Compendium of Country Examples and Lessons Learned from ...

The capacity development context 23The GPP discusses the context of the development of procurement capacities and in particular therelationship between a country‟s overall development and procurement strategies and the capacitydevelopment programme that should logically flow from these. In brief:The objective, focus and timing of any procurement capacity development programme should be anintegral part of a country‟s overall procurement strategy. A clear policy is required on how a countrywants its procurement system to evolve over time and the kind of specific capacity demands it willface. The government should articulate a national procurement strategy that specifies what objectivesit wishes to achieve, assign responsibilities, allocates a budget, identifies instruments and sets the timehorizon for the reform process. This strategy also needs to strengthen linkages to other public sectorfunctions and reform programmes, in particular those relating to public financial management,auditing, anti-corruption, public administration and/or civil service reform.One of the core issues to be addressed in procurement capacity development is the need for better cooperationand co-ordination with other relevant public reform processes. For example, a country that iscommitted to decentralisation (such as Indonesia) consequently needs to transfer autonomy forprocurement decisions from the national to the provincial and district level.The national procurement strategy should reflect the role of the private sector. Should privateinvestment in the public sector be maximised? Should procurement be outsourced to private serviceproviders? The private sector can provide valuable assistance in areas such as knowledgemanagement, technical and commercial analysis and assessment, project preparation, projectimplementation and procurement monitoring and evaluation, as well as audits.Professional institutions/associations and academic bodies play a key role in the development ofprocurement capacity by providing a framework for education and the sharing of good practice.Another core issue to address is corruption and bribery. Procurement should be considered as anintegral issue in governance and anti-corruption strategies. Accountable, transparent and ethicalprocurement practices and processes help to reduce the environment within which inefficiencies,including corruption, thrive.Principles for Capacity DevelopmentThe GPP presents UNDP‟s 10 Default Principles for Capacity Development. 24 It emphasises that theprocess or plan for capacity development should not be considered as a blue print. An iterative processis proposed, aimed at creating a viable institutional framework. The principles on which this processshould be based are captured by the concepts of country ownership, broad stakeholder involvement,realistic need assessment, strategic procurement capacity development planning and closely monitoredand flexibly managed implementation.2324OECD (2005), Harmonising Donor Practices for Effective Aid Delivery: Volume III, StrengtheningProcurement Capacities in Developing Countries (unpublished), Chapter 2, Good Practice Paper onProcurement Capacity Development, Part I.OECD (2005), Harmonising Donor Practices for Effective Aid Delivery: Volume III, StrengtheningProcurement Capacities in Developing Countries (unpublished), Chapter 2, Good Practice Paper onProcurement Capacity Development, Part II.46 COMPENDIUM OF COUNTRY EXAMPLES AND LESSONS LEARNED […] - OECD 2008