Development anD implementation of a national e-procurement strategy for tHe SLOVAK repuBlic This project has received funding from the European Union This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of OECD member countries. This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. Photo credit: Cover © Michal – Mpstudio / Shutterstock.com Table of Contents Acronyms and abbreviations 5 1 Executive Summary 6 2 Methodology 10 3 Current State 12 3.1 People and Organisation ...................................................................................................... 12 3.2 Technology ............................................................................................................................ 18 3.3 Processes............................................................................................................................... 31 3.4 Legislation............................................................................................................................. 39 3.5 Projects in progress .............................................................................................................. 40 4 Current state assessment 45 4.1 Objectives of e-Procurement implementation ....................................................................... 45 4.2 Approach of the assessment .................................................................................................. 45 4.3 Questionnaire results ............................................................................................................ 46 4.4 Assessment ............................................................................................................................ 50 4.5 Gap analysis for the fulfilment of the obligations ................................................................. 63 4.6 Recommendations ................................................................................................................. 69 5 Future state proposal 97 5.1 Strategy of Electronic Public Procurement - PPO ............................................................... 97 5.2 People and Organisation .................................................................................................... 100 5.3 Technology .......................................................................................................................... 104 5.4 Processes............................................................................................................................. 117 5.5 Legislation........................................................................................................................... 118 6 Implementation roadmap 120 6.1 Overall approach ................................................................................................................ 120 6.2 Phase I ................................................................................................................................ 124 6.3 Phase II ............................................................................................................................... 126 6.4 Phase III .............................................................................................................................. 129 Annex 1 ......................................................................................................................................... 131 Development and implementation of a national e-procurement strategy for the Slovak Republic - 3 Figures 1. Coverage of the PP cycle by IS EVO................................................................................................... 33 2. Coverage of the public procurement cycle by EKS ........................................................................... 36 3. Type of public procurement procedures by system ......................................................................... 38 4. Rollout of e-procurement in the EU……………………………………………………………………………………………..40 5. Gap analysis methodology ................................................................................................................ 63 6. Scenario A – Two platforms ............................................................................................................ 105 7. Scenario A – One platform .............................................................................................................. 105 8. SVO components……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ........... 112 9. Coverage of the PP cycle by the future e-Procurement platform .................................................. 109 10. Phases of the proposed Roadmap ................................................................................................ 122 11. Major milestones of the proposed Roadmap ............................................................................... 123 12. Phase I plan ................................................................................................................................... 125 13. Future architecture: One vs. two platforms ................................................................................. 126 14. Phase II plan .................................................................................................................................. 128 15. Phase III plan ................................................................................................................................. 130 Tables 1. Integration of IS EVO to other systems ............................................................................................. 27 2. Gap analysis results ........................................................................................................................... 64 3. Criteria considered for the Recommendations ................................................................................. 70 4. Recommendations for the future state of e-Procurement............................................................... 71 4 - Development and implementation of a national e-procurement strategy for the Slovak Republic Acronyms and abbreviations CA Contracting Authorities CPB Central Purchasing Bodies CRZ Central Registry of Contracts EC European Commission EKS Electronic Contracting System EO Economic Operator ESIF European Union Structural and Investment Funds ESPD European Single Procurement Document EU European Union GEAC PP Ex-ante conditionality Action Plan IS EVO Information System of Electronic Public Procurement MA Managing Authorities MEAT Most Economically Advantageous Tender MoI Ministry of Interior NGO Non-governmental organisation PP Public Procurement PPA Public Procurement Act PPO Public Procurement Office SMEs Small and Medium-sized Enterprises TED Tenders Electronic Daily UPVS Central Portal of Public Administration Development and implementation of a national e-procurement strategy for the Slovak Republic - 5 1 Executive Summary The development of a national e-Procurement framework is a main component of the EU/OECD project “Support for the Implementation of the Slovak Public Procurement Reform in the framework of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) ex-ante conditionality Action Plan”, designed between the Slovak Republic, the European Commission (EC) and the OECD to help the Slovak Republic enact the country’s Action Plan to satisfy the ex-ante conditionality on public procurement (GEAC PP) for the use of European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF). Being an enabler to the implementation of strategic and effective public procurement, the set-up of a comprehensive e-Procurement strategy was given the highest priority in terms of content and timing, given its impact in the overall public procurement system for the Slovak Republic. The strategy analyses the existing situation while addressing key topics for its successful implementation, including the political ownership, the governance model and the systems inter-operability, amongst others, presenting at the end a roadmap towards a phased transition to an end-to-end e-procurement. The current e-Procurement environment in the Slovak Republic, although existing for nine years, is characterised by a lack of clarity in terms of governance, legislation, processes and systems, which prevents a better and more efficient use of the available tools. The use of electronic procedures is limited. The coverage of the end-to-end procurement lifecycle by the existing systems is also limited. During the fact-finding missions, all stakeholders requested clearer and simpler rules and processes, as well as user-friendly systems with full coverage of the end-to-end process, a goal similar to many other public procurement systems in OECD and non-OECD countries, and part of many reforms currently ongoing around the globe. The 2015 OECD Recommendation of the Council on Public Procurement1 also emphasises the need to promote e-Procurement as a clear part of a sound public procurement system, by dedicating an entire principle and related subprinciples to this topic. The Slovakian Public Procurement Office (PPO) is an independent government body which acts as the central State administration authority for Public Procurement. The PPO provides the