Public Procurement and Transparency in the Private Sector

Author(s):  
Tom Brown

This chapter begins by considering public procurement in the context of equality duties. The United Kingdom government has not used the Equality Act 2010’s regulation-making powers to impose specific statutory public procurement equality duties in England, but the Welsh and Scottish Ministers have made such regulations. Equality considerations are nonetheless relevant considerations in a public authority’s public procurement decisions as part of the general public sector equality duty in section 149 of the Act. The extent to which equality can (and should) be taken into account in the public procurement process is also, therefore, relevant to private undertakings which might wish to tender for the provision of goods or services to public authorities. The chapter then addresses the provisions in the Act intended to improve transparency in the private sector by prohibiting clauses which prevent employees discussing their pay. The Act introduced, in section 78, a power to make regulations which would impose a requirement on businesses to report on gender pay differences.

2011 ◽  
pp. 2231-2252
Author(s):  
Francesca Andreescu

Underpinning £136 billion of economic activity in the United Kingdom, Britain’s National Mapping Agency is a commercialising public sector organisation having trading fund status and existing in the intersection of two different spheres—the public and the private. Recognised as a leading participant in the geographic information industry, within which it is forging partnerships with key private sector companies, the organisation has enthusiastically grasped e-business as an all-embracing phenomenon and implemented a new strategy that transformed the way it did business. Drawing on longitudinal data gathered over a period of four years, this article explores the processes of strategic and organisational transformation engendered by e-business implementation in this organisation and discusses the successful elements, as well as some of the challenges to its change efforts.


2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Urška Milavec ◽  
Maja Klun

Measures to reduce administrative burdens are part of efforts to improve regulation quality. The aim of the research carried out in 2010 in the public and private sector was to determine whether their staff display different levels of familiarity with the measures and whether both sectors define the same groups of regulation as the most burdensome. The results indicated that information provision on measures to reduce administrative burdens in Slovenia is poor, particularly in the private sector, which is intended as the main beneficiary of these measures. Despite this, the private sector reported that regulation for small and medium-sized businesses had improved over the period in which measures to reduce administrative burdens had been implemented. The public sector assessed public procurement regulation as the most burdensome, while the private sector ranked employment regulations as the most burdensome.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-421
Author(s):  
Inger Johanne Pettersen ◽  
Kari Nyland ◽  
Geraldine Robbins

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the links between contextual changes, contract arrangements and resultant problems when changes in outsourcing regulatory requirements are applied to complex pre-hospital services previously characterized by relational contracting. Design/methodology/approach The study deployed a qualitative design based on interviews with key informants and extensive studies of documents. It is a longitudinal study of a procurement process taking place in a regional health authority covering the period 2006 to 2017. Findings A complex and longitudinal public procurement process where pre-hospital (ambulance) services are transformed from relational and outsourced governance to more formal arrangements based on legal and transactional controls, is described in detail. After several years, the process collapsed due to challenges following public scrutiny, legal actions and administrative staff resignations. The public body lacked procurement competencies and the learning process following the regulations was lengthy. In the end, the services were in-sourced. Research limitations/implications This study is based on one case and it should, therefore, not be generalized without limitations. Practical implications One practical implication of this study is that transactional contracts are not optimal when core and complex services are produced in inter-organizational settings. In public sector health-care contexts, the role of informal and social controls based on relational exchanges are particularly applicable. Social implications Acute health-care services essential to citizens’ security and health imply high asset specificity, frequency and uncertainty. Such transactions should according to theory be produced in-house because of high agency costs in the procurement process. Originality/value The paper contributes to the understanding of how the public procurement process can itself be complex, as managerial challenges and solutions vary along several dimensions and are contingent upon external factors. In particular, the study increases knowledge of why the design and implementation of outsourcing models may create problems that impede and obstruct control in a particular public sector context.


Author(s):  
Francesca Andreescu

Underpinning £136 billion of economic activity in the United Kingdom, Britain’s National Mapping Agency is a commercialising public sector organisation having trading fund status and existing in the intersection of two different spheres—the public and the private. Recognised as a leading participant in the geographic information industry, within which it is forging partnerships with key private sector companies, the organisation has enthusiastically grasped e-business as an all-embracing phenomenon and implemented a new strategy that transformed the way it did business. Drawing on longitudinal data gathered over a period of four years, this article explores the processes of strategic and organisational transformation engendered by e-business implementation in this organisation and discusses the successful elements, as well as some of the challenges to its change efforts.


