1. EU Publications Office’s TED Ambassador Competition

The Publications Office of the European Union, which is the official publisher of European Union law, public procurement, publications, open data and research results, launched in February 2023 Ambassador Competition. The objective of the competition was to identify high-quality research within four research categories 1) Transparency in public procurement, 2) Green procurement, 3) Emerging Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in public procurement, and 4) Stimulating innovation through public procurement. The competition drew entries from public procurement experts around the globe.

On November 28th, 2023, the list of the winners of the TED Ambassador Award  was published and among the winners are five SAPIENS researchers:

• Lead Researcher Marta Andhov, won within the category of “Green procurement” with her research paper “Contracting authorities and strategic goals of public procurement – a relationship defined by discretion?”, Discretion in EU Public Procurement Law (2018): 117-138.
• Network Coordinator Roberto Caranta won in the category “Stimulating innovation through public procurement” for his co-authored research with Pedro Cerqueira Gomes, with the paper: “Public Procurement and Innovation”, ERA Forum 22 (2021): 371–385.
• Lead Researcher Rodrigo Lozano, Early Stage Researcher Felippe Vilaça Loureiro Santos, and Lead Researcher Maria Barreiro-Gen won in the category “Stimulating innovation through public procurement” with the paper: “Developing a harmonic sustainable public procurement framework”, Environment, Development and Sustainability (2022).

The winning papers will be featured on the TED website, accompanied by the authors’ biographies, and included in their online catalogue of high-quality studies in public procurement. Additionally, the award comes with a €1,500 prize and the opportunity for increased visibility through the EU Publication Office’s social media channels.

Get to know more about the winning papers:

1.1. Contracting authorities’ discretion to consider strategic goals of public procurement

The book chapter Contracting Authorities and Strategic Goals of Public Procurement – A Relationship Defined by Discretion?, written by Lead Researcher Marta Andhov, presents a discussion on contracting authorities’ discretion to pursue the strategic goals of EU public procurement.

This chapter introduces the concept of strategic public procurement, analyses EU competence in regulating strategic public procurement, and investigates the scope of the discretion entrusted to the contracting authorities in the area of strategic public procurement. It also discusses the limits of this discretion, focusing especially on Article 18(2) of Directive 2024/14/EU, which obliges Member States to ensure compliance with environmental, social and labour laws in the implementation of public contracts.

The chapter was published in the book S. Bogojevic, X. Groussot, J. Hettne (eds.): Discretion in EU Procurement Law (Hart Publishing, 2018). An open-access version of this chapter is available at the Social Science Research Network website (SSRN).

1.2 Innovation in EU Public Procurement

The paper Public Procurement and Innovation, written by Lead Researcher Roberto Caranta and Pedro Cerqueira Gomes, discusses innovation and EU public procurement procedures within the context of promoting smart, sustainable and inclusive growth through procurement initiatives.

This paper presents a short history of EU public procurement and innovation and the EU rules on research and procurement. A number of procedures and issues regarding innovative public procurement are then analysed, including pre-commercial procurement, innovation partnership, and ownership of intellectual property issues. The paper also highlights the link between innovation and sustainability provided by Directive 2014/24/EU, grounded on the definition of ‘innovation’ according to its Article 2(1)(22): “the implementation of a new or significantly improved product, service or process, including but not limited to production, building or construction processes, a new marketing method, or a new organisational method in business practices, workplace organisation or external relations inter alia, with the purpose of helping to solve societal challenges or to support the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth”.

The paper (open access) was published in the journal ERA Forum, 22, 371–385 (2021).

1.3 Harmonising Sustainable Public Procurement Elements

The paper Developing a harmonic sustainable public procurement framework, written by Lead Researcher Rodrigo Lozano, Early Stage Researcher Felippe Vilaça Loureiro Santos, and Lead Researcher Maria Barreiro-Gen, proposes a holistic framework to interconnect the systemic elements of sustainable public procurement (SPP).

The Harmonic SPP framework is based on theoretical systematisations of the SPP elements: demand-offering, specifications, stakeholder interactions, disciplinary approaches, and the four sustainability dimensions, where the harmonisation of their interrelations is sine qua non. The Harmonic SPP framework is aimed at providing a more holistic perspective to SPP and thus fosters more effective and efficient SPP research and implementation, including the development of innovative solutions.

The paper (open access) was published in the journal Environment, Development and Sustainability (2022).

2. The SAPIENS Network’s contribution to public procurement research and practice

The SAPIENS Network is an international training network focused on developing knowledge of SPP through a multidisciplinary approach. The network has 15 Early Stage Research Projects working on this multidisciplinary approach to SPP, supported by SAPIENS Lead Researchers and Supervisors. 

The three SAPIENS essays awarded by the TED Ambassador Award exemplify how different disciplines and theoretical lenses can contribute to public procurement research and practice. Discussing contracting authorities’ discretion to consider strategic goals in public procurement (e.g. sustainability) can support better decision-making processes towards the implementation of SPP initiatives. Exploring procurement procedures and issues in promoting innovation through public procurement – with a strong link to sustainability – can contribute to clearing the pathways to developing sustainability solutions through public procurement of innovation. Providing a holistic approach to the SPP system and highlighting the need to harmonise its elements can promote a more complete understanding of SPP initiatives and contribute to more effective SPP implementation. These research topics are contributing to SPP theory and practice from different approaches, helping to build a unique knowledge base and research capacity on SPP and representing the purpose of the SAPIENS Network.