This chapter identifies key considerations for the governance of a digital transformation strategy for public procurement in Ireland and provides an assessment of the organisational and governance frameworks for successful implementation. The first section delineates proposed roles and responsibilities, clarifying the duties of various stakeholders in the transformation process. The second section outlines potential governance structures, describing the framework for oversight and coordination. The final section addresses risks and enablers, identifying potential challenges and the factors that can facilitate a smoother transformation.
The Way Forward for Digital Public Procurement in Ireland
Guidance for Strategy Development
Abstract
Clearly defined roles and responsibilities for the public procurement digital transformation strategy will be critical for successful implementation. Existing siloes between public bodies threaten the success of the digital transformation strategy as well as posing challenges at the project level. If responsibilities are not clearly defined and allocated, it will be challenging to achieve the coordination necessary to build the digital public procurement ecosystem described in the previous section. However, the allocation of these roles and responsibilities must be accompanied by the development of relevant institutional capabilities to successfully participate in digital transformation.
Responsibility matrices can be useful tools to ensure that all stakeholders understand their roles. Figure 3.1 provides a proposed framework for the roles of key public procurement stakeholders based on the RACI approach:
Responsible: The organisations with the primary responsibility for carrying out projects and delivering solutions that constitute and support the digital transformation of public procurement.
Accountable: The organisation which holds ultimate accountability for the successful digital transformation of public procurement.
Consulted: Organisations who should provide input or resources before decisions are made and during the implementation of the strategy.
Informed: Organisations who should kept up to date on progress but not actively involved in decision-making.
Source: Authors’ elaboration
Note: Contracting authorities includes individual Departments, Offices, commercial and non-commercial State bodies, and private entities which are subsidised 50% or more by a public body when awarding contracts for goods, services and works.
3.1.1. Bodies with responsibility for steering and implementing the digital transformation strategy
When implementing digital strategies, countries should establish clear responsibility for coordinating implementation with a mandate to steer change (OECD, n.d.[1]). Drawing on its experience in managing the eTenders platform and shaping government-wide procurement policy, the OGP should be accountable for the overall success of the digital transformation of public procurement in Ireland. To deliver on this mandate, the OGP would need the resources to manage and coordinate across the public sector.
This role would also require active collaboration and participation from these various areas within OGP, including most critically those responsible for the eTenders platform, those responsible for the data pillar of the public procurement strategy, and, as digital transformation should be an essential component of government-wide procurement policy, those responsible for public procurement policy. Close cooperation between these teams is critical to ensuring that digital initiatives align with broader policy objectives and can be successfully integrated with existing platforms and tools. Given their experience and importance as a public buyer, the OGP’s sourcing function should also be closely involved.
Ireland’s sectoral CPBs should be integral partners in executing the strategy. Their ownership and proactive engagement are essential to driving digital initiatives and tailoring them to the specific needs of their sectors. As they will be responsible for the implementation of digital tools and platforms being used in their sectors or across the public sector, it is important that they feel ownership of the strategy and are active participants in its execution. It is critical to the development of an effective and efficient public procurement system that the tools and platforms they develop are interoperable. Additionally, as major public buyers, engagement from CPBs can ensure that shared digital tools and platforms meet the needs of their sourcing functions.
More specific decisions will be required about which solutions and infrastructure will be delivered and maintained centrally by OGP and which would be better implemented by sectoral CPBs or others. The OGP currently delivers eTenders, but will need to increase this role to steer the digital transformation of the public procurement system. Sectoral CPBs currently deliver platforms and tools for their own sectors or the categories for which they are responsible, such as supplygov.ie. This role could be increased where there are sector or category specific needs.
The OGCIO’s Build to Share programme could also serve as a potential Irish model for deciding when and how to develop shared tools. Through this programme, the OGCIO delivers collaboration tools, platforms and services which are available to public service bodies. Through a mixture of off-the-shelf applications and internally developed software, applications that address common needs and challenges are made available on a government-wide basis. This approach brings benefits such as economies of scale, standardisation, interoperability, and risk reduction (Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, 2022[2]).
