BESTEK - The Public Procurement Podcast

In this episode, Marta and Willem explore how artificial intelligence could support more sustainable public procurement practices— and the risks that come with it. The conversation builds on Marta’s co-authored recent open-access article, “Leveraging AI for Sustainable Public Procurement: Opportunities and Challenges.” They begin by outlining the motivation and context for the research, before examining where AI could add value in procurement processes. This includes...

In this episode, Marta and Willem discuss the hot topic of the ongoing Irado case and the impacts it is set to have on the world of European Public Procurement Law. How to calculate the activities criterion in article 12 Directive 2014/24/EU? They begin the episode with a short chat about their recent conferences, before moving to a brief introduction to the case and the related unclarities in the Article 12 Directive 2014/24/EU on how the activities criterion is to be calculated. Namely, Willem explains how, from the text alone, it is unclear whether the activities criterion should be based on the entity you contract with, or the holding structure in which it provides its services and how this could have significant ramifications on the applicability of the exemption. They then proceed to talk about the opinion of Advocate General Rantos and express their own perspectives on the matter. They discuss whether the procurement practices in certain countries were legitimate interpretations or circumventions of the directive. Lastly, in the dessert, they switch gears and reflect on strategies that help them foster a good and productive community in the classroom.

In this episode, Marta and Willem invite a long-time listener and supporter of the Bestek podcast and a postdoctoral fellow at PurpLE, Ezgi Uysal, to discuss her research on the topic of sustainability contractual clauses (SCCs) in public procurement contracts. The podcast begins with Ezgi briefly explaining what the SCCs are and what makes them unique, before quickly diving into a discussion about the contractualization of sustainability in public procurement. The speakers then examine different types of SCCs as well as challenges concerning enforcement. They discuss the potential consequences of the failure of contracting authorities to enforce said obligations. Additionally, the speakers argue in favour of the need for improvements in contract management to deliver sustainable public procurement and communication between the contract-drafting and contract-managing teams and discuss whether these problems could be solved by a legislative intervention. For dessert, Ezgi reflects on her PhD experience and provides some heartfelt advice for the first-year PhD students and beyond.

In this episode, Associate Professor Marta Andhov and Professor Willem Janssen discuss a particularly exciting topic - the upcoming reform of the EU’s Public Procurement Directives. They begin by describing the reform’s timeline and discussing how it is being affected by the current geopolitical setting. In their discussion, they assess the focal points of the reform, as described by reports of Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi. The speakers then provide their personal opinions, perceptions, and concerns while discussing their key takes from the two reports. These include, among others: the calls for simplification, flexibilization, and a more strategic and inward-looking approach to the European public procurement, the concerns around the enduring low competition, and the lack of focus on green and social aspects of procurement. For dessert, the speakers once again discuss academics, focusing on alternative ways of examination. They evaluate their own experiences with the less typical ways of testing to provide their opinion of how and why they should be used.

In this episode, Associate Professor Marta Andhov and Professor Willem Janssen discuss circularity, and how it relates to public procurement. The hosts begin by introducing the concept of circularity, its promises as well as some points of skepticism. They also explain the concept of the R scale - a useful tool in determining the circularity of an economy. They then move on to the legal aspects and ask how public procurement could be used to encourage circularity and what are the main challenges and uncertainties behind circular public procurement. Willem also introduces his project CIRCLASH. Finally, for today’s dessert section, Marta and Willem talk about procurement awards. They discuss the added value of these events, describe their hopes and perspectives, and also provide the listeners with several procurement-related law competitions that could be interesting for students, practitioners, and academics alike.