopted using quantitative methods and used closed ended questionnaire as a data collection instrument. The study targeted 94 respondents from five districts located in the northern province of Rwanda. Purposive and stratified sampling techniques were used to select respondents. Data was then analyzed on quantitative basis using Pearson’s correlation, multiple linear regression analysis and descriptive statistics. The regression model used was LogY= ?o + ?1LogXit1 + ?2LogXiit2 + ?3LogXiiit3 + ?t and multiple R (correlation) value obtained was 0.995 (99.5%). The model summary depicted from the regression analysis with multiple R (correlation) value of 0.995 (99.5%) indicated a highly positive relationship between the dependent and independent variables and, the overall contribution of the independent variables: procurement plan (P1), Procurement process (P2), and procurement transparency (or P3) to the procurement performance (or P4) which accounted for 99.04% (R2 = 0.9904) of the variation in the procurement performance. The research concluded that procurement planning, procurement process compliance and procurement ethics in public procurement had a great significance on procurement performance which led to confirm the relationship between capacity building in procurement and regulatory compliance of government Procurement entities in Rwanda. As a recommendation, procuring entities should continue to focus more on ensuring compliance to procurement regulations in public procurement to ensure a sustainable procurement performance.

Legal regulation of public procurement: the EU experience

The article analyses the development process and establishment of the public procurement institute in Ukraine and foreign countries, examines the organizational and legal regulation of public procurement in Ukraine, identifies legal regulation of public procurement in the European Union and ways to implement the experience of European legislation in the field of public procurement in Ukraine.