Enhancing Public Procurement through Collaboration in Slovenia

Executive summary

Slovenia’s public procurement landscape is characterised by a high number of contracting authorities – approximately 3 000 – many of which, particularly at the subnational level, have limited procurement capacity and conduct procurement practices infrequently. This fragmentation reduces the efficiency of procurement processes, increases administrative burdens, and limits the ability to deliver value for money or support broader strategic goals such as sustainability and innovation.

Collaborative procurement approaches, such as centralised purchasing, joint procurement, co-ordinated procurement, and communities of practice, offer effective solutions to these challenges. While such approaches are widely used across OECD countries to aggregate demand, reduce duplication, and foster knowledge exchange, their adoption in Slovenia remains limited. Between 2020 and 2024, joint procurement accounted for only 4.1% of awarded contracts by number and 9.4% by value.

Building on the 2024 OECD report on “Increasing competition in public procurement in Slovenia”, which recommended the use of collaborative approaches to improve supplier participation, this report explores the potential of collaborative procurement approaches to improve the performance of public procurement in Slovenia. It provides a comprehensive analysis of existing practices, identifies institutional and practical barriers to collaboration, and proposes targeted recommendations to increase the uptake of collaborative approaches in public procurement.

Key findings and recommendations:

The highly fragmented procurement landscape in Slovenia and the marginal role of joint procurement indicate that procurement practices are not yet mature enough to support more complex collaborative approaches, such as joint or co-ordinated procurement, as many local contracting authorities may lack the necessary capacity. In the short term, expanding centralised purchasing and establishing communities of practice present more feasible opportunities to strengthen efficiency and build capacities, while also laying the groundwork for more advanced collaborative approaches in the future.

Expanding the role of centralised purchasing

• The Ministry of Public Administration (MPA) is currently the sole central purchasing body (CPB) in Slovenia. While its framework agreements are mandatory for central government entities, their use by subnational contracting entities remains limited. The MPA should consider extending the scope of its centralised procurement services to address the needs of subnational contracting authorities. This could be informed by data analysis of regional spending pattens and direct dialogue with municipalities and other local entities.

• Specific categories, such as food and beverages, which are of particularly relevant for schools, hospitals, and social care institutions, could be prioritised for expanded centralised purchasing. The foodstuff catalogue developed by the Chamber of Commerce could serve as a supporting tool in this context.

• To better inform category selection and engagement strategies, Slovenia could enhance its national e-procurement system by distinguishing between central and subnational contracting authorities in procurement data collection.

Establishing and supporting communities of practice

• Collaborative approaches — such as joint or co-ordinated procurement — require contracting authorities to communicate needs and share procurement strategies. Currently, Slovenia lacks a structured mechanism to facilitate this type of exchange. The Government could support the creation of communities of practice to enable contracting authorities to exchange knowledge, identify joint needs, exchange templates and guidance, and build trust across institutions. These communities could also contribute to long-term capacity building.

• To ensure optimal participation, communities of practice should be organised around shared interests — such as geographic proximity, common procurement categories, or thematic areas such as green public procurement. A pilot initiative targeting municipalities with similar procurement profiles could serve as a practical first step to test and demonstrate the value of such collaboration before scaling up to other levels of governments or sectors.