Public procurement in Lithuania is getting better: this year's best are announced
In order to recognise the most efficient public procurement, the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation, together with the Public Procurement Service, has announced the 12 best performing organisations and companies.
"Smart public procurement has a significant impact on the economy by stimulating innovation and more efficient use of resources. We encourage procurement that becomes a role model - creating progressive innovations in procurement, boldly sharing best practices and thus further improving both the public and private sectors," said Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister of the Economy and Innovation.
The best public procurement was selected in the categories of most innovative, smartest and socially responsible procurement, as well as best management practices and most successful cooperation with suppliers.
The winners in the Smartest Procurement category were the procurement of integrated communication services for SE Turto Bankas and the procurement of long-term strategy development and additional consulting services for UAB EPSO-G Group, which used a new evaluation criterion for assessing bids, enabling the procurement of high-quality intellectual services.
The tender for the Ukrainian schools project of the Central Project Management Agency was also a winner in this category, ensuring international competition. Suppliers from no less than 10 countries - from Japan to Portugal - participated in this tender.
"This year we have announced more winners than usual in the Procurement Awards to recognise those procurers who are making exceptional changes to conventional procurement practices and adapting flexibly to society's rising expectations and standards. We are particularly pleased to see the growing number of organisations across the country sharing their experiences of innovative procurement, as we have set ourselves ambitious targets to develop this area. We hope that the best examples presented will contribute to the creation of a dynamic and inspiring public procurement system," said Erika Kuročkina, Vice- Minister of the Economy and Innovation.
Four organisations were selected as winners in the Most Innovative Procurement category. The State Agency for Digital Solutions was awarded for creating an innovation-friendly culture in the organisation - this year the agency organised three innovative procurements: a solution for identifying fake news, a textbook for the Lithuanian language and a service for the development of a Lithuanian language textbook, and a service for the creation of a human phenotype ontology. These solutions will be instrumental in the development of artificial intelligence tools for healthcare and other fields in the Lithuanian language.
The winner in the Innovative Procurement category was also a pilot procurement by AB Lietuvos geležinkeliai for the installation of solar panels in soundproof walls. Other winners in this category were the Šiauliai City Municipality's purchase of a govtech solution to develop a solution for monitoring urban areas, and the purchase of innovative animal scanning equipment for the development of science at the Lithuanian State University of Health Sciences.
In the Most Socially Responsible Procurement category, the Police Department won for its procurement of catering services, which ensured the employment of sponsored persons.
In the Best Management Practice category, the winner was the Vilnius Municipal Administration, which effectively applies measures to limit the number of winning lots in its procurement in order to maintain long-term competition. Also in this category were VĮ Valstybinė miškų urėdija for actively encouraging suppliers to participate in the procurement of forestry services, and Lithuanian Airports for measuring the success of contract performance.
The winner in the category of the most successful buyer-supplier cooperation was UAB Ignitis Group Service Centre, which has developed a particularly effective system of cooperation with suppliers.
A presentation of the public procurement winners can be found on the Youtube channel of the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation.