OECD Public Governance Reviews Public Procurement in Germany Strategic Dimensions for Well-Being and Growth

Preface
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations and acronyms
Executive summary
1 The impact of public procurement in Germany: Economic effects and beyond
	1.1. Measuring multi-dimensional policy impacting
		1.1.1. Measuring Germany’s success in public procurement must go beyond traditional economic indicators to incorporate broader considerations such as well-being
		1.1.2. Procurement impacts the way governments contribute to the well-being of citizens
		1.1.3. Measuring the broad and diverse impact of public procurement policies is complex; Germany, like most other OECD countries, must overcome barriers to effective measurement
			Attribution and causality of impact
			Availability of data
	1.2. Understanding procurement’s impact on well-being and generating socio-economic benefits in Germany
		1.2.1. Economic capital
		1.2.2. Environmental capital
		1.2.3. Social capital
		1.2.4. Human capital
	1.3. Setting up public procurement for better measurement of impact
		1.3.1. Tracking impact of public procurement from project to portfolio level
		1.3.2. Establishing a framework for monitoring public service performance in a decentralised environment
		1.3.3. Quantitative indicators must be based on measurement priorities and data availability
	Further Reading
	References
		Annex 1.A. Germany’s resources and risks for future well-being
		Annex 1.B. Socio-economic performance: International indicators
		Annex 1.C. Example of a benefits logic map for the purchasing of more environmentally friendly products
2 Enhancing the legal framework and governance structure for public procurement in Germany
	2.1. Transformational reforms of the legislative framework for public procurement in Germany
		2.1.1. Germany’s public procurement system balances subsidiarity and complexity
		2.1.2. EU directives have sparked a major revision of Germany’s legal framework
		2.1.3. Additional reforms have further simplified and streamlined the legal and regulatory framework of Germany’s public procurement system
	2.2. Modernising Germany’s legal and regulatory framework to comply with international standards
		2.2.1. Germany’s tiered legal framework provides separate rules for tenders below and above thresholds
		2.2.2. A revision of Germany’s legal framework simplified the rules for tenders above the EU threshold
		2.2.3. Germany has aligned laws and regulations applicable to tenders below the EU threshold with its broader legal framework
		2.2.4. Germany has advanced its integrity framework through the newly introduced competition register
	2.3. Understanding governance challenges in a multi-level system
		2.3.1. Structured communication improves co-operation and co-ordination between different levels of government in Germany
		2.3.2. Governance processes have been simplified by changing procedural requirements
	2.4. Subsidiarity has led to a diversity of legal frameworks across states
		2.4.1. The majority of procurement is conducted at the state level
		2.4.2. State-level procurement laws could be harmonised to reduce complexity in the German public procurement system
		2.4.3. States could strengthen co-operation and co-ordination both within their administrations and with other states
		2.4.4. Good practices in terms of co-ordination at the municipal level
	References
3 Strategic centralisation of procurement to maximise economic benefits in Germany
	3.1. Creating economic benefits through centralisation strategies aligned with stakeholders’ needs and expectations
		3.1.1. Germany could ensure that centralisation strategies diffuse throughout the procurement cycle
		3.1.2. Adapting institutions to centralisation could provide greater alignment with stakeholders’ needs and expectations
	3.2. Maximising the impact of centralised procurement instruments
		3.2.1. A better understanding of the costs and benefits of centralisation is essential to implementing comprehensive impact assessments
		3.2.2. Germany could consider strengthening communication with regards to the benefits of using centralised procurement instruments
		3.2.3. Efficiencies of centralised procurement instruments increase with tailored procurement strategies
		3.2.4. Germany could maximise benefits arising out of centralisation initiatives by further investing in procurement intelligence
	3.3. Different centralisation strategies and practices exist in Germany’s Länder
		3.3.1. An overview of centralisation strategies in the Länder
	References
4 Electronic procurement in Germany
	4.1. The regulatory and system landscape for e-procurement in Germany
		4.1.1. Implementation of the recent EU directives has provided an opportunity for Germany to enhance its use of e-procurement
		4.1.2. The fragmented e-procurement environment requires co-ordination and governance in order to maintain common standards and alignment
	4.2. Enabling the efficient collection and analysis of public procurement data to deliver insights
		4.2.1. Authorities could build on xVergabe and increased automation throughout the system to gain a more holistic set of public procurement statistics for Germany