2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (No. 9) ◽  
pp. 397-400
Author(s):  
R. Jurčík

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are based on co-operation between the public and private sector. The reason for using it is a lack of public financial sources. For this reason, in most PPPs the management and financing of the project is entrusted to the private sector. In the Czech Republic, the widest development area for PPPs in the scope of the Ministry of Agriculture is probably water supply. The further areas for using of PPPs in the scope of this Ministry are the following: forestry, flood protection, adjustment of water flow, security of water sources, builging of the strategic foodstuff store. Important attempts have been made within the last year to increase the implementation of PPPs in water supply. These attempts are based on operation models similar to the BOT (Build Operate Transfer) and the DBFO (Design Build Finance Operate). In addition, the Czech Parliament adopted a law No. 139/2006 Coll., on concessions procedure and concession treaty which entered into force in July, 1<sup>st</sup>, 2006 and which brings the legal framework for realisation of the PPPs. There are some legal barriers which limited wide using of the PPPs. It is in the case of public-private venture companies (the limitation is&nbsp; in public procurement law). Public-private venture companies &ndash; which refer to the situation where both the private and the public sector holds equity, and, consequently, the company is controlled by the private as well as the public sector &ndash; should be the ideal form of PPPs in the areas which are in the scope of the Ministry of Agriculture.&nbsp;


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktoriia Matskiv ◽  

Transaction costs in the public sector are an understudied topic that can improve the understanding of governance processes within the public authorities and provide criteria for evaluating their effectiveness. The purpose of this study is to outline a certain theoretical framework, in particular the essence and types of transaction costs in the public sector. It is done in order to provide a basis for later empirical research. The author uses the analogy method of transferring existing theoretical findings from the context of the firm to the context of public authorities; the synthesis method in the process of transforming various theoretical concepts that consider the relationship of the state and transaction costs into three basic models of the perception of public authorities; the method of analysis in the process of identifying the various structural components of the transaction costs of public authorities. The results of the investigation allow us to distinguish state and municipal transaction costs within the concept of public transaction costs. All of them contain political, economic and institutional transaction costs. It is proposed to consider internal (constitutive transaction costs and costs of exploitation of the public system) and external (regulatory) transaction costs within the framework of institutional transaction costs. The well-known classifications of transaction costs, which were mainly proposed in relation to the private sector, but can be used in other areas, in particular in relation to public power, are considered: ex ante and ex post costs; explicit and implicit transaction costs; measurable and unmeasurable. It is also suggested to introduce the concepts of single and integral transaction costs. This section provides a new approach to the process of evaluating transaction costs, not only for the public sector, but also for the private sector. The classification of public transaction costs proposed in this study is the basis for later discussions of this topic in academic circles and in the educational process, as well as the basis for quantitative and qualitative evaluation of public transaction costs.


2004 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-8
Author(s):  
COLIN STANSFIELD SMITH

Although the Department for Education and Skills' ‘Classrooms of the Future’ and ‘Design Exemplar Initiative’ are to be welcomed (arq 7/3+4, pp244–279), they should not be allowed to obscure the far-reaching issues involved in the Public Finance Initiative (PFI). As a procurement process, PFI represents a massive investment in social programmes and public building projects: the estimated £34 billion in contract or commissioned gives an indication of this. PFI transfers the responsibilities and risks associated with the procurement, delivery and management of public buildings and estates over a period of 25 years to the private sector, and almost none of the expenditure involved is reflected in the Public Sector Borrowing Requirement. This makes it highly attractive to government, but the question remains as to how much it mortgages the nation's future because it merely defers and extends borrowing. If schemes mature at a time of recession or serious budget deficit, the implications could be highly damaging.


2009 ◽  
pp. 1665-1689
Author(s):  
Francesca Andreescu

Underpinning £136 billion of economic activity in the United Kingdom, Britain’s National Mapping Agency is a commercialising public sector organisation having trading fund status and existing in the intersection of two different spheres—the public and the private. Recognised as a leading participant in the geographic information industry, within which it is forging partnerships with key private sector companies, the organisation has enthusiastically grasped ebusiness as an all-embracing phenomenon and implemented a new strategy that transformed the way it did business. Drawing on longitudinal data gathered over a period of four years, this article explores the processes of strategic and organisational transformation engendered by e-business implementation in this organisation and discusses the successful elements, as well as some of the challenges to its change efforts.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 463-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Rainville

To induce innovation in the public sector, Directive 2014/24/EU encourages internal and external consultation during the procurement process. However, little is known regarding the prominence of these practices. Determining the extent of knowledge sourcing in innovation procurement across 28 European countries, this paper presents an institutional cluster analysis, examining heterogeneity across knowledge sourcing activities, procurement areas, and tender innovation outcomes for 1,505 public procurers from 2008-2010. Building upon existing taxonomies, three types of procuring agencies are identified: Large collaborative agencies practicing public procurement of innovation (31%); supplier-focused pre-commercial procurers (20%); and direct procurers at the municipal level (49%). Validation supports this heterogeneity, using innovation outcomes and policy drivers. At the country level, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and Poland are most represented in respective clusters. Findings enable predictions regarding impacts on agencies and innovation from the new public procurement directive's translation into national law by Member States.


1996 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 233
Author(s):  
Nadja Tollemache

This article traces the development of the institution of Ombudsman in New Zealand and comments on the move of the idea from the public to the private sector. The article first discusses the historical tests for unlawfulness under the Ombudsmen Act 1962 and 1975, which focused on the public sector. The success of the Ombudsmen in the public sector then led to the appointment of New Zealand's first Banking Ombudsman in 1992, modelled on similar offices in the United Kingdom and Australia. However, the article discusses factors that distinguish New Zealand's Banking Ombudsman to that of the United Kingdom: the sequence of events, the structure of the office, and the relationship between the Parliamentary Ombudsman and those in the private sector. *Note: a French language summary of this article is provided at 244.


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