3.1.2. Bodies that should be consulted in the implementation of the strategy
As the primary players in the public procurement system, contracting authorities and economic operators should be placed at the centre of consultations for the digital transformation of public procurement. As the key users of the system, their inputs will be invaluable to inform the development and implementation of digital tools and platforms that can make procurement more effective and efficient. They will also be key users of public procurement data, and ensuring that that data are collected, shared and analysed in ways that meet their needs and expectations in areas such as privacy will require ongoing consultation. At the same time, the number of contracting authorities and economic operators and their differing capacity and interest means that they cannot all be engaged on all questions.
Irish contracting authorities vary significantly in their capacity and capabilities. While some contracting authorities may actively participate in consultation, others may require support from CPBs or other bodies to engage. For example, Education and Training Boards could play a role in supporting the engagement of schools.
As noted in Chapter 2 some public bodies work under distinctive public procurement legal frameworks, and a digital transformation strategy will need to ensure that their unique needs are considered. For example, Irish commercial semi-state bodies and security procurements, undertaken by the Department of Defence, function with an increased degree of autonomy or a greater variety of options for how procurements are undertaken. While their procurement needs and challenges are not fundamentally different from those of other contracting authorities, engaging with these bodies is essential to ensuring that solutions can accommodate their specific requirements while aligning with broader public procurement objectives.
Economic operators, ranging from sole traders to multi-national corporations, also vary significantly in their capacity and capabilities. Engaging with industry associations and business groups or through Local Enterprise Offices could facilitate the participation of economic operators, ensuring that a wide range of perspectives and needs are considered.
Consultation with other government bodies responsible for digitalisation and for public sector transformation will be essential to ensuring alignment with broader government initiatives. This alignment is important to secure political commitment and promote coordination and collaboration between public bodies (OECD, n.d.[3]). Engaging entities such as the OGCIO, DPENDR or the GovTech Delivery Board closely in the digital transformation of public procurement can help promote efficiencies and mitigate potential conflicts with concurrent projects, such as the rollout of new financial management systems. This engagement can also help to identify benefits of the digital transformation of public procurement that may not be immediately apparent. For example, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission could use standardised public procurement data to improve the detection of bid-rigging in public procurement.
Consultation with civil society can help to ensure that the digital transformation of public procurement enhances transparency and accountability. As users of public procurement data, their involvement in the design of public-facing platforms and tools can help ensure that the needs of these stakeholders are met. Engaging with civil society can also provide useful feedback on issues such as data privacy and integrity. Ireland could formalise institutional frameworks and mechanisms for encouraging and enabling consultation with civil society, including, for example, creating a committee or thematic working group involving civil society stakeholders (OECD, 2021[4]).
3.1.3. Informing the broader public sector
Ensuring that the broader public sector is informed about the digital transformation of public procurement is important for several reasons. First, effective communication with political and public service leaders can contribute to building support and momentum for the strategy. As contracting authorities in Ireland ultimately fall under departments, the support of senior Government departmental leadership (e.g., Secretaries General) can facilitate smoother implementation and the adoption of digital procurement practices across the public sector.
Second, as procurement is increasingly recognised and used as a strategic policy tool, there is a need to ensure that this informs the digital transformation of public procurement. Digital tools and initiatives should be designed to meet the evolving needs and objectives of strategic procurement initiatives like Ireland’s GPP Strategy and Action Plan. At the same time, aligning strategic policy initiatives with digital transformation efforts can maximise the impact of procurement on broader policy goals and contribute to evidence-based decision-making.
Governance structures describe the formal and informal arrangements for the decision-making and coordination of the implementation of the digital transformation strategy (OECD, 2021[5]). Given the large number of stakeholders in the digital transformation of public procurement, effective governance structures are crucial to maintaining coordination and an integrated approach across institutions and sectors. Governance structures also allow for the integration of different views and interests, which can help to build consensus, ensure ownership, increase support for digital transformation, and provide opportunities for collaboration and knowledge sharing (OECD, n.d.[3]).
