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In person icon Actors in public procurement: governance structures and processes (Panel II)

Green Politics
Policy Analysis
Political Economy
Public Administration
Public Policy
Regulation
State Power
Policy-Making
P003
Gresa Smolica
Freie Universität Berlin
Robin Huguenot-Noël
Freie Universität Berlin

Abstract

Public procurement goes beyond the regulatory state. The state does not only set the rules of the game for private and other public actors. The state is also the major buyer and public procurement is one of the major public policy instruments states have. Public procurement has transformed from an instrument used to buy products to a governance tool that can support issues such as greening the economy, rendering supply chains more just or pushing innovation. With the double role of the state as regulator and buyer, public procurement is anything but a narrow domain of the state. When purchasing and regulating public procurement the responsible parts of government are complemented by other actors that fulfil regulatory, judicial or administrative activities. Examples are standardization and certification institutes, administrative review bodies and (third party) arbitration boards, or supportive, consultative bodies and procurement agencies. They operate at different levels of government, including municipalities or towns. We also find sector-specific actors that deal with procurement alongside other themes, such as renewable energy associations or trade associations. Who are the actors involved in public procurement? Are there new actors involved in public procurement? What is the capacity and the role of actors in terms of competences, authority and accountability, who controls them? What are formal and informal institutions guiding their interaction? Where does conflict prevail and how are the actors positioned? We invite theoretical and empirical contributions that address actors in public procurement. Papers can address but are not limited to the governance structure of actors, understood as the institutional arrangements that guide their behavior and affect their role, and/ or processes focusing on how these actors take decisions when coordinating their action.