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 OECD 2015 Recommendation on Public Procurement calls upon countries to take a balanced approach to the use of procurement to achieve economy, efficiency, and strategic policy objectives. The European Union also encourages Member States to use procurement to help achieve policy priorities outlined in strategic documents and policy frameworks. For example, the 2024 European Commission report The future of European competitiveness highlights the need for leveraging strategic procurement to reinforce EU’s market power regarding decarbonation and competitiveness.
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 broader objectives such as tackling climate change, fostering innovation, and promoting economic growth and recovery, as presented in national strategies. To that end, Estonia has set ambitious targets for strategic procurement. By 2035, 20% of all procurement procedures — representing 30% of total public procurement spending — are expected to include green criteria, which are already mandatory for certain product categories. For socially responsible procurement, the targets are 10% of contracts by number and 20% by value by 2035. Estonia also aims for innovation procurement to account for 2% of all procurement by 2027.
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/social science, cost-benefit evaluations, procurement regulation and legal provisions governing public contracts. In response, Estonia has partnered with the European Commission and the OECD to strengthen the capacity of its procurement professionals. This report is part of the project “Promoting the uptake of strategic public procurement in Estonia through professionalising the public procurement workforce,” funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument and implemented by the OECD in co-operation with the Reform and Investment Task Force (SG Reform) of the European Commission.
The report assesses the current state of both the uptake of strategic public procurement and the professionalisation of the procurement workforce in Estonia from regulatory, operational, organisational, and technical perspectives. It provides tailored recommendations and practical actions to enhance the professional capacity of procurement officials and promote the uptake of strategic procurement across the public sector. Developed in close co-operation with Estonian authorities, the report supports the country's 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.