The European Commission has released a new guidance for public buyers to ensure rapid and efficient purchases of all necessary equipment.

Public procurement is more important than ever in these troubled times of health crisis. Hospitals, social and healthcare professionals urgently need medical supplies and protective equipment purchased by public authorities. In this context, the European Commission has released a new guidance for public buyers.

Already concerned for several years by the issue of public purchasing, the European Commission hopes to facilitate procedures developed outside of any crisis context in order to adapt them to the current situation.

Many possibilities for public buyers are foreseen in the guidance such as a considerable shortening of the public procurement process, or emergency contracts which are not subject to EU procedural requirements and do not require the prior publication of tender notices. The good news for innovative companies: the guide also recommends that public buyers consider alternative innovative solutions and ways to engage with the market.

The main goals of the guidance are to help public authorities use the flexibility provided by the EU’s public procurement framework and to ensure rapid and efficient purchases of all necessary equipment to fight the spread of the virus. 

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You can find the guidance in the Resources section of ShareProCare. This section is a resource centre where you will find online documents related to public procurement of innovation.

published on the 12.17.2020