The programme activities are led by a joint EBRD and UNCITRAL Task Force, with multiple partners endorsing and providing support and expertise. The programme showcases efficient cooperation between both institutions, especially when working in such complex stakeholder environment, with multiple governments under a single programme framework.
In the course of the Programme implementation, multiple public procurement reform initiatives in the selected EBRD countries of operation are developed, under the coordination of EBRD-UNCITRAL task force.
The Initiative embraces a series of public procurement reform-related activities, selected based on the expected transition impact and their relevance to specific problems which the countries in the region face. These problems were identified in the EBRD 2010 Public Procurement Legal Framework Assessment and are reported by the EBRD procurement specialists in the countries.
The Initiative’s programme comprises of three components:
A comparative gap analysis providing suggestions to reform general public procurement, in consistency with UNCITRAL PP Model Law.
Detailed comparative gap analysis of legislation and procurement practices in several EBRD countries has yielded suggestions for public procurement reforms. The objective here is to provide governments with impartial data on their reform needs in their public procurement process, specifically in areas which are inconsistent with leading international practices defined by UNCITRAL Model Law. In addition, it outlines realistic reform objectives that specifies the scope and timeline of the necessary reforms – be it small or substantial legislation changes or development of new public procurement policies. Lastly, this assessment identifies which sector needs can be addressed by technical cooperation projects.
Workshops in each participating country of the Programme, addressed to local regulatory officials and other stakeholders and focusing on specific public procurement policy issues and their regulation proposed by UNCITRAL PP Model Law.
The Programme’s scope includes organization of public procurement policy workshops in each of the countries interested in upgrading their public procurement regulation to a standard set by the UNCITRAL Model Law.
The workshops follow a structured approach with aim to modernize and improve public procurement process. This includes presentation of the 2011 UNCITRAL Model Law standards, showcasing of eProcurement solutions and other advanced procurement tools and provision of actionable advice on how the UNCITRAL Model Law can help achieve government’s objectives in public procurement sector, be it for example the WTO accession process or the European Union accession process. As the UNCITRAL Model Law was designed with a “tool box” approach, it can be applied by governments as a template for upgrading their country-specific public procurement environment.
The workshops aim to foster knowledge sharing by bringing to the table key national regulatory officials in public finance or economic development and highly experienced international procurement and regulatory experts, which present and discuss UNCITRAL public procurement policy standards and the results of legal analysis of national legislation based on the UNCITRAL Model Law benchmarks. Recommendations from the legal assessment provide inputs to the discussion on how to best approach the reforms of the national framework and how the UNCITRAL Model Law can be translated into the national legislation in the country.
Advice on reforming public procurement system based on the UNCITRAL Model Law and on various aspects and consequences of a PP reform in participating countries.
The objective of these projects is to help national governments implement new public procurement legislation and institutional framework compliant with the country-specific recommendations of the UNCITRAL Model Law. The established reform work plan provides the basis for technical cooperation projects and guides the governments towards upgrading their public procurement regulatory framework. Depending on the actual needs of the countries, the following recommendations may be presented:
- legislative reform
- institutional capacity building
- public procurement review and capacity building of the remedial system
- procurement function development activities