		4.2.2. Establishing a data management strategy will clarify the right format, location and use for procurement data
	4.3. Expanding the scope and reach of digitalisation
		4.3.1. Co-ordinating e-procurement development with broader e-government reforms can increase the benefits of digitalisation
		4.3.2. The KdB provides a valuable service, but it is used only for a small proportion of government spending
		4.3.3. Digitalising post-tender processes is a necessary next step for enhancing the management of government spending
	4.4. Overcoming barriers to the use of e-procurement
		4.4.1. Germany’s efforts to reform the federal e-procurement system must take into account the causes of low system use by contracting authorities
		4.4.2. Suppliers must be given an incentive to engage in the rollout of e-procurement – as they stand to benefit too
		4.4.3. Efforts to upgrade the e-procurement system must be part of a comprehensive programme to effectively bring about change
	4.5. Enhancing the use of e-procurement among states in Germany
		4.5.1. Due to Germany’s fragmented e-procurement environment the ability to collect and analyse tender data is rare among Länder
		4.5.2. States are at varied stages of readiness for implementing the EU directives on e-procurement
		4.5.3. Strategies for increasing the use of e-procurement in the Länder
	References
5 The use of strategic procurement in Germany
	5.1. Legal and policy frameworks, reinforced by international co-operation, support contracting authorities in pursuing complementary policy objectives
		5.1.1. International organisations encourage and support the implementation of national policies and strategies to encourage the use of strategic procurement
		5.1.2. Germany has established overarching policies and strategies to launch its sustainability agenda
		5.1.3. Germany’s legal and regulatory framework provides sufficient flexibility for contracting authorities to pursue complementary objectives
	5.2. Drawing upon the expertise of dedicated institutions to support the rollout of strategic procurement
		5.2.1. Competence centres: Centralised advisory services to support the implementation of strategic procurement
		5.2.2. To increase the impact competence centres have, they must focus on raising awareness of strategic procurement at all levels of government
	5.3. Enabling contracting authorities to translate legislation and policy into implementation
		5.3.1. Despite the German government’s efforts to promote broader evaluations of tender submissions, procurement officials still primarily use price-based criteria
		5.3.2. Building procurement capabilities through training and guidance
	5.4. More structured monitoring of public procurement can further increase the impact of Germany’s strategic procurement
		5.4.1. Official monitoring and evaluation reports by German institutions
		5.4.2. Data gathering, methodological monitoring and sound policy making go hand in hand
	5.5. States use different approaches to pursue a common set of strategic objectives
		5.5.1. All German states pursue complementary policy objectives to procurement through their legal and policy frameworks
		5.5.2. German states diverge when it comes to practical implementation of measures to support complementary policy objectives
	Legal texts
	References
6 The human resource capital of the German public procurement system
	6.1. Considering public procurement as a profession
		6.1.1. Germany’s public procurement workforce belongs to the country’s civil service, which follows a generalist model
		6.1.2. Strategic procurement: The challenges faced by public procurers
		6.1.3. Germany’s public procurement workforce is large and requires specialised human resource management
	6.2. Using monitoring and performance evaluation for strategic capacity building
		6.2.1. The measurement of staff engagement through surveys can be used as a proxy to gauge institutional performance quantitatively
		6.2.2. Existing monitoring efforts in Germany could provide a basis for an evidence-based human resource management strategy
	6.3. Raising the capacity of the human capital involved in public procurement
		6.3.1. Administrative academies in Germany could increase awareness about the importance of procurement professionalisation and procurement training
		6.3.2. General training offered by third parties is available to patch training needs on a case-by-case basis
		6.3.3. Germany’s competence centres are a strong model and can increase capacity in public procurement
		6.3.4. Increasing capacity with strategies beyond training – smarter management and re-organisation solutions for improving the human capital of public procurement in Germany
		6.3.5. Germany could combine the strengths of its civil service and public procurement system to create a comprehensive capacity-building strategy
	6.4. Procurement capacity on sub-national levels
		6.4.1. German states have developed successful initiatives on training and capacity building
		6.4.2. Challenges at the state level in Germany have sparked practical solutions that can inspire action at all levels of the public procurement system
	Legal texts
	References
	Notes