Meeting of central purchasing bodies: challenges and professionalisation in strategic public procurement

Participants at the conference include representatives from the CPB Network's fifteen European member countries, as well as from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the European Commission. The event is taking place in Ljubljana, with participants discussing the future of the network, the key challenges in strategic public procurement, including its regulations, contract management, and framework agreements.

State Secretary Jure Trbič drew attention to the importance of their cooperation and the exchange of experience in developing innovative solutions to make public procurement more effective across Europe. "Cooperation and the development of common approaches help central purchasing bodies to design effective solutions for current and future challenges. Meetings like this provide an opportunity to discuss how to make purchasing bodies even more efficient, more successful, and more valuable for all stakeholders," he emphasised, while also recalling the necessity of constant adaptation to technological advancements. "One of the key challenges and opportunities is the continued digitalisation of public procurement, and how to incorporate new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, and blockchain, into the procurement process. These innovations have great potential to improve transparency, efficiency, and decision-making procedures."

The conference is chaired by Sašo Matas, Director-General of the Public Procurement Directorate. In his opening speech, he addressed the importance of joint public procurement and its professionalisation. "This event, organised by the Ministry of Public Administration, is an opportunity to showcase the best public procurement practices and to collectively discuss the future of public procurement in the European Union. The voice and experience of professional organisations are certainly a step in the right direction, not only towards the professionalisation of public procurement itself, but also the professionalisation of the organisations operating in this field."

The CPB Network, which was established in 2012, currently includes 21 central purchasing bodies from 20 European countries. Its aims is to provide an opportunity for national Central Purchasing Bodies (CPBs) to discuss the main issues they face in public procurement, and to share experiences and best practices. Network representatives typically meet twice a year, in spring and autumn, to present various organisational models and analyse common challenges.

The "Raising the Professionalisation of Public Procurement" project is co-financed by the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union through the ESF+.