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This report presents progress made by OECD countries and other economies on their adherence to the 2015 Recommendation of the Council on Public Procurement. The Recommendation provides strategic guidance in addressing challenges encountered in public procurement and identifies good procurement practices in order to ensure a strategic and holistic use of public procurement. This report discusses the Recommendation's continued relevance, how widely it has been disseminated, and whether it requires updating or revision.

As the largest economy in Europe, Germany has a massive public procurement market, accounting for around 15% of GDP (EUR 500 billion) per year and affecting many areas of the economy and society. This review analyses public procurement's impact on the well-being of Germany's citizens by focusing on six areas: economic impact and beyond, the legal and governance framework, centralisation, e-procurement, strategic procurement and human capital. In addition, it analyses procurement at subnational level, since almost 80% of procurement in Germany is conducted by Länder and local governments.

The relevance and economic implications of public procurement – which represents 12% of GDP and one-third of government expenditures in the OECD area - make it a powerful tool for improving public service delivery. At the same time, governments are increasingly using their purchasing power to pursue strategic objectives in different policy areas such as sustainability, innovation or providing support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Making it easier for SMEs to access public procurement opportunities improves the general economic environment, promotes inclusive growth and supports principles such as equal treatment, open access and effective competition. This report takes stock of the approaches adopted in 37 OECD and non-OECD countries to help SMEs perform better in public procurement markets, including removing barriers to their participation. The report also describes the main features of a public procurement system that benefits both the public sector and SMEs.

This review examines the ongoing public procurement reforms in Nuevo León, Mexico: both the progress achieved so far and the many challenges that remain. It discusses the benefits of further centralisation of public procurement activities for goods and services, greater aggregation, and a shift in administrative culture from excessive formality toward strategic public procurement and value for money. The review provides concrete proposals addressing every aspect of the procurement lifecycle, from planning and market consultations to contract management.

This review highlights achievements of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, IMSS) in a number of areas – human resources, technological capacities and relations with suppliers – which were previously identified by the OECD as pivotal for the successful reform of IMSS procurement operations. This report highlights the progress made and offers recommendations to support IMSS in achieving procurement excellence and fulfilling its mandate to provide the best possible, most cost-effective healthcare services to citizens.

This review of the Mexican Federal e-Procurement system, CompraNet, assesses the system’s ability to ensure that public procurement in Mexico is efficient, effective, transparent and accountable. It measures CompraNet’s scope, functionality and use against global trends in e-procurement in order to guide its future development. The report includes input from key stakeholder groups such as contracting authorities, suppliers and civil society. It also identifies the supporting mechanisms such as legislation, policy, training, and infrastructure, that are required for the system to be successful.

Public procurement is becoming a strategic tool in Peru for achieving key policy objectives. The legislative reforms enacted in 2016 indicate a strong commitment from the government to modernise the public procurement system. In fact, the system is currently going through a transitional period, moving from excessive formalities and complex tendering processes to prioritizing results and value for money. This report examines ongoing public procurement reforms in Peru, focusing on issues such as procurement processes, participation in tenders, and the culture of integrity in the public procurement process. It provides guidance to help Peru implement reforms that enhance the efficiency, transparency and accountability of the system.

This report on Mexico’s state-owned oil company PEMEX is part of a series of OECD reviews of Mexico’s procurement institutions. PEMEX’s procurement system was overhauled after Mexico’s 2013 Energy Reform opened up the sector to private participation, requiring PEMEX to compete in an open market. Using the 2015 Recommendation of the OECD Council on Public Procurement as a benchmark, the review assesses the effectiveness and integrity of PEMEX’s entire procurement system while identifying a series of actions for improvement. A state-of-the art procurement system can not only help PEMEX achieve value for money on a sustainable basis, but also support other social and environmental policy objectives in Mexico.

Public procurement offers an enormous potential market for innovative products and services. Used strategically, it can help governments boost innovation at both the national and local level and ultimately improve productivity and inclusiveness. Based on good practices in OECD and partner countries, this report analyses the state of play of procurement for innovation and provides a flexible framework focusing on 9 areas to promote it.

Public procurement is a critical element of sound governance and countries implement diverse tools and strategies to increase its efficiency and cost effectiveness. Framework agreements, in particular, aggregating public demand and streamlining procurement processes are increasingly used by central purchasing bodies in OECD countries. This report examines the use of framework agreements and their developments in Chile, benchmarked against the practices in other OECD countries. Implementation of framework agreements in Chile have provided business opportunities to a growing number of suppliers and a wide variety of goods and services to public entities. Yet, the steady increase of the number of suppliers and contract management activities now question the sustainability and the effeciency of the system. This report analyses different policy options that ChileCompra could consider and suggests ways to streamline processes, improve the effectiveness of the system and increase efficiencies while promoting inclusiveness.