GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2008

Status

Working

Abstract

Around the world, governments are increasingly becoming focused on improving their public procurement regimes. Significant developments include the establishment of internationally shared norms for public procurement systems, while, at the national level, a number of countries have adopted dramatically new public procurement regimes, and others are experimenting with new procurement vehicles, such as framework agreements and electronic reverse auctions, and new procurement schemes, including public-private partnerships. As each of these changes is contemplated, planned, implemented, and then assessed, government leaders and policy makers need a framework of analysis for decision making - a framework based on public procurement goals and understanding stakeholder interests.

In this condensed working paper (being delivered at the Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Symposium), we offer such a framework, building on the ideas in Steve Schooner's 2002 article, 'Desiderata: Objectives for a System of Government Contract Law.' In that article, Schooner outlined nine objectives, or desiderata, of public procurement systems: competition, integrity, transparency, efficiency, customer satisfaction, best value, wealth distribution, risk avoidance, and uniformity. From that starting point, we use stakeholder analysis to further develop the desiderata into a two-part framework to give policy makers and government leaders a tool for public procurement decision making. Just as 'Desiderata' has contributed to public procurement decision making, this analytical framework can help clarify, and perhaps inform, many of the debates raging around procurement reform.

GW Paper Series

GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 1133234, GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 1133234

Comments

Working paper draft, May 8, 2008.

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