This section outlines an approach to establishing a governance system made up of working level bodies and communities of practice to direct projects and facilitate coordination, as well as high-level bodies to provide overall strategy direction and oversight. At all levels, governance bodies should include representatives from OGP, sectoral CPBs, and the wider community of users. The section also addresses data governance, where there are opportunities to leverage existing mechanisms and structures.
Key considerations include striking a balance between maintaining coordination and the coherence of the overall strategy and remaining agile and avoiding administrative bottlenecks. The digital transformation of public procurement will face the challenge of implementing multi-annual, multi-stage projects embedded in existing government decision-making structures. Structures need to be flexible and agile with clear lines of communication to streamline processes and ensure timely decision-making. Figure 3.2 provides stylised models of two extremes:
A centralised, top-down model would provide strong government-wide leadership with enforceable levers to set policy and control approval of funding for large investments. It could more easily create common standards and leverages economies of scale but would reduce the agility to initiate pilots or explore new technologies.
A decentralised model would have a central co-ordination body and a national strategy to guide development, but fewer mandated requirements. It would provide greater flexibility for organisations to experiment and customise but could lead to uneven implementation and challenges in ensuring lessons learned are operationalised and transmitted system-wide (OECD, 2022[6]).
The stylised model on the left represents a decentralised approach while the stylised model on the right represents a centralised approach to governance
Source: Authors’ elaboration
In selecting a governance model, Ireland will need to balance between providing autonomy, enabling agility and innovation, and ensuring coherent implementation across the public procurement system. It will be important that different working level and high-level bodies function in a coordinated way. Working level bodies rely on strategic guidance from high-level bodies to navigate complex environments and ensure their efforts contribute to the overall digital transformation of public procurement. Conversely, high level bodies depend on the insights and feedback from the operational level to make informed decisions about overall strategy direction and resource allocation.
3.2.1. High-level governance
High-level governance bodies are important for securing broad government support for the digital transformation strategy. These bodies can provide a platform to align the strategy’s objectives with broader government priorities, ensure that decision-makers are informed and engaged, and monitor progress.
Existing bodies, such as the Procurement Executive or Public Procurement Advisory Council, may lack the relevant subject matter expertise and focus on digital issues to successfully play this role. As a result, a distinct executive steering group for the digital transformation strategy could be considered to provide high-level strategic direction. This group would need to be made up of senior officials from CPBs and other relevant bodies such as the OGCIO to provide strategic direction and oversight. Members could be expected to play a role as digital procurement champions in their organisations and sectors.
Other high-level bodies such as the Digital Issues Senior Officials Group could be leveraged to keep decision-makers and the broader public sector informed about the digital transformation strategy. The Digital Issues Senior Officials Group oversees the implementation of Harnessing Digital, Ireland’s national digital strategy, and provides whole-of-government management of cross-cutting digital policies. Periodically engaging with bodies that are not procurement-specific would provide an opportunity to assure alignment of the digital transformation of public procurement with government priorities, make linkages to other digital government initiatives, and secure broad, high-level support.
3.2.2. Working level coordination and communities of practice
Working level venues can play a vital role in fostering ongoing communication and collaboration with users, including contracting authorities and economic operators. Regular meetings between CPBs could enable the exchange of good practices, lessons learned and innovative approaches, driving collective progress towards the strategy’s objectives. These platforms could also facilitate a two-way exchange of insights, ideas and feedback between OGP, sectoral CPBs, and users. By actively soliciting input and feedback from stakeholders, OGP and sectoral CPBs can gain valuable insights into their needs, preferences and pain points. This user-centric approach would ensure that digital solutions are tailored to improving efficiency and effectiveness by addressing real-world challenges. These bodies can also play an important change management role, helping to communicate upcoming changes in systems and processes to different user groups and reflecting back progress on of their implementation.
