Promoting the uptake of strategic public procurement in Estonia through professionalising the public procurement workforce

Given growing expectations for public service delivery, and sustainable development, under increasingly tight fiscal conditions, public procurement has emerged as a critical policy lever for governments. The European Union encourages Member States to use procurement to help achieve policy priorities outlined in strategic documents and policy frameworks. 

In Estonia, public procurement plays a significant role in the national economy, accounting for 15.3% of GDP and nearly 35% of government expenditure in 2023. Recognising its strategic potential, Estonia is increasingly using public procurement to support progress towards policy objectives such as tackling climate change, fostering innovation, and promoting economic growth and recovery, as presented in national strategies. Estonia has set ambitious targets for strategic procurement. 

To create the basis for the strategic use of public procurement, a skilled public procurement workforce is essential with expertise in various disciplines, including environmental and social science, cost-benefit evaluations, procurement regulation and legal provisions governing public contracts. Therefore, Estonia has partnered with the European Commission and the OECD to strengthen the capacity of its procurement professionals. 

Estonia widely recognises public procurement as a strategic tool to support the green and digital transition and to contribute to social sustainability. However, the uptake of strategic public procurement is still limited: in 2023, 9.5% of the total number of procedures was considered as green public procurement, 0.7% as socially responsible procurement, and 0.2% as innovation procurement. There is ample potential to improve the strategic use of public procurement in Estonia, however, it requires a skilled workforce and capable institutions. In 2019, Estonia piloted the testing of the European competency framework for public procurement professionals (ProcurCompEU). The pilot confirmed the need for further work on the professionalisation of the procurement function and for developing capability-building mechanisms to facilitate the uptake of strategic public procurement.

This project helps Estonia address the challenge of professionalisation to allow the broader uptake of strategic public procurement. This will allow Estonia to: 

• Implement practical actions to enhance the professional capacity of procurement officials and promote the uptake of strategic procurement across the public sector

• Reach its long-term goals under the Estonia 2035 strategy, the European Union’s priorities on digital and green transition, and the Estonian Recovery and Resilience Plan

The project’s main deliverables include: 

• A report taking stock of the current use of strategic public procurement and public procurement professionalisation initiatives in Estonia

• Training workshops delivered to officials of contracting authorities 

• Tools, case studies and guidelines to help Estonia upskill the public procurement workforce.