Policy Context and Legal Framework

Public procurement by electronic means can improve and simplify the way government procurement operates. This will help enterprises to identify contract opportunities and to supply their goods and services across Europe's Internal Market, contributing to Europe's competitiveness and economic growth

Implementation and Management Approach

The demonstrators were produced by a consultant company after a public procurement procedure. A group of experts with representatives from all over Europe provided feedback in order to ensure that the project considered their real needs

Technology solution

Two sets of demonstrators have been developed: - Static demonstrators; web pages with fixed scenarios to show a possible implementation of a compliant eProcurement system. - Dynamic demonstrators; a software application with more flexible features than the static demonstrators to allow the experimentation in more real conditions. In order to be used they have to be downloaded and installed. This version is developed in Java, HSQLDB and MySQL.

Impact

Directives 2004/17/EC and 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 detail the new legal framework for eProcurement in Europe. The demonstrators and the functional requirements are efficient guidelines to better understand and implement this legislation. Innovation: Instead of just giving the raw legislation, the European Commission has provided a visual example and technical guidance on how to implement it

Track record of sharing

Many projects in Europe have used the functional requirements and the demonstrators to inspire their own developments. The demonstrators are open source (EUPL) and there is no need to inform the Commission of their use. An example of reuse is the Belgian e-Tendering platform ( http://www.epractice.eu/cases/2351 ), inspired on the Functional Requirements.

The demonstrators can be downloaded at osor.eu (http://forge.osor.eu/projects/eprocdemos )

Lessons learnt

1.- You need to complement legal measures with practical help.

2.- Software editors and public administrations are willing to get guidance. You do not need to convince them, but you have to ensure that you cover their needs.

3.- It is difficult to reach all the target audience. Do not underestimate dissemination activities and helpdesk