Developing communities of practice can also help build common purpose between organisations and sectors. Regularly convening those working on digital procurement initiatives to challenge and inspire one another through their experiences can build an understanding of the strategic purpose of the wider strategy and a rapport with those responsible for its objectives. This can help to bring otherwise disparate siloes in government closer together and reduce the potential for friction (Welby and Hui Yan Tan, 2022[7]).
Figure 3.3 identifies several potential working level bodies that could be established and chaired by the OGP. However, there may also be a need for working groups devoted to specific initiatives or issues or the development of specific tools, and there can be value in having diverse stakeholders around the same table. These bodies could initially focus on:
Identifying shared needs in the form of common business requirements and corporate processes
Identifying digital tools that are currently in use and could be applied more broadly
Developing interoperability standards
Ongoing improvements to eTenders
Selecting and monitoring the implementation of pilot initiatives and quick wins (see Chapter 4)
However, it will be important to balance the need for coordination with the burden on the already strained resources of OGP, CPBs, contracting authorities and economic operators. To avoid ‘consultation fatigue’, Ireland should evaluate the relevance of different bodies on an ongoing basis.
Source: Authors’ elaboration
3.3.1. Identifying risks to successful implementation, as well associated mitigation measures
Successful digital transformation faces a wide array of risks. Table 3.1 provides an initial list of risks divided into four categories:
1. Operational: Risks related to the disruption in operations or unavailability of services, as well as adherence to legal and regulatory requirements.
2. Governance: Risks related to failures of institutional coordination and decision-making.
3. Technological: Risks related to technology failures or incompatibilities between technologies. Key risk areas may include scalability, compatibility, and the accuracy of the functionality of the implemented technologies.
4. Security: Risks related to cybersecurity and data, including privacy, the exposure of platforms and tools to malicious actors, and data breaches.
Ongoing risk management will be important to ensuring successful implementation. This should include the assignment of responsibility for risks to specific individuals and ongoing monitoring, such as through risk registers. The governance bodies discussed above can play a key role in identifying, monitoring and communicating risks.
Source: Authors’ elaboration
3.3.2. Identifying enablers for successful implementation
This section provides an overview of key enablers and how they can be applied to the digital transformation of public procurement in Ireland. Enablers for successful digital transformation have been identified from international good practice, reflected in the OECD’s Recommendation on Digital Government Strategies and discussion with peer countries, and from engagement with Irish stakeholders.
A structured approach to planning and funding digital investments
Successful digital transformation will require consistent and coherent planning and investment in digitalisation projects and initiatives. As noted in the previous section on governance, the number of procurement stakeholders in Ireland makes the coordinated delivery of a digital transformation strategy critical. This can help to ensure that priorities are jointly agreed, aligned with overarching goals across policy areas, and enjoy political support (OECD, 2021[4]). This will require capacity in OGP to maintain an up-to-date picture of digital transformation across the procurement system and could be facilitated through the governance structure described earlier in this chapter.
Planning for strategy implementation should include an assessment of existing assets including technologies and contracts (OECD, 2014[8]). Resource requirements can be mitigated by promoting the sharing of tools between public bodies and maintaining a comprehensive picture of on-going digital initiatives across the public procurement landscape to avoid duplication of platforms and tools. OGP could leverage the project oversight experience of OGCIO to learn from their internal best practices and ensure investments under the digital transformation strategy are aligned across the Irish public sector (see Box 3.1). At the same time, it will be important not to duplicate existing digital project oversight and approval processes.
Despite these opportunities to reuse or share tools, the Irish government will need to make realistic decisions about its commitment to investing in the digital transformation of public procurement. This would involve ensuring that the right human and technological capabilities are in place, as well as systematically assessing their status to anticipate skills shortages or issues with legacy technology.
In Ireland, the Digital Government Oversight Unit (DGOU) in the OGCIO ensures that public sector digital and ICT initiatives are aligned with relevant government policies and the strategies that support them.
