Public procurement during emergencies

A year ago, I was instructed to work on an expert report for the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, which was set up to examine the UK’s response to and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and learn lessons for the future.

The report ‘Public procurement in emergencies‘ covers the key principles, legal frameworks and relevant guidance with respect to public procurement by the UK government and devolved administrations and how this may be improved in the future.

While some core parts of the report focus on specific issues that arose in the UK’s procurement response to the pandemic—such as the creation of the ‘VIP Lane’ for offers referred by politically-exposed persons or the ‘Ventilator Challenge’ that sought to develop new ventilator prototypes as part of the emergency response—other parts focus on principles of procurement regulation, as well as compared international experiences of emergency procurement during the pandemic. I thus hope the report will be of interest beyond the UK.

The report can be freely downloaded here: Public procurement during emergencies.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity and privilege to present the report and discuss key issues at the Inquiry’s public hearings for the procurement module. The recording of the session is available below.

The EU’s Joint Procurement Agreement: how does it work, and why did the UK not participate? [Procurement pill, with recording]

I thoroughly enjoyed discussing the EU’s Joint Procurement Agreement for the procurement of medical countermeasures (JPA) and its functioning, as well as the UK’s decision not to participate in the JPA for ventilators in the context of the COVID-19 emergency, with students and alumni of the International Master on Public Procurement Management (IMPPM) of Tor Vergata University of Rome. Thanks Gustavo Piga and Annalisa Castelli for the invitation and all participants for the energetic discussion.

The slides and recording of the session are now available (both on slideshare, and as dropbox powerpoint with fully functioning links). You can also watch the zoom recording, either downloading it from dropbox (otherwise you only get a 15’ preview), or in the youtube channel embedded below. NB: As a small correction to the content of the session, please note that during the Q&A I incorrectly stated that the JPA is open to EU, EEA and countries with neighbourhood agreements. That is incorrect, as the JPA is open to EU, EEA and candidate countries. Apologies for my confusion when responding to the question off the cuff.