1. Sigma assistance to public procurement reform
Marian Lemke, OECD/Sigma
Brussels, 16 June 2011

2. Public Procurement Training for IPA beneficiaries
ReSPA/Sigma December 2007 report (Training Needs Analysis)
Sigma January 2009-April 2010 – preparation of a training manual and curriculum
EC September 2010-end 2012 regional technical assistance project to implement the training scheme

3. ReSPA/Sigma 2007 Report Initiated by ReSPA in June 2007
Main objective – to design a strategy for capacity building in public procurement in Western Balkans (to identify training needs and propose a strategy and action plan for training)
Close co-operation with future beneficiaries

4. 2007 Report: Findings
All countries in the region are in the process of building their public procurement systems in order to meet EU requirements and international good practice.
To date the reform of public procurement systems has placed the main emphasis on ensuring legal and formal compliance with procurement regulations, while operational and practical aspects of public procurement have often been neglected. A redirection of focus towards support to contracting entities is therefore urgently needed.
Several training activities have been undertaken in the region in the last few years, all with the support of technical assistance and twinning projects (financed mainly by the EU and USAID).
All countries/entities in the region have established various administrative structures that are responsible, inter alia, for the organisation of a training system in public procurement. However, available resources are usually scarce.

5. 2007 Report: Strategy proposed
Expected outputs:
Generic competency-based training materials (modules) in public procurement (in English);
Seven sets (one for each country/entity) of national training materials in local languages (adapted to local legal systems);
Network of certified national trainers (group of community practice) in public procurement (15-25 per country/entity);
National training strategies for public procurement training in all countries/entities;
Capacity to implement, maintain and update the system.

6. 2007 Report Implementation
Sigma
Elaboration of generic training manual
EC (ELARG)
Implementation of the training program in 8 IPA beneficiaries

7. Sigma training manual Key assumptions:
Semi-final product, not to be used in countries
Based on EC legislation and practice, to be localised in the future
Designed for training for practitioners, not for policy-makers
Focused on practice, not on law-books
Comprehensive and detailed (1642 pages of narrative text pages of hand-outs)

8. Outline Introduction and principles
Organisation at level of contracting authorities
Preparation of procurement
Scope of application
Conducting procurement process
Review and integrity
Contract management
Module for economic operators

9. Outline
Module B: Organisation at level of Contracting Authorities: B1. Contracting authorities’ internal regulation of the procurement process B2. Responsibility of the contracting authority for preparation and management of the procurement process B3. Role of the procurement officer B4. Role of the tendering committee B5. Contribution from external consultants and experts B6. Measuring performance in public procurement etc….

10. Format Manual for participants (5 weeks training) (Student’s pack)
Trainer’s pack:
Training programme (curriculum)
Notes for trainers, answers to exercises
PowerPoint presentations and handouts
Collection of key EU documents on CD

11. Structure of each sub-module
Student’s pack:
Introduction
Narrative
Law
Exercises
Questions
Slides
Trainer’s pack:
Answers to the exercises
Answers to the questions
curriculum 
handouts

12. EC IPA TA project 2010 - 2012 Activity 1 Training of Trainers (ToT)
Select national training institutions and candidate trainers (10-25 from each beneficiary) in co-operation with public procurement offices/agencies
Deliver Training of Trainers (ToT) course in two stages for about participants from the region (total of five weeks)
Activity 2 Support for training at national level (individually for each beneficiary)
Develop national training strategies
Customise training modules (translation + adaptation to local legal system), including an online course supported by a help-desk
Publish customised training modules in hard copy and on-line
Support PPOs/trainers for one year of operation
Activity 3 – Accreditation of national trainers
Certify national trainers following an observation period

13. Sigma – assistance to public procurement reform in Armenia
2008 – gap analysis of Armenian legislation and practice
2009 – strategy adopted
– legislation drafting
January 2011 – new law in force (EU procedures + decentralisation + new institutions)
2011 – 2012 Need for massive training

14. SIGMA – Public Procurement Manual for ENP countries
Based on the IPA manual
Same approach and format
Updated
Tailored for the ENP context
EC regional project to implement in ENP countries ?