Organisations are required to submit details of planned new digital / ICT initiatives to the DGOU on an annual basis, as well as requests for specific approvals for individual initiatives. The DGOU evaluates proposed initiatives by considering them against criteria which include:
Alignment with relevant strategies, policies and strategic objectives of Government;
How the proposed initiative will further the delivery of digital government services;
Organisations’ engagement with the OGCIO in relation to opportunities available under common digital / ICT service platforms or infrastructure and in relation to the proposed approach to initiatives of large scale, risk or strategic significance;
The quality of the business case, including planned outcomes, proposed costs, and value for money considerations;
The proposed governance and risk management arrangements and the capacity to deliver the project.
Significant digital and ICT initiatives are also subject to a Peer Review process to assess if the governance arrangements of initiatives of scale, risk and/or strategic importance, are appropriately established and operated. A Peer Review Group made up of senior personnel is established at the outset of the project and supports the DGOU and project team throughout the project lifecycle. The Peer Review Group provides an assessment at major milestones (e.g., the business case, procurement stage, project initiation) as well as regular checkpoint reviews at least every four months.
Strong public sector capabilities
The presence of digital technologies throughout government activities requires a strong commitment to improving the skillset of public officers. This implies attracting and maintaining IT professionals in the public sector as well as developing the specialist skills of those already in the public sector workforce. Fostering institutional and human capabilities to manage complex projects is essential for successful transformation. Successful countries have adopted agile development practices, creating spaces to foster engagement with users and to test, iterate and learn. Delivering projects driven by users’ expectations and demands requires project management methodologies that balance structured project development with effective mechanisms to understand and address user needs (OECD, 2022[10]).
Furthermore, it is necessary to enhance broad digital government user skills among all public procurement officials so that they can take advantage of new tools and ways of working (OECD, 2020[11]). Successful implementation of the digital transformation strategy will require reinforcing the procurement workforce’s digital and project management skills. It requires policies promoting technological experimentation and training to enhance and maintain skills (OECD, 2024[12]). Procurement professionals with digital skills are ready to interpret, create and communicate data and equipped to ask strategic questions while understanding opportunities and limitations of techniques and tools. Digital investments need to be open to innovative solutions from the start: being outcome-focused and using descriptive requirements early in an investment allow greater range of innovative solutions to be offered (OECD, 2022[6]). Moreover, they are more likely to have realistic expectations about time and resources when planning the use of data. Having more robust digital skills also increases the likelihood that procurement professionals will adopt the tools developed under the digital transformation strategy and will be able to facilitate and promote improvements and innovations. While strengthening digital skills is part of broader public sector transformation in Ireland (Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, 2022[2]), the digital transformation strategy may need to consider the development of procurement-specific digital skills (e.g. increasing the ability of contracting authorities and economic operators to use eTenders).
Monitoring and evaluating implementation
An effective digital transformation requires sound monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to secure benefits realisation, promoting transparency and accountability on investments and expected outcomes (OECD, 2018[13]). Measuring and analysing performance indicators also contributes to identifying potential bottlenecks in procurement processes. Effective monitoring and evaluation of the strategy requires establishing a framework for tracking and evaluating progress, including establishing and measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) (OECD, 2014[8]). Developing KPIs requires setting specific targets and establishing baselines. Communicating the results of measurement frameworks internally and externally is also essential to foster transparency and accountability. This could be through an annual report or a dedicated website (OECD, 2023[14]). This will require building sufficient institutional capacity to manage and monitor strategy implementation, particularly in OGP and sectoral CPBs.
KPIs should be directly linked to the objectives and desired future state defined in the digital transformation strategy. They should measure performance and implementation at different levels (from individual procurement processes to national level), cover the full public procurement cycle, and be aimed at providing useful feedback to relevant stakeholders. KPIs also need to be feasibly measured and tracked: It may be useful to identify indicators that can be produced immediately without the need for additional data collection (OECD, 2023[14]). While it will be important for Ireland to define KPIs that align with its priorities and data collection capacities, potential KPIs aligned with the proposed strategy objectives could include:
Source: Authors’ elaboration
Effectively managing change across the public procurement system
With the launch of the new eTenders platform in May 2023 and the introduction of eForms in October 2023, Ireland’s public procurement system has been undergoing significant digital change. Other changes impacting public procurement include the rollout of new financial management systems across certain sectors and the increased use of strategic procurement, particularly green public procurement (Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, 2024[15]). It will therefore be important to put in place effective change management measures to ensure successful digital transformation.
Many of the elements already discussed in the paper contribute to change management. This includes:
Clear objectives and a vision that articulates the benefits of digital transformation to help stakeholders understand their role and what they will gain, despite short-term costs and disruptions.
Strong stakeholder engagement and a user-centric approach to ensure that transformation addresses specific pain points and wins broad support. Regular communication and feedback loops can keep stakeholders informed and ensure their input is incorporated into the implementation of the strategy.
Strong governance structures and buy-in from leadership to demonstrate commitment and set the tone for transformation.
Training and support to equip procurement officials with the skills and knowledge to confidently use new digital tools and embrace new approaches.
In addition, the digital transformation strategy should be accompanied by a communication strategy that identifies and targets key stakeholders. It should identify their priorities, the messages that will resonate, and the best way they can be reached. A strong communication strategy includes regular updates on progress and success stories and addresses concerns. Using existing channels such as the SME Advisory Group and leveraging the role of sectoral CPBs may be effective in ensuring that messages have a wide reach.
References
[9] Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (2021), Arrangements for Oversight of Digital and ICT-related Initiatives in the Civil and Public Service, https://assets.gov.ie/194343/c9563d10-141c-4842-aebf-d3e8b18f6c9a.pdf.
[15] Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (2024), Buying Greener: Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2027, https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/7b1f8-green-public-procurement-strategy-and-action-plan-2024-2027/.
[12] OECD (2024), Strengthening Oversight of the Court of Auditors for Effective Public Procurement in Portugal: Digital Transformation and Data-driven Risk Assessments, OECD Public Governance Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/35aeab1e-en.
[14] OECD (2023), “Public procurement performance: A framework for measuring efficiency, compliance and strategic goals”, OECD Public Governance Policy Papers, No. 36, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/0dde73f4-en.
[10] OECD (2022), Digital Transformation Projects in Greece’s Public Sector: Governance, Procurement and Implementation, OECD Public Governance Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/33792fae-en.
[6] OECD (2022), Towards Agile ICT Procurement in the Slovak Republic: Good Practices and Recommendations, OECD Public Governance Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b0a5d50f-en.
[5] OECD (2021), The E-Leaders Handbook on the Governance of Digital Government, OECD Digital Government Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/ac7f2531-en.
[4] OECD (2021), The E-Leaders Handbook on the Governance of Digital Government, OECD Digital Government Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/ac7f2531-en.
[11] OECD (2020), “The OECD Digital Government Policy Framework: Six dimensions of a Digital Government”, OECD Public Governance Policy Papers, No. 02, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/f64fed2a-en.
[13] OECD (2018), Mexico’s e-Procurement System: Redesigning CompraNet through Stakeholder Engagement, OECD Public Governance Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264287426-en.
[8] OECD (2014), Recommendation of the Council on Digital Government Strategies, https://legalinstruments.oecd.org/en/instruments/OECD-LEGAL-0406.
[3] OECD (n.d.), Principle 5: Leadership and political commitment, https://www.oecd.org/governance/digital-government/toolkit/principle5/ (accessed on 24 April 2024).
[1] OECD (n.d.), Principle 7: Effective organisational & governance coordination framework, https://www.oecd.org/governance/digital-government/toolkit/principle7/ (accessed on 22 April 2024).
[2] Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (2022), Connecting Government 2030: A Digital and ICT Strategy for Ireland’s Public Service, https://assets.gov.ie/220390/79ac70c6-f2d9-4b5e-8960-c833a0b40efb.pdf.
[7] Welby, B. and E. Hui Yan Tan (2022), “Designing and delivering public services in the digital age”, OECD Going Digital Toolkit Notes, No. 22, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/e056ef99-en.